International accelerator experts gather in Copenhagen
The world's major accelerator conference, the International Particle Accelerator Conference, IPAC'17, was inaugurated today by the Danish Minister for Higher Education and Science, Søren Pind at Bella Center in Copenhagen. Karin Röding, Swedish State Secretary to the Minister for Higher Education and Research, also participated at the inauguration, which took place in the morning before the first conference sessions. The international accelerator community gathers for an entire week at IPAC'17 in Copenhagen to hear and discuss the latest in accelerator R&D.
Almost 1,500 participants from all over the world are attending IPAC in Copenhagen, more than ever before. This is the eighth IPAC, and for the first time it is arranged in Scandinavia. The European Spallation Source (ESS) hosts IPAC'17, together with MAX IV and Aarhus University. The delegates, from 40 countries, represents a wide range of accelerator fields, from medical applications such as proton therapy to large-scale research facilities like CERN.
"IPAC is the showcase for the breath-taking progress in the field of Accelerator Science and Technology worldwide bringing together more than 300 representatives from companies, laboratories and universities," said Gianluigi Arduini, CERN Head of Accelerators & Beam Physics Group and IPAC’17 Organising Committee Chair. "This provides a unique occasion for an exciting and fruitful exchange of ideas between industry and research institutes, across countries and domains, among younger and more experienced colleagues."
Accelerators are sophisticated and precise instruments for research (e.g. in physics and biology) and serve the society by contributing to improve our everyday life in several domains ranging from medicine and energy, to the arts and security. More than 30,000 accelerators are currently operating around the world and several new projects are underway. Nearly100 invited and contributed speakers will give presentations about the latest results from accelerator R&D and on the progress in existing, planned, and future accelerator facilities. A total of 1,600 posters will be presented during the conference.
"Accelerators are tools for discovery, as recently shown by CERN with the discovery of the Higgs particle," said Mats Lindroos, ESS Head of Accelerator Division and IPAC’17 Local Organising Committee Chair. "IPAC is the ideal meeting place for top scientists, engineers and industry keen to explore possible ways to improve the discovery potential of these fantastic machines.”
The Industry exhibition, with a record 115 exhibitors from 16 countries, opened yesterday and continues until Wednesday. Among the exhibitors are the Danish supplier network Big Science.dk and Sweden’s innovation agency, Vinnova, as well as a large number of industry representatives. A special Industry Session will take place tomorrow, with the aim to allow even better interaction and networking opportunities between the accelerator community and industry.
Up to 100 students will also attend IPAC'17 thanks to grants sponsored by societies, institutes and laboratories worldwide. One of the highlights of the conference took place yesterday: the Student Poster Session, where a new generation of scientists and engineers got the opportunity to present their work and discuss it with peers and senior colleagues.
In connection with IPAC'17, the astrophysicist Anja Cetti Andersen (Niels Bohr Institute) gave a public lecture yesterday entitled Stardust and Galaxies, to an almost full house at Copenhagen City Hall.
More information:
Roger Eriksson, Exhibition manager, +46 721 79 20 92, roger.eriksson@esss.se
Julia Öberg, ESS Press & Media Officer, +46 721 79 23 11, julia.oberg@esss.se
Tutti Johansson Falk, MAX IV Laboratory Head of Communication, +46 766 32 33 26, tutti@maxiv.se
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