Pierre Demers: scientific journey and career

Born on November 8, 1914 in Deal, England, Pierre Demers comes from a wealthy French Canadian family. His father, Alfred Demers, an investor and admirer of French culture, had settled in Europe shortly before the outbreak of the First World War, which explains the birth of his son in the United Kingdom.

Pierre Demers studied primary school in France, Paris, Cannes and Grasse, before returning to Montreal. He continued his classical course at Sainte-Marie and Jean-de-Brébeuf Colleges from 1925 to 1933.

Very early attracted to science, he conducted research in marine biology at the Marine Biology Station of Université Laval from his adolescence. His work on shrimp reproduction were the subject of his first scientific papers at ACFAS. Passionate about botany, he also collaborated with the famous Brother Marie-Victorin.

Between 1933 and 1938, he studied at the Université de Montréal, where he obtained a bachelor’s degree in physical sciences, a bachelor’s degree in mathematical sciences and a master’s degree in chemistry. Thanks to a scholarship, he then continued his training in Paris at the École normale supérieure, becoming the first foreigner to obtain the title of aggregate of the University of France in physical sciences.

In 1939, he joined the Atomic Synthesis Laboratory of the Collège de France under the direction of Frédéric Joliot-Curie. However, the German invasion forced him to return to Quebec in 1940. After a time in the industry, he participated in Canadian nuclear research in Montreal and Chalk River, where he worked on neutrons. His work contributed indirectly to the Manhattan project, in particular by improving ionography techniques.

Back at the University of Montreal, he obtained a state doctorate from the University of Paris in 1950 and became a full professor. Until his retirement in 1980, he trained thousands of students, including world  rekowned astrophysicist Hubert Reeves, and directed many researchers.

Corpuscular ionography was at the heart of his research for more than thirty years. This technique, which uses photographic emulsions to study subatomic particles, allowed him to contribute to nuclear physics, the study of cosmic rays and the improvement of experimental methods. In particular, he participated in the characterization of the thorium cycle, which leads to the production of uranium-233.

From the 1970s, the rise of electronic detectors gradually made ionography obsolete. Pierre Demers then redirected his research to other areas, including the perception of colours and the Quebecium system.