The biennial Particle Accelerator Conference, or PAC07, is scheduled for the Albuquerque Convention Center June 25-29, 2007. The largest conference of its kind, PAC07 will focus on all aspects of the science, technology and use of particle accelerators.
Sponsors for the conference include the Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the Division of Physics of Beams of the American Physical Society, the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy.
"We're very excited to be hosting this important initiative for the accelerator community and expect a great turnout," said Lorraine Stanford of the Laboratory's International, Space and Response Division, who is conference coordinator. "The Particle Accelerator Conference always brings in the 'who's who' of the field and I expect the large crowds of visitors will prove a significant economic boon for New Mexico."
Chairing PAC07 will be Stan Schriber, former leader of Los Alamos' Accelerator Technology Division, who now teaches at Michigan State University. Bob Garnett of Los Alamos' Dynamic Experimentation Division will serve as scientific program chair, and several other members of Los Alamos' staff will play key roles in organizing and staging the conference.
The series of conferences on accelerator science and technology began in 1965, and held its 21st biennial meeting in May in Knoxville, Tenn. About 40 percent of the 1,400 attendees at that meeting came from outside North America. More than 60 companies from around the world exhibited their products at the meeting. Conference attendees included dozens of Los Alamos researchers who discussed accelerator activities at LANL.
Accelerators move charged particles at speeds approaching the speed of light to investigate the nature of matter by directly hitting material targets, or indirectly by creating intense light. They are crucial tools in such diverse fields as physics, materials science, biology, astrophysics and engineering. One of the most powerful linear accelerators in the world is located at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center, or LANSCE.
Los Alamos National Laboratory, a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security, is operated by Los Alamos National Security, LLC, a team composed of Bechtel National, the University of California, The Babcock & Wilcox Company, and Washington Group International for the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration.
Los Alamos enhances national security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health, and global security concerns.