From Splitting Wood to Splitting Atoms: Memoir of an Opportunist Driven by Purpose and Sustained by Faith

This is the story of a boy born and raised in Bruce Mines, a town of five hundred people in northern Ontario, near the end of the Great Depression. When Art Pasanen was just four years old, nuclear fission was discovered, ushering in a new age of power generation… an industry which was destined to play a significant role in his life.

From Splitting Wood to Splitting Atoms tracks Art’s life from a shy, introverted childhood to graduation from a large American university and a long, distinguished career as a nuclear engineer. The most impactful memories of his career are associated with his responsibility to supervise the initial start-up programs of reactors both in Canada and around the world.

However, the crux of the story can be found in Art’s personal and spiritual life, highlighting the ways in which divine providence helped shape him. Through the crucible of adversity and hardship in childhood and following the examples of his family members, Art was given the opportunity to step through many doors and make many God-pleasing choices along the way.