Sylvia Fedoruk

It’s the birthday of Sylvia Fedoruk, who was born in 1927 in Canora, Saskatchewan. Fedoruk studied physics at the University of Saskatchewan, where she specialized in medical physics. She went on to become chief medical physicist at the Saskatoon Cancer Clinic and director of physics services at the Saskatchewan Cancer Clinic. Fedoruk helped to develop the world’s first cobalt-60 unit, which enabled the treatment of deep-seated tumors without radiation harming patients’ skin. Fedoruk’s career was no less distinguished outside of medical physics. She served as chancellor of the University of Saskatchewan, lieutenant governor of Saskatchewan and as a member of the Atomic Energy Board of Canada. A keen curler, she was a member of the Saskatchewan team that won Canada’s first women’s national curling championship in 1961.

Date in History: 5 May 1927