# John Stuart Foster

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This article is about the father. For his son of the same name, see [John S. Foster Jr.](/source/John_S._Foster_Jr.).

**John Stuart Foster** (May 30, 1890 – September 9, 1964) was a [Canadian](/source/Canadians) [physicist](/source/Physicist).[1][2][4]

## Biography

Born in [Clarence](/source/Clarence,_Nova_Scotia), [Nova Scotia](/source/Nova_Scotia), he completed his [Ph.D.](/source/Ph.D.) at [Yale University](/source/Yale_University) with a dissertation on the first measurements of the [Stark effect](/source/Stark_effect) in [Helium](/source/Helium). In 1924 he gained an appointment as assistant professor at [McGill University](/source/McGill_University) in [Montreal](/source/Montreal), where he taught physics. He became associate professor in 1930.

During [World War II](/source/World_War_II) he served as a liaison officer for the [National Research Council](/source/National_Research_Council_(Canada)), working at the [MIT](/source/MIT)-run [Radiation Laboratory](/source/Radiation_Laboratory) on [radar](/source/Radar) research and development. He developed a fast-scan radar antenna that became known as the "[Foster scanner](/source/Foster_scanner)".

He returned to McGill in 1944, where he directed the construction of a 100-MeV [cyclotron](/source/Cyclotron). This instrument was commissioned in 1949. At the time this was the second largest in the world. From 1952 until 1954 he was chairman of the physics department at McGill. He died in [Berkeley, California](/source/Berkeley,_California).

## Legacy

The *John Stuart Foster Radiation Laboratory and Cyclotron* at McGill was named after him in 1964 and this is engraved on the side of the building now known as the M. H. Wong Building.

His son, [John Stuart Foster Jr.](/source/John_S._Foster_Jr.), graduated from the University of California in 1948, then became director of the [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory](/source/Lawrence_Livermore_National_Laboratory), director of [Defense Research and Engineering](/source/Defense_Research_and_Engineering) for the U.S. Defense Department, and Vice President of T.R.W., Inc.

## Awards and honours

- Fellow of the [Royal Society of Canada](/source/Royal_Society_of_Canada), 1929.
- Awarded Levy Medal, [Franklin Institute](/source/Franklin_Institute), 1930.
- [Henry Marshall Tory Medal](/source/Henry_Marshall_Tory_Medal), 1946.
- Elected a Fellow of the [Royal Society](/source/Royal_Society) of London, 1935.[1]
- The crater [Foster](/source/Foster_(crater)) on the [Moon](/source/Moon) is named after him.

## References

1. Bell, R. E. (1966). "John Stuart Foster 1890-1964". *[Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society](/source/Biographical_Memoirs_of_Fellows_of_the_Royal_Society)*. **12**: 146–161. [doi:10.1098/rsbm.1966.0006](https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbm.1966.0006)

1. [\[1\]](http://books.nap.edu/html/biomems/hbumstead.pdf) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20110607053019/http://books.nap.edu/html/biomems/hbumstead.pdf) June 7, 2011 at the Wayback Machine

1. "John S. Foster". *Physics Today*. **18**: 155. 1965. [doi:10.1063/1.3047133](https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3047133)

## External links

- [Canadian Encyclopedia entry](https://web.archive.org/web/20060512063414/http://thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0002996)
- [Foster Radiation Laboratory and Cyclotron Building](http://cac.mcgill.ca/campus/Buildings/Eaton_Foster_Chemical_Engineering.html)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [John Stuart Foster](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stuart_Foster) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stuart_Foster?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.