Canadian Synchrotron Radiation Facility

The Canadian Synchrotron Radiation Facility (CSRF) (French: Institut canadien du rayonnement synchrotron – ICRS) was Canada's national synchrotron facility from 1983–2005. Eventually consisting of three beamlines at the Synchrotron Radiation Center at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, USA, it served the Canadian synchrotron community until the opening of the Canadian Light Source in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, finally ceasing operations in 2008.

In 1972 Mike Bancroft, a chemistry professor at the University of Western Ontario (UWO) took part in a workshop organised by Bill McGowan on the uses of synchrotron radiation. At the time there were no synchrotron users in Canada, but as a result of contact established with then-director Ed Rowe at the meeting, he began work at the Synchrotron Radiation Center (SRC) in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1975.

After several failed attempts were made to establish a synchrotron facility in Canada, Bancroft submitted a proposal to the National Research Council (NRC) to build a Canadian beamline on the existing Tantalus synchrotron at SRC. Rowe had offered Bancroft 100% use of the beamline at no charge in perpetuity – Bancroft recalled that Rowe "had a soft spot for Canadians, he had some relatives from Canada, so he was extremely helpful". In 1978 the newly created NSERC awarded capital funding. This was not sufficient, and further funding was obtained from the UWO Academic Development Fund and NSERC the following year to complete two endstations. Bancoft would later say "We hoped to get more beamlines so we called it the Canadian Synchrotron Radiation Facility (CSRF)". Bancroft was appointed Scientific Director, with Norman Sherman of NRC, who were to own and manage the facility, as manager. Operating money was initially provided by UWO, and Kim Tan was hired as the CSRF operations manager, to be based in Madison.