G. Michael Bancroft
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Synchrotron science
G. Michael Bancroft | |
|---|---|
 Bancroft at the Canadian Light Source summer school in July 2012 | |
| Born | 1942 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada |
| Alma mater | University of Manitoba University of Cambridge |
| Known for | Mössbauer spectroscopy Synchrotron science |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Chemistry |
| Institutions | University of Western Ontario Canadian Light Source |
| Doctoral advisor | A.G. Maddock |
George "G." Michael Bancroft, OC FRSC, (born 1942) is a Canadian chemist and emeritus professor at the University of Western Ontario. One of the world's leading experts in Mössbauer spectroscopy,[1] he is also known as one of the driving forces behind the development of synchrotron science in Canada,[1] becoming the first director of the Canadian Light Source synchrotron after a 30-year "Odyssey".[2]
Bancroft was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, the son of an accountant, but grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba[3] where he attended Kelvin High School.[4] He graduated from the University of Manitoba in 1963, subsequently earning an MSc in chemistry (1964) from the same institution. Later that year he went to the University of Cambridge, England to study for a PhD at Corpus Christi College. He worked under the supervision of A.G. Maddock on the development of Mössbauer spectroscopy, obtaining his PhD in 1967.[3] Over a 20-year period Bancroft would become one of the world's leading experts in Mössbauer spectroscopy, publishing more than 80 papers, a major review and an authoritative textbook in the field.[1]
University of Western Ontario
After working as a postdoc at the University of Manitoba, Bancroft returned to Cambridge as a Fellow at Christ's College.
Bancroft returned to Canada in 1970, as an assistant professor in the department of chemistry at the University of Western Ontario (UWO), becoming a professor in 1974, spending two periods as head of department. Bancroft was director of the Centre for Chemical Physics from 1977 to 1981, establishing Surface Science Western during his tenure.[3] At UWO Bancroft became interested in photoemission spectroscopy, and in 1972, with National Research Council (NRC) support, a spectrometer was purchased for research using far ultraviolet and X-ray photons. This purchase also involved the universities of Toronto and Windsor in a Southwestern Ontario consortium.[5]
Canadian Synchrotron Radiation Facility
In 1972 Bancroft took part in a workshop organised by Bill McGowan of (UWO) on the uses of synchrotron radiation, an event he has described "the beginning of my 30 year odyssey to develop Canadian synchrotron capabilities in the US and then in Canada". He began work at the Synchrotron Radiation Center (SRC) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, US, in 1975, as a result of contact established with then-SRC director Ed Rowe at the 1972 meeting. After several failed attempts were made to establish a synchrotron facility in Canada, Bancroft submitted a proposal to the NRC to build a Canadian beamline at SRC. In 1978 the newly created NSERC awarded capital funding, and the Canadian Synchrotron Radiation Facility (CSRF) was founded. CSRF, owned and operated by NRC, with Bancroft as scientific director, grew from the initial beamline to a total of three by 1998.[2]