As we have noted in two previous posts (please click here and here), the Armenian high tech congress (ArmTech) 2009 took place in the Silicon Valley. The Prime Minister led the Armenian delegation. Prior and after the Congress, the delegation had several visits to the headquarters of major corporations and university campuses based in the region, among them Stanford University.
The visit to Stanford Linear Accelerator Center was related to the Armenian government’s plan to establish a nuclear medical center of excellence in Armenia.
Dr. A. Chilingarian, Head of Yerevan Physics Institute (YerPhl), was part of the delegation. He recently published an interesting and comprehensive report on the Institute’s website. Excerpts follow:
… At SLAC Mr. Sargsian met with Director of SLAC Dr. Persis Drell, Associate Lab Director Dr. Dale Knutson, Director of Accelerator Research Department Dr. Tor Raubenheimer, and Armenian students of Stanford University. The PM was introduced to the history of SLAC, ongoing research and development of new accelerators for powerful light sources and for medicine. Also, the status of national lab (SLAC’s present status) was explained and discussed.…. YerPhl, to be turned into a national lab, will actively participate in nuclear medicine in Armenia.
On November 6 and 7 I participated in the plenary and section sessions of the ArmTech congress. …. In my plenary presentation “Applied Cosmic Ray Physics: Science-Technology-Innovation," I tried to demonstrate the connections between fundamental science and innovation illustrating the Space Weather research in Cosmic Ray Division of YerPhl.
It is a new emerging scientific field, as well as a new emerging commercial service. Fundamental science in this case is directly creating a new innovative technology. In the Space Weather research we have performed fundamental research, technological know-how and elaborated business schemes in one and the same project that is very challenging. However, this has resulted from a big demand in new innovative technologies and products necessary for the overcoming of the economical crisis …
Accelerator Division at SLAC: Meeting with Dr. Sami Tantawi, head of the group of the Advanced Microwave Technology Research (ATR) …. Different applications of the accelerator technologies were discussed: The total volume of the accelerator production industry in the USA reached 3.5 billion in 2008; most popular are small 7-8 MeV electron accelerators for cancer treatment. 3,000 of such accelerators have already been installed in the USA. 60% of the world market of these accelerators is occupied by the Silicon Valley based Varian firm, producing one accelerator per day.
Another promising application is the welfares cutting technology - proton beam by charging the chip can cut on atomic length scale - economy up to 70% of silicon; very important for the 60 nm technology. In 2008, 30% of food in the USA was exposed to radiation sources (sterilized) to survive at least 10 times more. All tires in the USA also passed radioactive treatment to serve longer.
At the meeting on November 11 with SLAC Director of Accelerator Research Department Dr. Tor Raubenheimer were also present ISTC Senior Manager Dr. Karen Buniatov, academician Robert Avagian, Yerevan Physics Institute Director A. Chilingarian. T. Raubenheimer discussed the possible joint projects connected with applications of the accelerator technologies in medical diagnostics and treatment.
A mutual interest was expressed in high current and compact electron linear accelerators (LINACs) in the energy range of 30-40 MeV for medical isotopes production. New compact LINACs are under design now. Robert Avakian informed about the project of generating the Tc-99m for SPECT diagnostic on electron linear accelerator which is now under test at YerPhI. New possibilities for Tc-99m separation now are also under investigation in his group.
Karen Buniatov expressed interest of ISTC in the YerPhI sustainability plan that’s major part is the development of the accelerator applied technologies. Both sides stated interest in collaboration and decided to prepare a memorandum of understanding. The same day Armenian delegation visited the new SLAC facility.
On 10 November I held a seminar for the Stanford/KAvli particle astrophysics group on the recent discovery of powerful electron accelerator operated in lower atmosphere, named “Thunderstorm Correlated Fluxes of Electrons, Gammas and Neutrons Observed at Mountain Altitude.” The same seminar was given also for the solar physics group of the Lockheed Martin's Advanced Technology Center in Palo Alto.
Old Connections
The host’s perspective on the renewed contacts between SLAC and YerPhl, based on how Symettry magazine - a SLAC publication – presented it, seemed equally enthusiastic and positive. There was, however, more emphasis on and a better appreciation of the historic ties between the two institutions that go back to when Armenia was part of the Soviet Union. Excerpts from Symettry’s article by Lauren Knoche follow:
... The visit is the latest in a long-standing friendship between SLAC and YerPhI. Over time both institutions have continued exchanging ideas and opinions for mutual benefit, but the relationship began with two prominent high-energy physicists mid-last century.
“There were only a few accelerators in the world,” Avagian said during his visit to SLAC. “So of course the physicists and people that had leadership at these facilities knew each other and discussed the future of physics and accelerators.”
Pief Panofsky, director of SLAC from 1961-1984 and Artem Alikhanian, founder and director of YerPhI from 1943-1973, had a lot in common. Both were the first directors of their respective institutions, both built electron accelerators, and both were known as experienced experimentalists. Similarities like these sparked a friendship that reached beyond discussions of physics.
Archived correspondence from 1967 documents Panofsky’s efforts to arrange visits for two prominent Armenian experimental physicists to spend a year using SLAC facilities for their research. After learning about the difficulties that Soviet physicists had securing approval and visas from the U.S. government, Panofsky sent requests to Washington, D.C., asking the Office of Science and Technology to re-evaluate the handling of foreign scientific visitors to the United States. Later that year, at SLAC’s dedication banquet, Alikhanian presented Panofsky with a statue by world-renowned Armenian sculptor Arto Chakmakjian, the first of three works by Chakmakhian that he would give SLAC.
… At a 1970 conference in Kiev,… Alikhanian introduced Avagian to Panofsky. The two had similar interests within the field of high-energy physics and in 1978 Avagian came to SLAC to propose an experiment using SLAC’s linear accelerator to study radiation emitted by positrons, the anti-particle of electrons, zipping through crystals at nearly the speed of light.
“Panofsky was very much interested in my experiment and he approved my proposal,” Avagian said. But as a citizen of a Soviet republic, Avagian could spend only one year in the United States, meaning his experiment needed to be completed in record time. He requested of Panofsky an increase in the intensity of the electron beam so that he might finish in under a year. “Panofsky gave me that possibility with a more intense beam and a team of excellent physicists, and I finished just in time,” Avagian said.
Thirty years and four SLAC directors later, Avagian, who has been a faculty member at YerPhI since 1984, is still returning to the American lab. He and Chilingarian, who has been director of YerPhI since 2008 and head of the Cosmic Ray Division since 1993, were keen to see the newest facility at SLAC, the Linac Coherent Light Source, and learn about its capabilities. “It is really amazing that it is possible to see the dynamics of biological processes, which has become possible now with the facility,” Avagian said.
YerPhI is also looking to expand its facilities. The institute already contains underground laboratories and large above-ground arrays at high elevations on Mt. Aragats, as well as a small electron accelerator and an electron synchrotron, which uses electrons stored in a ring to produce light for high-energy physics research. Famous for its cosmic-ray research which began in 1943, the institute is currently investigating space weather–how events in space affect weather on Earth. But now, YerPhI is once again looking towards man-made accelerators, this time for medical research.
“In Armenia, the Yerevan Physics Institute was selected as a site where nuclear medicine will be developed,” Chilingarian said. The institute will soon receive a cyclotron from Belgium enabling YerPhI to begin their research. “This will be extremely important for Armenian medicine,” Chilingarian added.
Just as it was for Alikhanian and Panofsky, sharing technical expertise could be very beneficial for both labs. While at SLAC, the visiting Armenian scientists took the opportunity to speak with physicists, including Tor Raubenheimer, head of accelerator research at SLAC, about small-scale scientific accelerators as well as various options for industrial accelerators or accelerators for medical isotope production.
…Complementary skill sets, including SLAC’s accelerator know-how and YerPhI’s talented physical chemists, will enable new medical isotope research at YerPhI. Armenian chemists could expertly separate isotopes, a known technological challenge in nuclear medicine, but SLAC accelerator physicists may be able to help devise additional methods for isotope production. “The experience and ideas from physicists at SLAC will make our projects better,” Chilingarian said.
…“It is a priority of our institute and government to give a good education to physicists,” Chilingarian continued. “We have to start an education program at the Yerevan Physics Institute.” The director said he wants to bring students to YerPhI laboratories for increased hands-on training because learning accelerator physics should include actively participating in a laboratory setting in addition to listening to lectures.
With strong training programs, Avagian and Chilingarian said they hope to see the relationship between SLAC and YerPhI continue in the future. “We hope to have a new generation of physicists that will continue Alikhanian and Panofsky’s friendship,” Chilingarian said.
The visit to Stanford Linear Accelerator Center was related to the Armenian government’s plan to establish a nuclear medical center of excellence in Armenia.
Dr. A. Chilingarian, Head of Yerevan Physics Institute (YerPhl), was part of the delegation. He recently published an interesting and comprehensive report on the Institute’s website. Excerpts follow:
… At SLAC Mr. Sargsian met with Director of SLAC Dr. Persis Drell, Associate Lab Director Dr. Dale Knutson, Director of Accelerator Research Department Dr. Tor Raubenheimer, and Armenian students of Stanford University. The PM was introduced to the history of SLAC, ongoing research and development of new accelerators for powerful light sources and for medicine. Also, the status of national lab (SLAC’s present status) was explained and discussed.…. YerPhl, to be turned into a national lab, will actively participate in nuclear medicine in Armenia.
On November 6 and 7 I participated in the plenary and section sessions of the ArmTech congress. …. In my plenary presentation “Applied Cosmic Ray Physics: Science-Technology-Innovation," I tried to demonstrate the connections between fundamental science and innovation illustrating the Space Weather research in Cosmic Ray Division of YerPhl.
It is a new emerging scientific field, as well as a new emerging commercial service. Fundamental science in this case is directly creating a new innovative technology. In the Space Weather research we have performed fundamental research, technological know-how and elaborated business schemes in one and the same project that is very challenging. However, this has resulted from a big demand in new innovative technologies and products necessary for the overcoming of the economical crisis …
Accelerator Division at SLAC: Meeting with Dr. Sami Tantawi, head of the group of the Advanced Microwave Technology Research (ATR) …. Different applications of the accelerator technologies were discussed: The total volume of the accelerator production industry in the USA reached 3.5 billion in 2008; most popular are small 7-8 MeV electron accelerators for cancer treatment. 3,000 of such accelerators have already been installed in the USA. 60% of the world market of these accelerators is occupied by the Silicon Valley based Varian firm, producing one accelerator per day.
Another promising application is the welfares cutting technology - proton beam by charging the chip can cut on atomic length scale - economy up to 70% of silicon; very important for the 60 nm technology. In 2008, 30% of food in the USA was exposed to radiation sources (sterilized) to survive at least 10 times more. All tires in the USA also passed radioactive treatment to serve longer.
At the meeting on November 11 with SLAC Director of Accelerator Research Department Dr. Tor Raubenheimer were also present ISTC Senior Manager Dr. Karen Buniatov, academician Robert Avagian, Yerevan Physics Institute Director A. Chilingarian. T. Raubenheimer discussed the possible joint projects connected with applications of the accelerator technologies in medical diagnostics and treatment.
A mutual interest was expressed in high current and compact electron linear accelerators (LINACs) in the energy range of 30-40 MeV for medical isotopes production. New compact LINACs are under design now. Robert Avakian informed about the project of generating the Tc-99m for SPECT diagnostic on electron linear accelerator which is now under test at YerPhI. New possibilities for Tc-99m separation now are also under investigation in his group.
Karen Buniatov expressed interest of ISTC in the YerPhI sustainability plan that’s major part is the development of the accelerator applied technologies. Both sides stated interest in collaboration and decided to prepare a memorandum of understanding. The same day Armenian delegation visited the new SLAC facility.
On 10 November I held a seminar for the Stanford/KAvli particle astrophysics group on the recent discovery of powerful electron accelerator operated in lower atmosphere, named “Thunderstorm Correlated Fluxes of Electrons, Gammas and Neutrons Observed at Mountain Altitude.” The same seminar was given also for the solar physics group of the Lockheed Martin's Advanced Technology Center in Palo Alto.
Old Connections
The host’s perspective on the renewed contacts between SLAC and YerPhl, based on how Symettry magazine - a SLAC publication – presented it, seemed equally enthusiastic and positive. There was, however, more emphasis on and a better appreciation of the historic ties between the two institutions that go back to when Armenia was part of the Soviet Union. Excerpts from Symettry’s article by Lauren Knoche follow:
... The visit is the latest in a long-standing friendship between SLAC and YerPhI. Over time both institutions have continued exchanging ideas and opinions for mutual benefit, but the relationship began with two prominent high-energy physicists mid-last century.
“There were only a few accelerators in the world,” Avagian said during his visit to SLAC. “So of course the physicists and people that had leadership at these facilities knew each other and discussed the future of physics and accelerators.”
Pief Panofsky, director of SLAC from 1961-1984 and Artem Alikhanian, founder and director of YerPhI from 1943-1973, had a lot in common. Both were the first directors of their respective institutions, both built electron accelerators, and both were known as experienced experimentalists. Similarities like these sparked a friendship that reached beyond discussions of physics.
Archived correspondence from 1967 documents Panofsky’s efforts to arrange visits for two prominent Armenian experimental physicists to spend a year using SLAC facilities for their research. After learning about the difficulties that Soviet physicists had securing approval and visas from the U.S. government, Panofsky sent requests to Washington, D.C., asking the Office of Science and Technology to re-evaluate the handling of foreign scientific visitors to the United States. Later that year, at SLAC’s dedication banquet, Alikhanian presented Panofsky with a statue by world-renowned Armenian sculptor Arto Chakmakjian, the first of three works by Chakmakhian that he would give SLAC.
… At a 1970 conference in Kiev,… Alikhanian introduced Avagian to Panofsky. The two had similar interests within the field of high-energy physics and in 1978 Avagian came to SLAC to propose an experiment using SLAC’s linear accelerator to study radiation emitted by positrons, the anti-particle of electrons, zipping through crystals at nearly the speed of light.
“Panofsky was very much interested in my experiment and he approved my proposal,” Avagian said. But as a citizen of a Soviet republic, Avagian could spend only one year in the United States, meaning his experiment needed to be completed in record time. He requested of Panofsky an increase in the intensity of the electron beam so that he might finish in under a year. “Panofsky gave me that possibility with a more intense beam and a team of excellent physicists, and I finished just in time,” Avagian said.
Thirty years and four SLAC directors later, Avagian, who has been a faculty member at YerPhI since 1984, is still returning to the American lab. He and Chilingarian, who has been director of YerPhI since 2008 and head of the Cosmic Ray Division since 1993, were keen to see the newest facility at SLAC, the Linac Coherent Light Source, and learn about its capabilities. “It is really amazing that it is possible to see the dynamics of biological processes, which has become possible now with the facility,” Avagian said.
YerPhI is also looking to expand its facilities. The institute already contains underground laboratories and large above-ground arrays at high elevations on Mt. Aragats, as well as a small electron accelerator and an electron synchrotron, which uses electrons stored in a ring to produce light for high-energy physics research. Famous for its cosmic-ray research which began in 1943, the institute is currently investigating space weather–how events in space affect weather on Earth. But now, YerPhI is once again looking towards man-made accelerators, this time for medical research.
“In Armenia, the Yerevan Physics Institute was selected as a site where nuclear medicine will be developed,” Chilingarian said. The institute will soon receive a cyclotron from Belgium enabling YerPhI to begin their research. “This will be extremely important for Armenian medicine,” Chilingarian added.
Just as it was for Alikhanian and Panofsky, sharing technical expertise could be very beneficial for both labs. While at SLAC, the visiting Armenian scientists took the opportunity to speak with physicists, including Tor Raubenheimer, head of accelerator research at SLAC, about small-scale scientific accelerators as well as various options for industrial accelerators or accelerators for medical isotope production.
…Complementary skill sets, including SLAC’s accelerator know-how and YerPhI’s talented physical chemists, will enable new medical isotope research at YerPhI. Armenian chemists could expertly separate isotopes, a known technological challenge in nuclear medicine, but SLAC accelerator physicists may be able to help devise additional methods for isotope production. “The experience and ideas from physicists at SLAC will make our projects better,” Chilingarian said.
…“It is a priority of our institute and government to give a good education to physicists,” Chilingarian continued. “We have to start an education program at the Yerevan Physics Institute.” The director said he wants to bring students to YerPhI laboratories for increased hands-on training because learning accelerator physics should include actively participating in a laboratory setting in addition to listening to lectures.
With strong training programs, Avagian and Chilingarian said they hope to see the relationship between SLAC and YerPhI continue in the future. “We hope to have a new generation of physicists that will continue Alikhanian and Panofsky’s friendship,” Chilingarian said.
