| Albuquerque,
New Mexico will achieve critical mass when attendees of the 34th
IEEE International Conference on Plasma Science (ICOPS) and the
16th IEEE International Pulsed Power Conference (PPC) meet at the
Albuquerque Convention Center June 17-22, 2007 for “PPPS-2007.”
This is the second time that these two conferences are combining
their activities, following the initial joint event in Las Vegas
in 2001. Extending the concept, the IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Sciences
Society’s Symposium on Fusion Engineering (SOFE Conference)
will also be collocating with PPPS-2007, using the west wing of
the Albuquerque Convention Center. Registrants of either conference
will be able to attend sessions in both conferences.
Albuquerque is the largest city in New Mexico with a metropolitan
population of nearly 800,000 people and home to the University of
New Mexico, Kirtland Air Force Base, Sandia National Laboratories,
and many high tech companies, both large and small. Los Alamos National
Laboratory is only 90 minutes to the Northwest. The cottonwood-shaded
Rio Grande River Valley and Petroglyph National Monument lie to
the west and the majestic Sandia Peak lies to the east. The Sangre
de Cristo Mountains and Santa Fe are 50 miles to the north.
The conference will be held within walking distance of Central Avenue,
also known as Route 66, which is convenient to entertainment, shopping,
and fine dining, especially New Mexican cuisine. New Mexican food
has a distinct style, the most visible element being the type of
chile pepper used, either red or green.
The combined conference is expected to attract over 1200 attendees.
Information about PPPS-2007, and a downloadable abstract brochure,
can be found on its website located at http://www.ece.unm.edu/ppps2007/
.
Former NPSS President William Moses sees the upcoming conference
as a golden opportunity for members to expand their horizons, noting
that ICOPS and PPC have not shared a conference since 2001.
“Most researchers don’t have the time or money to attend
a conference that is not directly related to what they’re
doing in their work,” said Moses. “By having all these
conferences at the same place and at the same time provides a unique
opportunity to attend a related conference at no additional time
or cost.”
Frank Peterkin, Technical Program Chair of PPPS-2007 agrees, “The
practicalities of getting financial backing to go to two conferences
instead of one are significant to both students and professionals.
This enables an attendee to socialize and learn from both their
direct technical peer community and their ‘near-peers,’
to walk down the hall and learn something new about a topic they
wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to explore.”
The PPPS-2007 conference comprises the following topics:
• Fundamental Research and Basic Processes
• Microwave Generation and Plasma Interactions
• Charged Particle Beams and Sources
• High Energy Density Plasmas
• Pulsed Power Switches and Components
• Industrial, Commercial, and Medical Applications
• Pulsed Power Sources
• Pulsed Power Systems
• Diagnostics
• Prime Power & Power Conditioning
In addition to these topics, a two-day minicourse will be offered
on June 22 and 23 entitled, Diagnostics for High Density Plasmas
and Pulsed Power Systems. Furthermore, a special workshop entitled
Writing for and Working with the Film Industry: An Introduction
for Scientists and Engineers will be offered on June 23. Two Hollywood
insiders who have experience in virtually all aspects of motion
pictures will teach the short course, in addition to support from
the burgeoning New Mexico film industry.
Peter Clout, a physicist and chairman of the NPSS communications
committee, spoke excitedly about the combined conference. “It’s
a very effective way of meeting colleagues, to sit and talk about
what you’ve been doing. There is a lot of valuable information
which doesn’t appear in print that only comes out in one-on-one
conversations.”
“It’s like browsing in a bookstore,” Clout continued.
“You stumble into people you would not have otherwise met
or whose work you might not have come across.” Regarding SOFE
2007 collocating with PPPS-2007, “They have come together
with a common registration, attendees who are interested in one
conference are free to drop in on another: Cross fertilization.”
Conference Chairman Edl Schamiloglu, a Professor at the University
of New Mexico, expects a large international participation because
the conference is located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, “arguably
the Mecca of Pulsed Power and Plasma Science Research in the United
States.” He notes that, in addition to PPPS-2007, the IEEE
Particle Accelerator Conference (PAC07) will take place at the Convention
Center the following week. “PPPS-2007 is coordinating closely
with PAC07. We are working with both the Governor’s and Mayor’s
offices to plan outreach activities to the community, and to K-12
students in particular, during the weekend in between our two conferences.
We are also looking forward to hosting the NPSS AdCom meeting during
this weekend as well.”
PPPS-2007 has budgeted generously to support student travel. In
addition, we will be selecting “Best Student Papers”
for the first time, an idea suggested by NPSS. Details can be found
in the Call for Abstracts brochure posted on the conference website.
Finally, PPPS-2007 will have a large Exhibitor’s Program located
in the hall hosting the poster sessions. Also included in the same
hall will be the Job Placement Center, connecting prospective employees
with employers.
Whether your preference is red, or green, or “Christmas”
(a little of each), we look forward to your participation in PPPS-2007
in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA in June 2007.
The 22nd IEEE/NPSS Symposium on Fusion Engineering (SOFE07) will
take place June 17-21, 2007 at the Albuquerque Convention Center
in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Symposium is dedicated to the scientific,
technological and engineering issues of fusion energy research and
presents a mixture of oral presentations and poster sessions allowing
for extensive interactions among the participants. The conference
is open to the public, and all individuals with an interest in fusion
energy are invited to register and attend. This year the SOFE meeting
is collocated with the combined 2007 ICOPS and the 2007 International
Pulsed Power Conference (International Pulsed Power and Plasma Science
2007) that run through June 22. Attendees registered with SOFE can
attend sessions of the other conferences and will receive a pocket
program for all three as well as the program book for SOFE. A grand
plenary including all three conferences is planned for the first
day. The 2007 Particle Accelerator Conference is being held the
following week at the Convention Center.
The meeting is being organized by Sandia National Laboratories.
The SOFE07 conference General Chair is Dennis Youchison. The Technical
Program Chair is Michael Ulrickson and Rena Yellowrobe is the conference
coordinator. The organization of the technical program is similar
to previous conferences in this series, with plenary sessions in
the first part of each morning followed by late morning parallel
sessions with oral invited and contributed presentations in selected
technical areas. The oral presentations continue in the early afternoon,
followed by poster sessions.
Submissions in all areas of magnetic fusion energy (MFE) and inertial
fusion energy (IFE) are sought, including:
• Experimental devices and new device design
• Reactor studies
• Plasma facing components
• Plasma materials interactions for IFE, MFE and alternates
• Targets for IFE and alternates
• Chambers, vacuum vessels and pumping for IFE, MFE and alternates
• Blankets, and shields for IFE, MFE and alternates
• Diagnostics, data acquisition, and plasma control systems
• Safety and environmental engineering
• Heating and current drive
• Plasma fueling
• Tritium handling systems
• IFE drivers and related technologies
• Magnet engineering for IFE, MFE and alternates
• Materials assembly, fabrication, and maintenance
• Power systems
• Electromagnetics and electromechanics.
The SOFE web site at http://sofe22.sandia.gov/
is available for more information.
Dennis Youchison, chair of the 2007 Symposium on Fusion Engineering,
can be reached at the Sandia National Laboratories, P.O. Box 5800,
MS-1129, Albuquerque, NM 87185-1129 USA; Phone: +1 505 845 3138;
Fax: +1 505 845-3130; E-mail: dlyouch@sandia.gov.
Michael Ulrickson can be reached at the Sandia National Laboratories,
P.O. Box 5800, MS-1129, Albuquerque, NM 87185-1129 USA; Phone: +1
505 845 3020; Fax: +1 505 845-3130; E-mail: maulric@sandia.gov.
Plans for PAC'07, the 22nd conference in this highly successful
conference series for accelerator science engineering and technology,
are going very well. See the web site http://pac07.org/
for more details and the invited speaker program. To date, 1813
abstracts have been submitted to the on-line JACoW site. On the
basis of historic ratios of abstract submissions to conference attendees,
attendance at the conference in Albuquerque, NM, June 25-29, 2007,
could exceed 1400, making for the possibility of an extremely successful
conference both scientifically and financially. On-line registration
for delegates and for exhibitors began on January 10, 2007. Members
of IEEE-NPSS and APS-DPB have a 10% discount on the conference registration
fee. We have tried to encourage individuals to join a professional
society by including the following message in the opening registration
page “Volunteers, who are members of either IEEE-NPSS or APS-DPB,
make it possible for important information exchange with colleagues
at conferences such as the PAC series. Technical societies help
our professional interests in many ways other than just supporting
conferences. Prizes for significant contributions in accelerator
technology, recognition for many years of contributions by awarding
senior and/or fellow levels, support of publication processes and
student support are just a few of the activities provided by our
technical societies. Please consider joining if you are not already
a member. Help make us stronger.”
We expect at least 50 industrial exhibitors participating at the
conference, having provided adequate space (80 separate booths available)
for all of their interests and being well located within the poster
paper area for good interactions with attendees.
Plans are also underway for two special events associated with the
conference. The first is a science, engineering, and technology
expose for the residents of New Mexico at the Albuquerque Convention
Center Garden Foyer on the Saturday prior to the conference, June
23. Participants will be from Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia
National Laboratory, University of New Mexico and some of the industrial
exhibitors that have booths and exhibits at PAC07. Also included
are the technical societies of IEEE and APS. The second is a special
Teachers Physics Day on Wednesday, June 27, providing a full day
of professional development geared to physics teachers that includes
hands-on workshops presenting innovative, classroom-ready activities
for physics students; research talks on accelerator technology and
their applications for our daily life, a welcoming breakfast where
they can network with fellow teachers and a luncheon where they
can network with each other and conference participants.
A special student poster session will be held Sunday, June 24, to
encourage the interaction of students with other students, colleagues
and peers Students, whose attendance is being partially sponsored
by the conference, will be included in this opportunity to interact
with others in the accelerator-related fields.
Stan Schriber can be reached by E-mail at schriber@cnsp.com.
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