Colorado State University to Host Intensive Accelerators and Beams School

Colorado State University has been chosen to host the well-established United States Particle Accelerator School, a national graduate program that provides graduate-level educational programs in the science of particle beams and associated accelerator technologies that are not otherwise available to the scientific and engineering communities.

Funded in part by the U.S. Department of Energy, with donations from other U.S. services and agencies, the 26-year-old school conducts two-week intensive study courses at leading universities across the country.

By successfully completing the two-week course requirements, which include 45 contact hours as well as daily problems and examinations, students earn three semester hours of university credit.

“CSU was chosen due to its long history in accelerators, such as the accelerator at the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, the use of accelerators and peripheral devices for research, and the establishment of a new experimental accelerator facility to be launched in 2013,” said Wade Troxell, associate dean of Engineering for CSU’s College of Engineering, which has been instrumental in hosting the school. Troxell worked closely on the courses with faculty and staff in the departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Physics and Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, as well as OnlinePlus, the university’s adult education program.

The school is open to students who do not have the ability to engage in such courses at their home institution because it is such a specialized area of interest. To apply for the CSU program and review courses that will be offered, go to http://uspas.fnal.gov/programs2/2013/colorado/index.shtml. For more information on the history and purpose of the particle accelerator school, go to http://uspas.fnal.gov/.

The medical and industrial market for accelerators exceeds $3.5 billion a year. More than 30,000 particle accelerators are in operation around the world, serving medicine, industry, energy, the environment, national security, and discovery science. As accelerator science and technology continues to advance, so too will benefits to society. Based on a 2010 report “Accelerators for America’s Future” http://www.acceleratorsamerica.org/, the U.S. Senate is helping the DOE serve as a steward to accelerators and peripherals for our nation.

“The school will have a variety of courses in accelerators and accelerator design, accelerator physics and engineering, detectors, project management, lasers and free-electron lasers,” said Troxell. “The best part about the school is the students are able to learn from world experts at the hosting institution as well experts from other parts of the nation and world.”

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