Monterey, California, July 21-25, 2003
As General Chairman it is my, Allan Johnson’s, pleasure to invite you to attend the 40th Annual International Conference on Nuclear and Space Radiation Effects (NSREC) to be held July 21-25, 2003 at the DoubleTree Hotel and City of Monterey Conference Center in Monterey, California. As with previous NSRE Conferences, 2003 will offer an outstanding technical program, a one-day Short Course preceding the technical program, a Radiation Effects Data Workshop, and an Industrial Exhibit. We welcome attendance by engineers, scientists, managers and other interested persons from throughout the world. Highlights of the conference are given below. You can also access this information at www.nsrec.com.
To commemorate the 40th Anniversary, a special issue of the Transactions on Nuclear Science will be distributed to all attendees. The special issue will contain 16 review papers that summarize key technical findings presented at the conference over its history, with a contemporary interpretation of the results. Joe Srour (Northrop Grumman Space Technology) is the editor of the special issue.
The DoubleTree Hotel is located in downtown Monterey, a few steps away from the pier in Monterey Bay where seals, otters and other marine life abound. Monterey is one of the most popular vacation destinations in California. Nearby activities include kayaking, hiking, fishing, golf, wine tasting and even auto racing. The Local Arrangements Chairman, Mark Hopkins (Aerospace Corporation), has planned several social events for attendees and family members, including a shopping trip and luncheon in nearby Carmel and a visit to a local winery. The highlight of the social program is an evening at the world-renowned Monterey Aquarium, which will be open only to conference attendees and families. This will provide a relaxing environment for social interaction, as well as the opportunity to see the aquarium without the large crowds that are present during a typical day in peak season.
The conference is sponsored by the IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society Radiation Effects Committee and supported by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Sandia National Laboratories, Air Force Research Laboratory, and the NASA Electronic Parts and Packaging Program.

Short Course
Attendees will have the opportunity to attend a one-day Short Course on Monday, July 21. A Short Course is offered each year and is intended to provide newcomers with an overview and in-depth study of timely and significant issues in the radiation effects field and also to update the knowledge of experienced workers. The 2003 Short Course, organized by Joe Benedetto, Mission Research Corporation, is entitled Radiation Effects in Advanced Commercial Technologies: How Device Scaling Has Affected the Selection of Spaceborne Electronics.
The first session will begin with a description of advanced CMOS processes, including process history, scaling and proven design hardness techniques by Ron Lacoe, Aerospace Corporation. There is a tremendous opportunity to use commercial fabrication facilities not only for the production of radiation tolerant components but also for the study of new basic mechanisms and materials. The second session, presented by Alessandro Paccagnella, will focus on the challenges and opportunities involved with the new ultra-thin oxides from a radiation and reliability viewpoint.
After lunch the third presentation by Tim Oldham, NASA GSFC, will discuss single-event effects in advanced CMOS technology, which have been heavily influenced by changes in device design and scaling. The final session by John Cressler, Georgia Tech, will discuss total dose and single-event effects in advanced bipolar devices, where scaling has also had a major effect on the way that advanced devices are affected by radiation.
For those interested in Continuing Education Units (CEUs), there will be an open-book test at the end of the course. The course is valued at 0.6 CEUs and endorsed by the IEEE and the International Association for Education and Training.

Technical Information
The Technical Program Chairman, Paul Dodd (Sandia National Labs) and his program committee have put together an outstanding set of contributed papers that have been organized into nine sessions of 50 oral and 47 poster presentations, along with a Radiation Effects Data Workshop. The Workshop consists of 25 papers emphasizing radiation effects data on electronic devices and systems, and descriptions of new simulation and radiation test facilities. In addition, there are three outstanding invited talks that should be of general interest to attendees and their companions.
Technical sessions include:

• Devices and Integrated Circuits
• Basic Mechanisms
• Photonic Devices and Integrated Circuits
• Atmospheric and Terrestrial Radiation Effects
• Single-Event Effects, Devices and Integrated Circuits
• Single-Event Effects, Mechanisms and Modeling
• Spacecraft Environments and Effects
• Hardness Assurance
• Dosimetry and Facilities

Invited Talks
On July 23, Dr. Marcia K. McNutt, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute will present Use of Technology in the Exploration of Monterey Bay. The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) was founded in 1987 by David Packard. The institute’s main focus is on designing and building new tethered and autonomous underwater vehicles and in situ sensor packages for increasing the spatial and temporal sampling of the ocean and its inhabitants. MBARI is located in Moss Landing, California, where its two research ships and remotely operated vehicles are berthed, giving them immediate access to Monterey Bay. MBARI also maintains moorings offshore, equipped with ocean-monitoring instruments, as well as two moorings in the equatorial Pacific that are part of the NOAA Tropical Atmosphere Ocean array. In this talk, Dr. McNutt will describe the institute’s use of technological innovation to explore Monterey Bay.
On Thursday, July 24, The Future of Electronics: Micro, Nano, or Molecular? will be presented by Prof. Mark S. Lundstrom, Purdue University. As the recent report of silicon MOSFETs with 6 nm channel lengths demonstrates, progress in silicon technology continues at a breath-taking pace. There is, however, a growing consensus that the end of device scaling is only a decade or so away. As silicon technology accelerates toward its limits, rapid progress in unconventional electronics is also occurring. In this talk, Mark Lundstrom will examine the limits of silicon technology, discuss some recent scientific breakthroughs in molecular electronics, and explore the possibilities of turning this exciting science into new technologies.
On Friday, July 25, Carl Walz, U.S.Air Force officer and career astronaut, will describe Living and Working in Space, his experiences on four previous space missions and as a member of the most recent International Space Station (ISS) crew. He will discuss his intensive training in Russia and the U.S., the mission itself and the recovery process after more than 5 months in space. We will have a unique opportunity to learn the latest status of the Station and the growing understanding of man’s place in space.

Industrial Exhibit
Starting at noon on Tuesday, July 22, this year’s Industrial Exhibit, organized by Howard Bogrow, Xilinix, will provide an opportunity for conference attendees to discuss the latest radiation-resistant electronics, radiation analysis and testing equipment and facilities, and hardware and software simulation products and services. An Industrial Exhibits Reception will occur on Tuesday evening. Exhibitors include:

• Actel
• Aeroflex UTMC
• ATMEL
• Babcock
• BAE Systems
• Boeing Radiation Effects Lab
• Brookhaven National Lab
• Crane Interpoint
• Defense Microelectronic Activity
• DPA Components International
• EMPC
• Honeywell
• Integrated Systems Engineering, Inc.
• International Rectifier
• Intersil Corporation
• J. D. Instruments
• J. L. Shepherd/ICS Radiation Technology
• Maxwell Technologies
• Modular Devices
• NASA Applied Radiation
• NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
• NASA Marshall Space Flight Center
• Northrop Grumman
• Peregrine Semiconductor Corporation
• Sandia National Laboratories
• Seakr
• Silvaco
• Synplicity
• Texas A&M Cyclotron
• US Semiconductor
• Vanderbilt University
• White Sands Missile Range
• Xilinx, Inc.

Social Program
Social events have been planned to give Conference attendees and their guests opportunities to informally discuss radiation effects and to become better acquainted. Mark Hopkins, (Aerospace Corporation), this year’s Local Arrangements Chairman, has put together a terrific social program. The highlight of the social program is an evening at the world-renowned Monterey Aquarium, which will be open only to conference attendees and families. This will provide a relaxing environment for social interaction, as well as the opportunity to see the aquarium without the large crowds that are present during a typical day in peak season.
We strongly encourage you to register as early as possible for the social events as we are limited in the numbers we can accommodate. Please visit www.nsrec.com to view the activities and obtain the registration forms.
Please call the DoubleTree Hotel at 831-649-4511 and ask for the “IEEE NSREC” block of rooms. Reservations must be guaranteed. The cut-off date for room reservations is June 17, 2003. After that date, room accommodations will be confirmed on a space available basis and the conference room rate is not guaranteed.

Additional Information
For the latest NSREC information (technical program, conference & social registration forms, hotel and travel information, etc.) please visit our web site at www.nsrec.com.
You may contact the General Chairman, Allan Johnston, JPL, at (818) 354-6425 or Email: allan.h.johnston@jpl.nasa.gov.
Or you can contact the Publicity Chairwoman, Teresa Farris, Aeroflex UTMC, at (719) 594-8035; E-mail: teresa.farris@aeroflex.com, who prepared this article.