Many scientific advances are made using accelerators. The world of High Energy Particle Physics has driven this field and continues to depend largely on accelerators. Increasingly advances in materials science, chemistry, biology and environmental science are being made at accelerators using x-ray and neutrons to probe matter. Accelerators have a number of commercial applications including isotope production for use in medicine, cancer treatment, processing semiconductor chips, and so on. Presently there are around 15,000 accelerators worldwide. Approximately 97% of these are used for commercial applications. However several hundred are in use and under development for scientific research at universities and laboratories. Please read the article "Why Accelerators Matter" by Michael S. Turner of the University of Chicago and Fermilab to learn more about accelerators.
The field of accelerator technology is constantly in need of new young physicists and engineers. Argonne and Fermilab want to work with prospective students to convey the needs in the field, and to help define the educational options for those choosing to pursue a degree in one of these fields. Please take a look at the sites that this page contains links to. Also, feel free to contact the institute for further information.(e-mail)