Vancouver Cyclotron Conference

Although no longer on the high energy frontier, the cyclotron field is still a major scientific growth area. Its progress is highlighted at the international conference on cyclotron design, development and utilization held at intervals of about three years, under the auspices of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP). Vancouver, surrounded by mountains, water and some cyclotrons, provided a pleasant setting for the 13th Conference, held last summer. With over 200 cyclotrons in operation around the world, the attendance, 241 delegates and 26 industrial exhibitors, was a near record, reflecting the flourishing state of the field. The early sessions covered the initial operation of new or upgraded cyclotron facilities. Major facilities completed since the previous Conference in Berlin in May 1989 included the 400 MeV ring cyclotron at Osaka, the U400M cyclotron at Dubna which will be coupled to the U400 to give 20 MeV nucléon uranium beams, the 130 MeV cyclotron at Jyvaskyla (in Finland, the furthest north!), the 110 MeV JAERI machine in Japan, and the 65 MeV proton therapy cyclotron in Nice. Among the facility upgrades were the KFA cyclotron at Julich which will inject the 2.5 GeV storage ring COSY, and the addition of an FM mode to the K=200 CW mode at Uppsala to give protons up to 180 MeV. The impressive current of 1.5 mA at 72 MeV obtained from the PSI Injector II will soon be injected into the 590 MeV ring