the 35th ieee international conference on plasma science icops...

March 2008N U C L E A R & P L A S M A S C I E N C E S S O C I E T Y 1

We cordially invite you to attend the 35thIEEE International Conference on PlasmaScience, sponsored by the Plasma Science

and Applications Committee of the IEEE Nuclearand Plasma Sciences Society. ICOPS 2008 will beheld in Karlsruhe, Germany from June 15 through19, 2008. The conference venue is the CongressCenter Karlsruhe located near the Baroque Palace inthe center of Karlsruhe.

ICOPS 2008 will feature an exciting technical pro-gram with reports from around the globe about newand innovative developments in the fields of plasma sci-ence and engineering. Leading researchers will gatherto explore basic plasma physics, high-energy-densityplasmas, inertial-confinement fusion, magnetic fusion,plasma diagnostics, pulsed-power plasmas, microwavegeneration, lighting, micro- and nano-applications,medical applications and plasma processing.

Conference Topics will be organized under thefollowing categories:

• Basic Processes in Fully and Partially IonizedPlasmas

• Microwave Generation and Plasma Interactions• Charged Particle Beams and Sources• High Energy Density Plasmas Applications• Industrial, Commercial and Medical Plasma

Applications• Plasma Diagnostics• Pulsed Power and Other Plasma ApplicationsThe conference will include seven plenary talks

relevant to the plasma physics community given byrecognized leaders in their fields as well as oral andposter sessions. In addition, a special minicoursefeaturing Microwave Processing of Materials willbe held as part of the conference on the 19th and20th June.

We intend to ensure that the Technical Programof ICOPS 2008 and your stay in the Karlsruhe areawill be rewarding and enjoyable. We look forward towelcoming you at the Congress Center Karlsruhe,Germany, June 15-19, 2008.

Manfred Thumm Chair, ICOPS 2008Hansjoachim Bluhm Co-Chair, ICOPS 2008

S O C I E T Y N E W SNumber 1 • March 2008

The 35th IEEE International Conferenceon Plasma Science

ICOPS 2008Karlsruhe, Germany, 15-19 June 2008

www.fzk.de/icops2008

A Publication of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

CONFERENCES

continued on page 3

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IEEE NUCLEAR AND PLASMA SCIENCESSOCIETY NEWS

is published three times per year by The Institute of Electrical andElectronics Engineers, Inc., 445 Hoes Lane, Piscataway, NJ 08855.

NEWSLETTER EDITOR: Albe Dawson LarsenStanford Linear Accelerator CenterMS-662575 Sand Hill RoadMenlo Park, CA 94025Tel: +1 650 926 2748Fax: +1 650 926 5124E-mail: [email protected]

EDITOR EMERITUS:W. Kenneth DawsonTRIUMF, 4004 Wesbrook MallVancouver, British ColumbiaCanada, V6T-2A3.Tel: +1 604 222 7455 Fax: +1 604 222 7307E-mail: [email protected]

IEEE MAGAZINES AND NEWSLETTERS:Peter Tuohy, Production ManagerPaul Doto, Newsletter Coordinator Contributors to March 2008 IEEE NPSS Newsletter in alphabeticalorder: David K. Abe, Janet L. Barth, Ilan Ben Zvi, John H. Booske, UweBratzler, Simon R. Cherry, Avraham Gover, Albe Dawson Larsen, W.Kenneth Dawson, Teresa Farris, Esam Hussein, Kathy Kalowenko, YueYing Lau, Jane M. Lehr, Tom K. Lewellen, William W. Moses, HutchNielson, Tim Oldham, Sara Pozzi, Stefan Ritt, Edl Schamiloglu,Manfred Thumm, Charles C. Watson, Peter S. Winokur

Publicity releases for forthcoming meetings, items of interest fromlocal chapters, committee reports, announcements, awards, or othermaterials requiring society publicity or relevant to NPSS should besubmitted to the Newsletter Editor by March 10, 2008 for publicationin the June 2008 Newsletter.

CONTRIBUTED ARTICLESNews articles are actively solicited from contributing editors, particu-larly related to important R&D activities, significant industrial applica-tions, early reports on technical breakthroughs, accomplishments atthe big laboratories and similar subjects.The various Transactions, of course, deal with formal treatment indepth of technical subjects. News articles should have an element ofgeneral interest or contribute to a general understanding of technicalproblems or fields of technical interest or could be assessments ofimportant ongoing technical endeavors.Advice on possible authors or offers of such articles are invited by theeditor.

© 2008 IEEE. Information contained in this newsletter may be copied without per-mission provided that the copies are not made or distributed for direct commer-cial advantage, and the title of the publication and date appear. Printed in U.S.A.

2 March 2008 H T T P : / / W W W . I E E E - N P S S . O R G

TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S

ICOPS 2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Nuclear and Space Radiation Effects . . . . . . . . . . .4

2008 IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium and

Medical Imaging Conference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

President’s Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Secretary’s Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

New AdCom Members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Technical Committee Chairs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Nuclear Medical and Imaging Sciences . . . . . . . .15

Radiation Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

Looking for a Few Good Application Engineer/

Practioner Fellow Nominations . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

Clearing Up the Confusion in Fellows Categories .18

Nominations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

2007 NPSS Fellows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

Society Awards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

Radiation Effects Awards: Nominations Requested .25

Radiological Imaging to the Third Degree . . . . . . .26

Humanitarian Technology Challenge . . . . . . . . . .29

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For more information [email protected] or visit our website atwww.fzk.de/icops2008.

CONFERENCE LOCATIONThe conference site, the Congress CenterKarlsruhe, is located near the Baroque Palace inthe center of Karlsruhe, Germany. Karlsruhe is ahospitable city, in the State of Baden-Württemberg, beautifully located in the upperRhine valley between the wooded mountains ofthe Black Forest, the vineyards of the Palatinate(Pfalz), and the Vosges in France with a mild cli-mate. Heinrich Hertz conceived and performedhis brilliant fundamental experiments confirmingMaxwell’s theory at the University of Karlsruhe(1886-1888). The University of Karlsruhe hasclose scientific and academic relations to theResearch Center Karlsruhe (ForschungszentrumKarlsruhe) with the aim of founding theKarlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT).

Karlsruhe has approximately 300,000inhabitants, and 200,000 of them only cameto the city during the last century. The city wasfounded when Margrave Karl Wilhelm builthis palace here in 1715. His tomb on the mar-ket square is roofed with a large vaulted stonepyramid which is now Karlsruhe’s emblem.From the palace, the streets of the inner cityfan out with the palace tower – which can beclimbed – as their focal point. It was the inten-tion of its founding father that the palaceshould be visible from any point in the city.

Karlsruhe has plenty to offer: – from itsElite University (TH) to the Research Centerwith the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology,the ZKM or the Art Gallery: Architecture, art,universities and colleges, future technologies,music, restaurants and a delight in just beingalive all combine to make an impressive whole.Karlsruhe is blessed by the sun which you canenjoy in the palace gardens or in one of theinnumerable beer gardens.

Karlsruhe is an inviting place to visit. Thecity with its radial layout features an interestingand unique connection of technology, art,education and culture. Enjoy the extensive cul-tural and gastronomic offerings in the secondwarmest city of Germany.

ICOPS 2008 TECHNICAL PROGRAM• Basic Processes in Fully and Partially

Ionized Plasmaso Basic Phenomenao Computational Plasma Physics

o Space Plasmaso Partially Ionized Plasmaso Dusty Plasmas

• Microwave Generation and PlasmaInteractionso Intense Beam Microwave Generationo Fast-Wave Deviceso Slow-Wave Deviceso Vacuum Microelectronicso Codes and Modellingo Non-Fusion Microwave Systemso Microwave Plasma Interaction

• Charged Particle Beams and Sourceso Plasma, Ion and Electron Sourceso Intense Electron and Ion Beams

• High Energy Density Plasma Applicationso Fusion (Inertial, Magnetic and Alternate

Concepts)o Particle Acceleration with Laser and

Beamso Radiation Physicso High Energy Density Mattero Laser Produced Plasmaso Fast Z-Pinches, X-Ray Lasers

• Industrial, Commercial and MedicalPlasma Applicationso Nonequilibrium Plasma Applicationso High-pressure and Thermal Plasma

Processingo Plasma Thrusterso Plasmas for Lightingo Flat-Panel Displayso Medical, Biological and Environmental

Applications• Plasma Diagnostics

o Optical and X-Ray Diagnosticso Microwave and FIR Diagnosticso Particle Diagnostics

• Pulsed Power and Other PlasmaApplicationso Insulation and Dielectric Breakdowno Switchingo Plasma Laserso Compact Pulsed Power and Applications

MINICOURSEMicrowave Processing of Materials: Industrialmicrowave systems, Waveguides and transmissiondevices, Avionic and automotive applications,Microwave Chemistry, Sintering of Materials,Plasma and Nanomaterials Applications, DielectricMeasurements, Electromagnetic Modelling andSimulation.

A special two-day minicourse will be offeredon Thursday and Friday, 19 and 20 June, at

Take my word

It is better todebate a question withoutsettling it than tosettle it withoutdebate.

Joseph Joubert

Survival ofwhat?

It is true that weare weak andsick and uglyand quarrelsomebut if that is allwe ever were,we would millenniums ago have disappearedfrom the face ofthe Earth.

John Steinbeck

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the end of the ICOPS 2008 conference at theCongress Center Karlsruhe. The course willtackle issues relevant in modern industry andresearch in the field of Microwave Processingof Materials. The instructors are highly accom-plished microwave research experts fromindustry, national laboratories, and universitieswho will relate their knowledge in the areas ofhigh performance materials used in automo-tive, aerospace, electronic and medical applica-tions, chemical industry, and environmentaltechnologies.

Industrial process engineers, graduate stu-dents and scientists researching the area ofMicrowave Processing or anyone wishing toaugment their knowledge in these areas isencouraged to attend.

SOCIAL EVENTS AND COMPANION ACTIVITIESThere will be a welcome reception on Sundayevening, 15 June in the Congress Center

Karlsruhe. On Monday evening, 16 Junethere will be a reception by the mayor at theCity Hall in Karlsruhe and the ConferenceBanquet will be held Wednesday evening, 18June.

In addition, a Wine Tasting Evening will beorganized on the evening of Tuesday, 17 June.

Tours for companions: an historical walk inKarlsruhe, sightseeing in Speyer and aHeidelberg tour will be organized.

GENERAL INFORMATIONInformation related to abstract submission,conference registration, hotel reservation andminicourse registration can all be found on theICOPS 2008 website www.fzk.de/icops2008

Questions regarding the technical programshould be addressed to Manfred Thumm ([email protected]). Any other questionsshould be emailed to [email protected].


NUCLEAR AND SPACE RADIATION EFFECTS

JULY 14 – 18, 2008Tucson, Arizona

2008 IEEE NSREC WILL VISIT TUCSONThe 2008 IEEE Nuclear and Space RadiationEffects Conference will be held July 14-18,2008 at the JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort &Spa in Tucson, Arizona. The conference fea-tures a technical program consisting of ninesessions of contributed papers (both oral andposter) that describe the latest observationsand research results in radiation effects, an up-to-date short course offered on July 14, a radi-ation effects data workshop, and an industrialexhibit.

The newly built Starr Pass Resort enjoys anamazing location amidst the saguaro cactusforest of Tucson Mountain Park. Conferencechairman Paul Dodd of Sandia NationalLaboratories and his conference committee areplanning a full technical and social program tomaximize opportunities for informationexchange and networking in the area of radia-tion effects on microelectronic and photonicdevices, circuits, and systems.

Supporters of the conference include theDefense Threat Reduction Agency, Air ForceResearch Laboratory, Sandia NationalLaboratories, the NASA Electronic Parts and

Packaging Program, Jet Propulsion Laboratory,Micro-RDC, BAE Systems, NorthropGrumman, and Aeroflex Colorado Springs.

TECHNICAL PROGRAM Nick van Vonno, consultant with Intersil, isserving as the Technical Program Chairman,and with the support of the technical commit-tee is assembling an outstanding technical pro-gram. The session chairs for 2008 include bothhighly experienced members of the radiationeffects community, as well as emerging techni-cal leaders. Three exciting invited presenta-tions of interest to attendees and their com-panions have been arranged.

The technical committee will meet in thespring of 2008 for final paper selection. Theoral presentations and posters will be selectedbased on a peer-review process in order to pre-sent the very latest and best information onradiation effects findings. Although the dead-line for submitting summaries has passed(February 2008), a few late-news papersdescribing new, unpublished results will beaccepted and will be presented in the postersession. The deadline for submission of late-

Teresa FarrisRadiation EffectsPublicity Chair

Don’t cloud theissue

A fanatic is onewho can’tchange his mindand won’tchange the subject.

WinstonChurchill

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news papers is June 1, 2008. Please submitlate-news summaries, using the 4-page sum-mary and 35-word abstract format describedat www.nsrec.com.

The technical committee is composed ofthe conference technical session chairs andthe chairs for the Poster Session and theRadiation Effects Data Workshop. Jeff Titus,NAVSEA/Crane, is the chair of the PosterSession, and Jim Felix of Sandia NationalLaboratories is the chair for the RadiationEffects Data Workshop. The TechnicalSession chairs are:

Basic Mechanisms of Radiation EffectsRobert Weller SEE - Mechanisms and ModelingDale McMorrow SEE - Devices and ICsPhilippe Paillet Radiation Environments Janet Barth Hardness AssuranceAndrew Chugg Dosimetry and FacilitiesHenry Clark Hardness By DesignNathan Nowlin Radiation Effects in Devices and ICsRay Ladbury PhotonicsScott Messenger

RADIATION EFFECTS DATA WORKSHOPThe Radiation Effects Data Workshop is aforum for the presentation of radiationeffects data on electronic devices and sys-tems. Workshop papers are intended to pro-vide radiation response data to scientists andengineers who use electronic devices in aradiation environment, and for designers ofradiation-hardened or radiation-tolerant sys-tems. Papers describing new simulation facil-ities are also welcomed.

SHORT COURSEAttendees will have the opportunity to partic-ipate in a one-day Short Course on Monday,July 14. The theme for the 2008 short courseis: “Soft Errors: From the Ground Up” and isbeing organized by Jeff Black of VanderbiltUniversity. Planned topics include: “BasicMechanisms for Soft Errors” by Robert Reed,“Ground-Based Evaluation of Soft Errors” byCraig Hafer, “Soft Error Results Analysis andError Rate Prediction” by Ed Petersen, andcase studies on “Soft Errors in Memory

Devices in Space Environments” by JoeBenedetto and “Soft Errors in a MedicalDevice” by Jeff Wilkinson. The course will beof interest both to radiation effects specialistsand newcomers to the field.

SOCIAL PROGRAM Bill Heidergott of General Dynamics, LocalArrangements Chairman, is planning an excit-ing social program to enhance the informalexchange of ideas and the networking amongattendees, and provide engaging events forcompanions and family members not attendingthe technical sessions. The companion eventswill capitalize on the rich cultural and historicaldiversity of the Tucson area. On Wednesdayevening, the main conference social is plannedfor the unique Pima Air and Space Museum.

INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITAn Industrial Exhibit, coordinated by JohnJewell of Sandia National Laboratories, willbe included as an integral part of the confer-ence. The exhibit, held on Tuesday andWednesday, will include exhibits from 35-40exhibitors that represent companies or agen-cies involved in manufacturing electronicdevices or systems for applications in space ornuclear environments, modeling and analysisof radiation effects at the device and systemlevel, and radiation testing. If you wish toexhibit please visit www.nsrec.com to obtainexhibitor information.

2008 HOTEL INFORMATION The NSREC 2008 Conference Hotel “Blockof Rooms” is open at the JW Marriott StarrPass Resort & Spa for the July 14-18 confer-ence. The “Room Block” extends from thenights of July 12 through July 19. Corporateand government rooms are available at spe-cial conference rates. Government rate reser-vations will require authorized travel ordersor equivalent documentation to be presentedat the time of check-in.

The conference-negotiated room rateswill be available until June 19, 2008 or theblock is sold out (whichever comes first).Please visit the www.nsrec.com to obtain allthe information for booking your NSRECreservation.

CONFERENCE COMMITTEEGeneral ChairPaul E. DoddSandia National Laboratories505-844-1447

Who wouldhave thought?

Ours is the agewhich is proudof machines thatthink, and suspicious ofmen who try to.

HowardMumford Jones

Free trade

They wantedsomething fornothing. I gavethem nothing forsomething.

J.R. “Yellow Kid”Weil

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Technical ProgramNick van VonnoConsultant/Intersil321-255-2791

Local ArrangementsBill HeidergottGeneral Dynamics480-441-4598

Short CourseJeff BlackVanderbilt/ISDE615-322-3758

PublicityTeresa FarrisAeroflex Colorado Springs719-594-8035

FinanceGary LumLockheed Martin408-756-0129

AwardsMike XapsosNASA/GSFC301-286-2263

Industrial ExhibitsJohn JewellSandia National Laboratories505-797-8846

Poster ChairJeff TitusNAVSEA/Crane812-854-1617

Data Workshop ChairJim FelixSandia National Laboratories505-844-6132

Contact Teresa Farris for additional informa-tion at the phone number above, or by E-mail [email protected]

Uwe BratzlerGeneral Chair,NSS/MIC 2008

2008 IEEENUCLEAR SCIENCE SYMPOSIUM

andMEDICAL IMAGING CONFERENCE

and16th International Workshop on Room Temperature

Semiconductor X-Ray and Gamma-Ray DetectorsDresden, Germany

19-25 October 2008DEADLINE FOR ABSTRACT SUBMISSION: 9 May 2008

Conference web site: www.nss-mic.org/2008Conference email: [email protected]

After the very successful 2007 IEEENSS/MIC in Honolulu, Hawaii, theorganization of the 2008 IEEE

Nuclear Science Symposium (NSS) andMedical Imaging Conference (MIC) and 16thinternational workshop on Room TemperatureSemiconductor X-Ray and Gamma-RayDetectors (RTSD) - to be held in Dresden,Germany, 19-25 October 2008 - is in fullswing. In addition to the events in Dresden,there will be two satellite workshops held else-

where in Germany; one (NSS topic) will beheld at DESY in Hamburg before the confer-ence (16-17 October) and the second (MICtopic) at Research Center Jülich(Forschungszentrum Jülich, FZJ) after theconference (27-28 October). Both satelliteworkshops have NPSS technical cosponsorshipand all conference participants are welcomedand encouraged to participate in these events.Please see our website for more information.

An outstanding Conference Companion

All in the family

Intellectuals arelike the Mafia.They only killtheir own.

Woody Allen

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Program has been planned to visit many of thefamous and more interesting sites in Dresdenand its beautiful surroundings.

The venue of the conference will be theInternational Congress Center Dresden(ICCD) and the adjacent Maritim Hotel. TheICCD is located at the banks of the Elbe riverand is within easy walking distance ofDresden’s main attractions in the beautiful andhistoric city center, with numerous restaurantsand tourist attractions. A number of addition-al hotels are under contract, offering a varietyof accommodations in a wide price range.Dresden has an excellent public transportationsystem. However, many hotels are an easywalk to the ICCD. We encourage you to reg-ister early and to reserve your hotel.

This is the third time the NSS/MIC will beheld in Europe, each time with increasing

attendance. We expect 2000 scientists andengineers in Dresden.

There will be both an extensive short-course program and workshops. A commercialexhibit, accompanied by Industrial Seminars,featuring state-of-the-art products and servicesfrom a wide range of vendors will take placeduring the main part of the meeting.

The organizing committee, our local hosts atthe Forschungszentrum Dresden-Rossendorfand I welcome you warmly to participate in thismajor event of our Society. We look forward towelcoming you to Germany and to Dresden inOctober this year.

For further information contact the GeneralChair: Uwe Bratzler, CERN and TMU PhysicsDepartment, 1211 Geneva 23, Switzerland; E-mail: [email protected]; Phone: +41 22 7671309; Fax: +41 22 766. 8618

Do as I say...

To be good isnoble; to teachothers to begood is nobler,and no trouble.

Mark Twain

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

NPSS GENERAL BUSINESS

Jane LehrNPSS President

With the New Year come changes atNPSS. We welcome our newly elect-ed AdCom members whose brief

biographies can be found in this issue. We alsowelcome a couple of Technical CommitteeChairs: Edl Schamilaglu and Charles Watson.Unfortunately, we also say “au revoir” to anequal number of what are now old friends. Iheartily thank Steven Gold, Allan Johnston,Charles Neumeyer, Gerry Cooperstein andTom Llewellyn for their exceptional service toour community. You may have noticed that thenumber of incoming is larger than the numberof outgoing by the number one. This isbecause my term as an elected AdCom memberhas now expired.

I am reminded of how little I knew about thestructure and organization of NPSS when Iwent to my first AdCom meeting in 2004.AdCom is comprised of Officers, electedAdCom members, Technical Committee Chairsand Functional and Appointive CommitteeChairs. There are both voting and nonvotingmembers of AdCom.

NPSS represents eight technical communi-ties, referred to as Technical Committees(TCs), of which you, as a member, are part ofat least one. Each TC is represented by itsChair and its elected members. Only electedmembers are eligible to run for President. The

distribution of elected members is based on thesize of the technical community and each TCorganizes at least one conference. TheTechnical Committee reports, as well as contactinformation for the Chairs who have submittedreports, can be found in this issue. A full listappears on the back cover.

To help run the Society, the NPSS has offi-cers, some of whom are elected by AdCom suchas the President, Vice-President and PastPresident. The duties of the President are topreside over AdCom as well as represent theSociety to the IEEE Technical Activities Board(TAB). TAB is comprised of 39 different soci-eties and its own governing board. This year’sNPSS Vice President (and next year’sPresident!) is Craig Woody. The Past Presidentis, of course, Bill Moses. The appointive Officerpositions are Secretary and Treasurer. NPSS isfortunate to have extraordinarily capable andlong-serving officers in Albe Larsen, Ed Lampoand Tony Lavieties, who among other duties,serves as NPSS Conferences Treasurer. It is alsonoteworthy that of the six NPSS Officers, fiveTechnical Committees are represented.

The real “business” of NPSS is handled by theFunctional and Appointive Committees. Two ofthese are “ex-officio” and filled by the two mostrecent Past Presidents. Others are appointed com-mittees of various sizes to meet specific needs such

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as Finance, Fellow Evaluation, ConferencePolicy, Communications, Nominations andStandards. Other Functional Committees areMembership and the newly formed Committeeon Chapters, Local Activities and DistinguishedLecturers. Many of these committees also act asLiaisons to the IEEE TAB counterpart commit-tees or coordinate numerous related activities.For instance, the Publications Committee Chairrepresents each of our publications to TABincluding the fully sponsored publicationsTransactions on Nuclear Science, Transactions onPlasma Science and the Newsletter, as well as thepublications we co-sponsor with other IEEESocieties, the IEEE Transactions on MedicalImaging and the IEEE Sensor Journal.

The other type of appointed position is “liai-son” which represents NPSS to various entities,not all of which are related to IEEE, but inwhich we have a stake. An example is our rela-tionship with the Coalition on Plasma Sciences(www.plasmacoalition.org), an independentorganization whose mission is to increaseawareness and understanding of the plasma sci-ences and their many applications and benefitsfor society. Another example is the RADECSconference, a radiation effects conference tradi-tionally held in Europe, with which NPSS hasno formal relationship, but has formed analliance of shared interest. Not all of our liai-son positions encompass technical interests.For instance, we have very active liaisons to theIEEE USA R&D Policy Committee as well asto the Social Implications of TechnologySociety, neither of which are specific to NPSS,but which cut across all areas of IEEE activity.

Hopefully, the last bit of mystique regard-ing NPSS is the variety of our technical com-mittees. When I first came to AdCom, I could-n’t fathom what they had in common andmade some inquiries. Kris Kristiansen, fromTexas Tech University, told me how someresearchers in the plasma sciences field wereinterested in forming a group within the IEEEand the Nuclear Sciences Group suggestedthey join together since both groups were rel-atively small and had so much in common.

That same year, 1972, the combined groupsbecame the IEEE Nuclear and Plasma SciencesSociety. With my current vantage point, I seenot only all that we have in common, but thatthe interests of our technical committees trulyform a spectrum and that spectrum is reflectedthroughout the NPSS leadership.

Many of these positions are filled by PastPresidents of NPSS, a fact that continues totruly impress me. Ron Jaszczak is an electedAdCom representative from Medical Imagingand one of our representatives to theTransactions on Medical Imaging editorialboard. Peter Winokur chairs the AwardsCommittee and the Fellow EvaluationCommittee. Bill Moses is the NominationsChair and Peter Clout works tirelessly as theon the Communications Committee. RayLarsen is in charge of Meetings, Policies andProcedures, liaison to the Social Implicationsof Society and has just accepted another role asto represent NPSS in the HumanitarianTechnology Challenge, a newly initiated col-laboration between IEEE and the UnitedNations. Another Past President, Hal Flescher,is the 2008 IEEE Vice-President Elect forTechnical Activities, as well as our FinanceCommittee Chair.

I am very lucky to have such a cadre of tal-ented, dedicated (and good-looking!) volun-teers to run NPSS. It must be hard to get awaythough. I am “on the hook” for another 7years. Even our departing elected AdCommembers are not going far: Steve Gold hasaccepted the position of Chair of the Chapterand Distinguished Lecturer Program, AllanJohnston will remain as the NPSS liaison to theIEEE Women in Engineering Affinity Groupand Charles Neumeyer will continue as Liaisonthe IEEE USA Energy Policy Committee andwill be the General Chairman of the 2011Symposium on Fusion Engineering.

Jane Lehr, IEEE NPSS President, can bereached at Sandia National Laboratories,MS1152, PO Box 5800, Albuquerque, NM87185-1193; Phone: +1 505 844 8554; E-mail:[email protected].

Where parentscome in

Being young isnot having anymoney; beingyoung is notminding not having anymoney.

KatharineWhitehorn

Off-limits

Gentlemen, you can’t fighthere - this is thewar room.

Dr. Strangelove

NPS0308.qxd 2/4/08 3:23 PM

The IEEE NPSS AdministrativeCommittee (AdCom) held its annualmeeting on November 3, 2007 at the

Hilton Hawaiian Village, Honolulu, in con-junction with the NSS/MIC conference. NPSScontinues to do well financially and is one ofthe most fiscally stable of IEEE societies.Closing conference budgets in a timely wayremains an issue, and to any conference trea-surer reading this, I urge you to talk with EdLampo or Tony Lavietes ([email protected];[email protected]) about closing your bookseven when the very last bills have not been paid.IEEE HQ can do this for you and we can avoidpenalties and the wrath of the IEEE auditingaccountants. New software is also in the worksthat should make conference budget prepara-tion and tracking easier, and that should makereporting to IEEE much simpler. Stay tuned!

President Jane Lehr reported that TABapproved the formation of a BiometricsCouncil. At this time we are taking a watchwhat develops attitude. TAB is also starting tolook outward after many years of having todeal with internal issues. There is also wordthat there may be a new terahertz journal asthis is a growing field of activity.

Are you a member of IEEE who is eligible tobecome a senior member? If so, contact RickVan Berg or Christoph Ilgner to advance yourstatus ([email protected]; [email protected]). To become an IEEE Fellow it isnecessary to be a senior member. There is alsosome thought of how to support conferencechairs who have very big jobs. This may well bediscussed at our retreat. There may also be dis-cussion of further student scholarships and ofan NPSS-related field award. That is beinginvestigated.

NEWS FROM TECHNICAL COMMITTEESMost of the TC news has been reported in thisor the September issue of the Newsletter andI won’t repeat it here.

CANPS: The Executive Committee hasadded six members, two members have retiredand a further six have been asked to resign orto resume activity. Of the 30 total, 14 are fromNorth America, 12 from Europe, and 4 fromAsia. It has been confirmed that the 2009meeting will be held in Beijing, with an Asian

oversight committee. Portugal has beenselected for the 2011 meeting. An annualATCA workshop, to be held in conjunctionwith RT has been proposed and is being inves-tigated. There is broad support from severalcommunities.

Fusion: The Standing Committee has dis-cussed inviting the fusion award winners to beplenary speakers at the conference followingthe award. There were five finalists for the stu-dent paper award, with four of the five fromoverseas. The 23rd and 24th SOFE confer-ences will collocate with ICOPS, in SanDiego, June 1-4, 2009 and in Chicago, June35-30 in 2011.

Nuclear Medical and Imaging Science andRadiation Instrumentation are the jointsponsors of NSS/MIC at which the AnnualMeeting of AdCom is held. This 2007 meet-ing was highly successful with a large numberof attendees rivaling Rome for the highest andwith the highest abstract submittal ever, andwith many more Asian attendees (21%) thanusual – the goal of meeting in Hawaii. Therewere also many student travel grants, 116 forMIC and 147 for NSS. There is always a ques-tion of how student travel awards should bepaid, governed at least in part by governmentagency regulations. Ed Lampo and TonyLavietes will review these and develop a stan-dard procedure for student travel awards.Some innovations included the very wellreceived refresher courses and the increase inboth the NSS and MIC programs. The 2008meeting, in Dresden, is described above. Thecommittee for 2009 in Orlando has beenformed and is starting to plan for that meet-ing. The 2010 conference will be held inKnoxville, TN. Charles Watson is the newNMIS chair.

Particle Accelerator Science and Technology:The 2007 meeting was reported on in theSeptember 2007 Newsletter. At that meeting,245 individuals became IEEE members! Thecommittee is introducing bylaws for the PACOC and a constitution and bylaws for thePAST TC. PAC 2009 will be held inVancouver in May and PAC 2011 will be inNew York City in March. There will be a PAC


SECRETARY’S REPORT

Albe DawsonLarsen

NPSS Secretary andNewsletter Editor

Antacid, please

To expect othersto help me thinkseems to meabout likeexpecting themto help me digestmy food.

Eric Hoffer

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in North America every 18 months to complywith the Europe/Asia/North America rota-tion that the international particle acceleratorcommunity requested. Every second PAC willbe an IPAC. To control meeting proliferation,APS DPB will drop some of its meetings.

Plasma Science and Applications: The 2007conference was reported in detail in theSeptember Newsletter. As mentioned above,2009 and 2011 will be held jointly with SOFE.In 2012 there will be the first ICOPs held inthe UK, with the site to be decided.Candidates to date are Birmingham,Edinburgh and York.

Pulsed Power: The Pulsed Power conferencefor 2007 was held jointly with ICOPS as PPPS(see Sept. 2007 Newsletter). The 2009 PulsedPower conference will be held in Washington,DC. In 2011 they will collocate in Chicagowith ICOPS and SFE. The PPST TC has fournew members, and three members haveretired. Edl Schamiloglu is the new TC chair(see below for bio).

Radiation Effects: Although it was a tightdeadline, the NSREC report appeared in theSeptember Newsletter. Your Newsletter editorheartily recommends that every TechnicalCommittee find a clone of Teresa Farris, theoutstanding Radiation Effects publicity czari-na, who always reports, and reports in a time-ly way! The 2008 meeting will be in July at thenew J.W. Marriott Star Pass Resort in Tucson,AZ, the 2009 meeting in Quebec City at theHilton, 2010 at the Adams Mark in Denverand 2011 will be at a site yet to be determinedon the western side of North America. TheRADECS meeting was held in Deauville,France with over 100 papers presented andover 300 attendees. Papers appear in TNS.

NEWS FROM FUNCTIONAL COMMITTEESAND LIAISONSThe Conference Policy Committee met inHonolulu prior to the AdCom meeting. TheConference Policy Manual is meant to be a helpto conference chairs and organizers. As IEEE isproducing a new conference policy manual, theNPSS document will be brought in line withIEEE’s manual. Both will reflect the internation-alization of meetings. The new IEEE manual canbe found at http://www.ieee.org/web/confer-ences/mom/index.html. All conference officersand committee chairs should read the appropriate

chapters. Many other useful documents are refer-enced and hyperlinked from this manual’s on-linepages.

The Awards Committee has moved the dead-line for Society Award nominations back toJanuary 31, as noted in September. The goal isto make award decisions earlier so that awardscan be presented in the year they are awarded,rather than in the following year. This reflects thechange from presenting all Society awards at theNSS/MIC to allowing the recipients to receiveawards in the community to which they belong.The TAB Awards and Recognition manual hasbeen modified and has gone to TABARC forapproval. The new manual can be found athttp://www.ieee.org/portal/cms_docs_ipor-tals/iportals/volunteers/tab/TAB_Awards_and_Recognition_Manual.pdf. Our Society Awardinformation has been brought up-to-date in therevision. The Awards committee is also lookingat the dollar limits on awards and may proposesome restructuring to bring us into alignmentwith professional societies such as APS and SPIE.

The Membership Committee has had goodsupport and good results at the 2007 confer-ences, but the issue of member retentionremains an important one. This will be exam-ined this spring.

The Chapters and Distinguished LecturersCommittee supports 10 active Chapters. ChasNeumeyer has done heroic work in the revitaliza-tion of these activities. Sadly, he is stepping downand Steve Gold will take over and continue thatwork. There have been a number of DistinguishedLecturers giving presentations at Chapter meet-ings, but there remains ample room for growth.There are also rumors that several other chaptersare in the formative state. Chas has been workingon a guide for NPSS Chapter chairs to be a com-panion to the IEEE guide available on line.

A 2008 Class of Distinguished Lecturers isneeded. These are appointments with no termlimit but must be reappointed yearly.

The Communication Committee notes againthe problems with shipping materials to con-ferences. Often brochures and leaflets sent forinclusion in conference briefcases are notincluded because of a communications gapbetween the chair and the staff doing work, orthe delivery is misplaced. This is wasteful andexpensive. Our web master also notes that ourweb site needs a face lift, and each technical


Real-fi?

It is always science fictionup until the point when ithappens.

Robert Streffer

Believe me!

When bigotry isthe dominantview, it soundslike self-evidenttruth.

Harriet McBrydeJohnson

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And ever-present

The problem isthat in politics,hypocrisy isessential.

Margaret Wente

and functional committee should bring itscontent up to date to make the site more rele-vant and useful.

The Fellow Candidate Evaluation Committeereviewed 14 applications in 2007. The newFellows are presented below, where their shortbiographies and the citations for their workappear. We are honored to have had six (43%) ofour applicants elevated to Fellow. This speakshighly of the outstanding care our committeegives to its reviews and rankings. As is notedbelow, it isn’t too early to start to think of the2009 pool of Fellow candidates! Applications aredue by March 1 and require considerablethought in preparation.

The Nominations Committee announced thenewly elected AdCom Class of 2011: David Abe(PSA); Janet Barth (Radiation Effects); HutchNielson (Fusion); Dillon McDaniel (PulsedPower); and Stefan Ritt (CANPS) completing aterm ending in 2009 and eligible to stand for a fullfour-year term. Meet them in the articles below.

In 2008 we seek candidates from theNMIS, PSA and Transnational communities tofill seats that will be vacated at year’s end.

The Publications Committee reports thatTNS is in its third year of the new paradigm –editor-in-chief, senior editors and editors. Thereare two new associate editors for NSS, two forMIC and one for RT. The June 2008 issue willcontain SCINT papers. Chuck Melcher is theeditor. There is still pressure to get theRadiation Effects papers reviewed, edited andpublished in a more timely fashion. TPS willnot accept papers presented in a conferencerecord without significant paper revision. This isalso an IEEE concern – that Conference recordand reviewed papers published in Transactionsshould be recognizably different. There is atime problem with both authors and reviewersnot returning papers in a timely way. IEEE hasset guidelines and our journals meet them rela-tively well for regular issues, but less well forspecial issues. There is a constant demand forcompetent and on-time reviewers. Reviewingpapers in your field is a great way to start gettingactive in the society!

The Standards Committee is making progresswith new figures for the germanium standard,which is to be reissued. The committee needsmore individuals willing to review standards,Contact Ron Keyser if you are interested.

The Transnational Conference Liaison istracking our international conferences, theirgrowth, their committee structure. They arealso concerned with a new section of the NPSSConference Policy document that providesguidance for hosting international conferences.

The Transnational Committee has extensivemembership representing all regions and meetsby teleconference. They did have an in- personmeeting during the NSS/MIC and a meetingin Prague at the beginning of October toencourage eastern European attendance inDresden and at our other conferences. Forexample, ICOPS will meet in Karlsruhe thisyear. They have aweb master who works tokeep their information up-to-date.

The liaison to the Society for SocialImplications of Technology reports that theOn-line Ethics Center started at Case WesternReserve has been absorbed by the NAE. IEEE’sown ethics activities were absorbed by theMember Conduct Committee some years agoand there is little IEEE effort to support oruphold its excellent Code of Ethics. IEEEmembers do lend support to the NAE activities.

Engineers Without Borders is an organiza-tion that helps in countries in need with smallengineering programs. See their web sitehttp://www.ewb-international.org/. They areheadquartered in the US with regional officesin Denmark, Egypt and India. Check out theirweb site and see where you can participate.

The Energy Policy Committee liaisons reportthat their committee’s focus has shifted to elec-tric power regulation and billing and topicssuch as fusion energy have been shoved aside.

The RADECS liaison reports that both theconferences and workshops, held alternateyears are very successful and it is possible thatthey will switch to an annual meeting format.

The Medical Sciences liaison position hasbeen taken on by Randy Brill. There is a lot ofactivity of interest to NPSS. The challenge is tofilter it, and to crack the code of how tobecome involved in the teleconferences andother discussions.

The Women in Engineering liaisonreports that only eight societies have liaisonsthus far. They try to meet by conference calland may change the conference call scheduleto a quarterly meeting. They support WIEactivities at conferences and try to encourage

Two many?

The trouble withmany travellersis that they takethemselvesalong.

Joseph Prescott

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Dream away

Ideas in theabsence ofpower are justhobbies.

David Frum

women members and encourage students tobecome members. They now have a monthlynewsletter.

AdCom Actions:• It was moved, seconded and passed unani-

mously that we become technical cosponsorsof SORMA, the 2008 Symposium onRadiation Measurements and Applicationsto be held in Berkeley, CA in June 2008.

• It was moved, seconded and passed that thePhelps Grants total be increased to $8000and that early career investigators in the first5 years of their careers be included as eligible.

• The Particle Accelerator Science andTechnology Awards may be increased to

$4,000 for the principal award and $2000for the PAST student award pending TABapproval. Other award levels will beaddressed if TAB approves award increases.

• It was moved, seconded and passed that TPSmove from bimonthly to monthly publica-tion beginning in 2009.

• It was moved, seconded and passed thatAdCom agrees to Technical Cosponsorship ofthe Workshop on Hybrid Imaging with MR-PET to be held at FZJ October 27-28, 2008.Albe Larsen can be reached at the Stanford

Linear Accelerator Center, 2575 Sand HillRoad, Menlo Park, CA 94025 USA; Phone: +1650 926 2748; Fax: +1 650 926 5124; E-mail:[email protected]

NEW AdCom MEMBERSClass of 2011

In this first issue of 2008 we especially welcome the newly elected AdCom members and newTechnical Committee Chairs. Their brief biographies follow.

Elected AdCom MembersDavid K. Abe

David K. Abe Elected member,Plasma Sciences

DAVID K. ABE is the head of theDevices and Design Section of theVacuum Electronics Branch at the

U.S. Naval Research Laboratory where hedirects experimental and theoretical research inelectron beam physics and the development ofvacuum electronic devices for the generationof coherent electromagnetic radiation. Hereceived a BS in engineering from HarveyMudd College (1981), an MS in electricalengineering from the University of California,Davis (1988), and a PhD in electrophysicsfrom the University of Maryland (1992). Hisresearch interests include the development oflinear beam, slow-wave devices and compo-nents for applications ranging from themicrowave to submillimeter-wave frequencyregimes, multiple-beam devices, and the elec-tromagnetic properties of materials. Prior to

NRL, Dr. Abe worked on interdisciplinaryprojects in pulsed power, high powermicrowave generation, and electromagneticeffects at the Lawrence Livermore NationalLaboratory, Berkeley Research Associates, andthe U.S. Army Research Laboratory.

Dr. Abe has been an active member of theIEEE community for the past 19 years, servingin various capacities as a session organizer andon the technical program committees ofnumerous conferences, as a guest editor and areviewer for various journals, and as an electedmember of the Plasma Science andApplications Committee ExCom.

David Abe can be reached at the NavalResearch Laboratory, Code 6841, 4555 OverlookAve. SW, Washington, DC 20375; Phone +1 202767-0033; Fax: +1 202 767-1280; E-mail:[email protected]

Janet L. Barth Elected Member,Radiation Effects

Janet L. Barth

Janet Barth (M’89-SM’99) is the Head ofthe Flight Data Systems and RadiationEffects Branch at NASA’s Goddard Space

Fight Center. She began her technical careeras an analyst in Goddard’s Radiation PhysicsOffice, then as a senior radiation effects engi-neer. She has spent the last 29 years focusing on

radiation effects on humans in space, hardnessassurance for space electronics systems, andradiation environment modeling. Currently,her branch is responsible for flight hardwaredeliverables to several NASA programs, includ-ing the Solar Dynamics Observatory, the LunarReconnaissance Orbiter, and the James Webb

NPS0308.qxd 2/4/08 3:23 PM


Space Telescope. Janet is a member of theGoddard Senior Fellows Council that advisesthe Center Director. She has been active inNPSS through the Nuclear Space andRadiation Effects Conference since 1985, serv-ing on the Radiation Effects SteeringCommittee as Member at Large and as a ShortCourse Presenter, Guest Editor of theDecember Issue of the TNS, Technical

Program Chair of the 2001 NSREC, Liaison toRADECS, and General Chair of the 2006NSREC. She holds a BS in Biological Science,a BS in Mathematics, and has completed grad-uate work in Computer Science.

Janet Barth can be reached at the NASAGoddard Space Flight Center, Code 561,Greenbelt, MD 20771-0001; Phone: +1 301286-5966; E-mail:[email protected].

Dillon McDaniel

Dillon McDaniel is the newly elected AdCommember representing the Pulsed Power com-

munity. He did not submit a bio or photo forpublication.

George H. Neilson, Jr.

George H. “Hutch” Neilson is ProjectIntegration Manager for the NationalCompact Stellarator Experiment

(NCSX) at PPPL, a new facility being construct-ed to study the physics of compact stellarators.Dr. Neilson led the project from 1998 until2007, during which time it advanced through aseries of design stages and fabrication of themajor components. His current focus is long-term planning for the transition to operation in2012 and integration into the world stellaratorresearch effort. The NCSX project is being car-ried out as a partnership between PPPL and OakRidge National Laboratory (ORNL).

Dr. Neilson came to PPPL in 1989 as a vis-itor and joined the staff in 1996 as a PrincipalResearch Physicist and Deputy Head of theAdvanced Projects Department. At PPPL, heled national physics design activities for a seriesof fusion experiment design projects, includingthe Burning Plasma Experiment (BPX), theTokamak Physics Experiment (TPX), designstudies for the International ThermonuclearExperimental Reactor (ITER), and the designof the Korea Superconducting TokamakAdvanced Research (KSTAR) project in collab-

oration with Korea. From 1974 to 1996, Neilson was an exper-

imental physicist and manager in the ORNLFusion Energy Division. At ORNL, he workedon a series of tokamak and stellarator fusionconfinement experiments, including ORMAK,ISX, and the Advanced Toroidal Facility(ATF). He led the ATF First Plasma task forcein 1988.

Neilson earned his Ph.D. in Physics fromthe University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in1979. He earned his B.S. and M.S. inElectrical Engineering from the MassachusettsInstitute of Technology in 1973. Neilson’sresearch interests are design and constructionof magnetic confinement experiments, plasmamagnetics, and magnetic diagnostics. He hasauthored numerous papers on fusion plasmaphysics and design, served on several commit-tees within the fusion program, and is a Fellowof the American Physical Society.

Hutch Neilson can be reached at thePrinceton Plasma Physics Laboratory, PO Box451, Princeton, NJ 08543-0451 USA; Phone:+1 609 243 2726; Fax: +1 609 243 3315; E-mail: [email protected].

Hutch Neilson Elected Member,

Fusion Technology

Stefan Ritt

Stefan Ritt received his Ph.D. in physicsfrom the University of Karlsruhe,Germany, in 1993. He is currently techni-

cal coordinator of the MEG experiment at PSI,Switzerland, where he is responsible for thereadout electronics, the DAQ hardware andsoftware and the slow control system. He is pri-mary author of the MIDAS DAQ system andthe ELOG electronic logbook software, whichare used today in many experiments worldwide.

He has been regular participant in the IEEENPSS Real Time conference since 1997. Hehas served on the scientific advisory committeefor this conference since Montreal 2003, wherehe also was Short Course Instructor. He is aneditor of the IEEE Transactions on NuclearScience and regular reviewer for other IEEE sci-entific journals. He has been Ph.D. advisor forseven students and has served on the PSI com-puting committee since 1999. His interests

Stefan Ritt Computer Applicationsin Nuclear and Plasma

Sciences

NPS0308.qxd 2/4/08 3:23 PM


have shifted from mainly DAQ software to abroader coverage of all DAQ aspects in parti-cle physics experiments, including slow con-trol, computer clusters, electronics develop-

ment and chip design. Stefan Ritt can be reached at PSI, Olga 102,

Villigen 5232 SWITZERLAND; Phone: +41563 103728; E-mail: [email protected]

Edl Schamiloglu was born in the Bronx,NY in 1959. He received the B.S. andM.S. degrees from the School of

Engineering and Applied Science, ColumbiaUniversity, New York, in 1979 and 1981,respectively, and the Ph.D. degree in appliedphysics (minor in mathematics) from CornellUniversity, Ithaca, NY, in 1988. He wasappointed Assistant Professor of Electrical andComputer Engineering at the University ofNew Mexico (UNM) in 1988. He is current-ly Professor of Electrical and ComputerEngineering and directs the Pulsed Power,Beams, and Microwaves Laboratory at UNM.He lectured at the U.S. Particle AcceleratorSchool, Harvard University, in 1990 and atMIT in 1997. He coedited Advances in HighPower Microwave Sources and Technologies(Piscataway, NJ: IEEE, 2001) (with R.J.Barker) and he has coauthored High PowerMicrowaves, 2nd Ed. (Taylor & Francis, NewYork, NY, 2007) (with J. Benford and J.Swegle). He coedited the July 2004 SpecialIssue of the Proceedings of the IEEE on PulsedPower Technology and Applications. He hasauthored or coauthored over 65 refereed jour-nal papers, 120 reviewed conference papers,and four patents. His research interests are inthe physics and technology of charged particlebeam generation and propagation, high-powermicrowave sources, plasma physics and diag-nostics, electromagnetic wave propagation,pulsed power, and complex systems and infra-

structure surety. Dr. Schamiloglu has received the Sandia

National Laboratories Research ExcellenceAward as part of the Delphi/Minerva team in1991, the UNM School of EngineeringResearch Excellence Award twice (junior facul-ty in 1992 and senior faculty in 2001), thetitles of UNM Regents’ Lecturer (1996) andGardner-Zemke Professor (2000), and theLawton-Ellis Award in 2004. He is a Fellow ofthe IEEE, an EMP Fellow (sponsored by theSumma Foundation), a Senior Editor of theIEEE Transactions on Plasma Science, and hasserved on a National Academies Panel onDirected Energy Testing (2003-2004). Hehad previously served one tour of duty onAdCom as an elected representative for thePulsed Power Science and TechnologyStanding Technical Committee. He was theTechnical Program Chair of the 2005 IEEEInternational Pulsed Power Conference, andhe was the General Chair of the IEEE PPPS-2007 Conference – the combined 2007 IEEEInternational Pulsed Power Conference and2007 IEEE International Conference onPlasma Science - in Albuquerque, NM inJune 2007.

Edl Schamiloglu can be reached at theDepartment of Electrical and ComputerEngineering, University of New Mexico, MSc011100, Albuqueque, NM 87131-0001 USA;Phone:+1 505 2774423; Fax: +1 505 277 1439;E-mail: [email protected]

Technical Committee Chairs

Edl Schamiloglu

Edl Schamiloglu Chair, Pulsed PowerTechnical Committee

Charles C. Watson

Charles C. Watson Chair, Nuclear Medicaland Imaging Technical

Committee

Charles Watson (M’87, SM’03) is aScientific Advisor for PET Science andTechnology at Siemens Medical

Solutions Molecular Imaging in Knoxville. Anative of Tennessee, he received his BA degreefrom the University of Tennessee, and his MSand PhD (1980) degrees in physics from YaleUniversity. Following a post-doctoral fellowshipin physics and planetary science at the California

Institute of Technology, he joined the NuclearScience Department of Schlumberger-DollResearch in 1982, where he engaged in MonteCarlo simulation of gamma ray and neutrontransport, developing a novel algorithm for thedirect calculation of differential sensitivity func-tions. He eventually became Program Leader forNuclear Modeling and Signal Analysis at SDR.In 1993 Charles joined CTI PET Systems where

NPS0308.qxd 2/4/08 3:23 PM


he focused on issues related to PET tomographperformance and data corrections. He is the pri-mary author of a widely used algorithm for scat-ter correction in clinical 3D PET. He alsoserved as the Project Leader for the develop-ment of CPS’s first commercial PET/CT scan-ner. In 2005 he joined Siemens following itsacquisition of CTI. He continues to work on thedevelopment of new PET technology and is thelead author on numerous patents and peer-reviewed research articles in medical imaging sci-

ence. He belongs to the SNM and AAAS inaddition to the IEEE, and serves as a referee fora number of journals in the field. He has been amember of the Nuclear Medical and ImagingSciences Council of the NPSS since 2005, andcurrently serves as its Chair.

Charles Watson can be reached at SiemensMedical Solutions USA, Inc., Molecular Imaging,810 Innovation Dr., Knoxville, TN 37932-2562;Phone: +1 865.218.2419; Fax: +1 865.218.3000;E-mail: [email protected]

Then, what is it?

If something fitswith common-sense, it almostcertainly isn’tscience.

Lewis Wolpert

It’s an honor to assume my duties as your newNMIS Council Chair. Let me begin by grate-fully acknowledging the debt we owe to Tom

Lewellen, the outgoing Chair, not only for hisservice as Chair, but also for the various leader-ship roles he has undertaken for us over the years,especially with regard to the organization andmanagement of the annual Medical ImagingConference. Fortunately, Tom will remain activein this role, as incoming Chair of the NSS/MICoversight (site selection) subcommittee. Let mealso mention that Tom has recently been nameda Fellow of the IEEE, a tremendous and well-deserved honor. Tom urges you to considersponsoring other NMIS individuals for electionto Fellow – it helps strengthen our community asa whole. (You can find information on the nom-ination process at the NPSS web site:http://ewh.ieee.org/soc/nps/.) Tom – pleaseaccept our sincere thanks and congratulations!

A little about me: I’m a physicist who hasworked in PET for over 14 years, first withCTI PET Systems and now with SiemensMolecular Imaging, based in Knoxville. I’veserved on the NMIS Council for the past threeyears. (The Council is the governing body ofthe NMIS Technical Committee.) My term asChair is for two years. We also have a newvice-Chair, Robert Miyaoka. Robert will takeover as Chair in 2010. Another important per-son you should know about is Steve Meikle,who is NMISC Secretary and Chair of theNominations Subcommittee.

Every year 5 new members-at-large areelected to the NMISC. I’d like to urge you toconsider standing for election to the Council.One of its primary functions is to provide over-

sight of the process that leads to the MIC eachyear, but we engage in other efforts to promotethe NMISC community as well. Our business isconducted via discussions and votes on motionsat our annual meeting, held in conjunctionwith the MIC, and through participation invarious subcommittees. I give a summarybelow of our 2007 meeting in Honolulu, soyou can get a flavor of it. If you’d like to influ-ence the organization of the MIC or otheraspects of our technical communications, this isa good place to start. You are eligible if you area member of the IEEE NPSS with an interestin the MIC, i.e., a member of the NMISTC. Ifyou’re interested, please send Steve an email [email protected] before July 1. You canfind more information on the NMIS TechnicalCommittee and Council, including currentCouncil membership and a copy of our consti-tution and bylaws, at our web site:http://ewh.ieee.org/soc/nps/nmisc/ .

The Council needs your help in anothermatter – nominations for the two IEEE awardsspecific to and awarded by the NMISTC: TheEdward J Hoffman Medical Imaging ScientistAward, and the IEEE Young InvestigatorMedical Imaging Science Award. Informationon these and other NPSS awards can be foundat the NMISC web site. Aside from the per-sonal honor they bestow, these awards areimportant as a means for establishing the stan-dards of excellence in research, innovation,and education that the rest of us in our com-munity should aspire to. Please give this somethought, and if you would like to make a nom-ination, contact Paul Kinahan, Chair of theNMISC Awards/Fellows SubCommittee at

TECHNICAL COMMITTEES

Nuclear Medical and Imaging Sciences

Charles C. Watson Chair, Nuclear Medicaland Imaging Sciences

Mutual dependence

Science withoutreligion is lame,religion withoutscience is blind.

Albert Einstein

NPS0308.qxd 2/4/08 3:23 PM


[email protected]. The deadline isJuly 15.

Our annual NMIS Council meeting washeld November 2, 2007 in Honolulu, duringthe MIC. Following are some of the high-lights.• We received a final report on the 2006 MIC

meeting in San Diego from its ProgramChair, John Aarsvold. Thanks to John andhis deputy Chair Bruce Hasegawa for a verysuccessful, well-run meeting.

• Eric Frey, the Program Chair of the 2007MIC summarized the status of the meetingfor us. Details will be provided in a futurenewsletter, so I won’t repeat them here, butI would like to mention the very successfulintroduction of refresher courses – 50minute lectures each morning on topics ofcurrent interest by experts in the field. Thiswas a great innovation. Thanks to Eric,Magnus Dahlbom, the Deputy ProgramChair, and the nine assistant chairs for alltheir hard work on the 2007 MIC program.

• We had a long discussion (as usual) on howto deal with the rapid growth of the MIC,one of our greatest challenges. Because ofthe long lead times needed for planningthese meetings, unrestricted growth is diffi-cult to accommodate. There is a range ofopinions on this including: increasing therejection rate for papers (about 14% in2007); using more parallel sessions (as wasdone this year); or even expanding thelength of the meeting. We do not currentlyhave a formal policy on this, and it is left tothe discretion of the General and ProgramChairs. If you have an opinion on this sub-ject I would be very interested in hearingfrom you.

• Tom also requested feedback on the issue ofhow frequently the NSS/MIC should beheld outside North America. The currenttarget is every 3-4 years.

• As you know, next year’s NSS/MIC will beheld on the river Elbe in historic Dresden,Germany. Uwe Bratzler is the GeneralChair. Wolfgang Enghardt and SibylleZiegler will be the Program and DeputyProgram Chairs of the MIC, respectively.Look for details elsewhere in this newsletter,and remember that the abstract submissiondeadline is May 9. Also, be aware that a two-day satellite workshop on Hybrid Imagingwith MR-PET is being organized by HansHerzog, Uwe Pietrzyk, and Karl Ziemonsimmediately following the MIC. It will beheld at the Forschungszentrum Jülich

(located near Cologne).• The 2009 NSS/MIC will be in Orlando,

Florida, in the Hilton near DowntownDisney. Richard Lanza is the General Chairand Ramsey Badawi is the MIC ProgramChair.

• The Council voted to approve Knoxville,Tennessee, as the site of the 2010NSS/MIC. Ron Keyser will be the GeneralChair and David Townsend will serve as theMIC Program Chair. The issue of whether itis better to take the meeting to a resort loca-tion (like Orlando or Puerto Rico) or a lessexpensive location such as Knoxville is aperennial topic of discussion. I admit to apersonal bias on this, being a native ofKnoxville, but I think you will find lateOctober in the Appalachians very pleasant.

• The 2011 and 2012 meeting venues are notyet finalized, but it appears very likely that itwill go to Spain for one of these years, andto the west coast of the US for the other. Ifyou wonder how these site selection deci-sions get made, it’s the responsibility of ajoint subcommittee of the RITC andNMISTC, currently chaired by CraigWoody. For a potential site to be consid-ered, some individual or group must devel-op a proposal detailing the capabilities andadvantages of their preferred site, and pre-sent it to the subcommittee. The best pro-posal wins. It takes a lot of work and timeboth to prepare good proposals, and to eval-uate them. We greatly appreciate the effortCraig and his team put into this job.

• We conducted an election for Vice-chair ofthe Council and Robert Miyaoka emergedvictorious – congratulations Robert!

• A draft proposal to AdCom (governingbody of the NPSS) concerning modifica-tions to the Paul Phelps ContinuingEducation Grant, awarded annually to sup-port participation in NPSS sponsored ShortCourses, was approved. The proposedchanges would open the award to Post-Doctoral Fellows and Research Associateswith less than five years post-degree experi-ence, and would double the total award toall recipients to $8k per year.

• Paul Kinahan, Chair of the AwardsSubcommittee, discussed the methodologyof the NMISTC awards process, andannounced this year’s winners: Paul Segarsof Duke received the IEEE YoungInvestigator Medical Imaging ScienceAward, and Ron Huesman of LBNLreceived the Edward J Hoffman Medical

Goalless

They do notknow what theyseek, only thechase and thequarry.

Blaise Pascal

My Rx needsrenewing

… it is muchmore profitablefor pharmaceuti-cal companiesto develop drugsthat keep patientsalive but uncured,rather than cur-ing the disease,which loses thecustomer.

Guy Brown

NPS0308.qxd 2/4/08 3:23 PM


Imaging Scientist Award. Congratulationsto Ron and Paul on this well-deservedrecognition!

• Ron Huesman agreed to continue as Chair ofthe Communications (Web) Subcommitteeand requested that any suggestions for updatesor improvements be forwarded to him. Hecan be reached at [email protected].

• Ron Jaszczak, one of our two AdCom rep-resentatives (the other being Eric Frey)brought to our attention that the IEEEEngineering in Medicine and BiologySociety has recently formed a SpecialInterest Group on Biological and HealthSciences, and solicited comments onNMISTC participation in it.

• Finally, we discussed at some length the role

of the 15 Council members-at-large in pros-ecuting its business. Several membersexpressed the feeling that the work, and deci-sion-making, of the Council needed to bedistributed more uniformly among its mem-bers. I agree with this view and will try toachieve a wider distribution of responsibilitiesacross the Council during my term as Chair. The annual NMISC meeting is open to all

NMISTC members, and we would welcomeyou there, although I can’t promise you a freelunch!

Charles Watson can be reached at SiemensMolecular Imaging, 810 Innovation Drive,Knoxville, TN, 37932-2562 USA; Phone: +1865-218-2419; Fax: +1 865-218-3000; E-mail:[email protected].

RADIATION EFFECTSOUTSTANDING PAPERS AT THE 2007 NUCLEARAND SPACE RADIATION EFFECTS CONFERENCE

Outstanding Conference Paper:“Impact of Heavy Ion Energy and NuclearInteractions on Single-Event Upset andLatchup in Integrated Circuits,” by P.E.Dodd, J.R.Schwank, M.R.Shaneyfelt, J. A.Felix, P. Paillet, V. Ferlet-Cavrois, J. Baggio,R.A. Reed, G.L. Hash, S.M. Dalton, K.Hirose, and H. Saito

Outstanding Student Paper:“Mechanisms of Enhanced Radiation-InducedDegradation due to Excess MolecularHydrogen in Bipolar Oxides,” X.J. Chen, H.J.Barnaby, B. Vermeire, K.Holbert, D. Wright,R.L. Pease, G. Dunham, D.G. Platteter,J.Seiler, S. McClure, and P. Adell

Outstanding Workshop Paper:“Compendium of Current Single EventEffects Results for Candidate SpacecraftElectronics for NASA,” by M. V. O'Brian, C.Poivey, J. W. Howard, K. A. LaBel, R. .Ladbury, S. P. Buchner, T. R. Oldham

MEMBER-AT-LARGE ELECTED Philippe Paillet (M'97–SM'04) received hisMaster's degree in Electrical Engineering fromthe Université Aix-Marseille I, France, in 1989and his PhD degree in Electrical Engineeringfrom the Université Montpellier II, France, in

1995. He joined the Commissariat à l'EnergieAtomique in Bruyères-Le-Châtel, France, in1995 and is a senior member of the technicalstaff. Philippe has been involved in numerousprograms developing radiation-hardened tech-nologies, characterizing the physical mecha-nisms responsible for radiation response ofcomponents and ICs, modeling the effects ofradiation in MOS technologies and the cre-ation of radiation-induced defects, and devel-oping hardness assurance approaches. Philippehas served the radiation effects community asreviewer and Session Chairman for the IEEENuclear and Space Radiation EffectsConference (NSREC) and the RadiationEffects in Components and Systems(RADECS) European conference. He servedas Guest Editor from 2004 to 2007, in chargeof the publication in IEEE Transactions onNuclear Science of the papers presented atNSREC and RADECS conferences. He hasauthored or co-authored more than 50 publi-cations, articles, short courses and book chap-ters, including one Best Paper at RADECS,two Meritorious Paper and two OutstandingPaper Awards at NSREC. Philippe is a SeniorMember of the IEEE and a Member of theNPSS.

Tim Oldham, Chair of the Radiation EffectsTC can be reached at Code 561.4, Bldg 22 Room048, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center,Greenbelt, MD 20771-0001; Phone: +1 301 2865489; Fax: +1 301 286 4699

Philippe PailletRadiation EffectsMember-at-Large

Tim OldhamChair, RadiationEffects Technical

Committee

Teresa FarrisRadiation EffectsPublicity Chair

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By the time you receive this Newsletter,the March 1 deadline for this year’sFellow nominations will likely have

passed. I’ll be writing articles in the summerand fall Newsletters encouraging the submis-sion of applications for the 2010 cycle andreviewing the Fellow nomination process.Three years ago, the IEEE Board of Directorsapproved changes to the Fellow process toincrease the number of nominations received formembers from industry and to make the processmore receptive to nominations received for appli-cation engineers or engineering practitionerswho have made contributions of unusual distinc-tion to the profession. Specifically the changesestablished a new nomination “category”

called “Application Engineer/Practitioner.”The article below, which appeared in a recentissue of the IEEE Institute, points out that fewnominations are being received by IEEE in thiscategory. The article suggests that membersmay be “unsure about the type of work thatqualifies someone for this category.” Pleasetake a moment to read this article and helpidentify worthy members of NPSS who mayqualify for Fellow grade as an “ApplicationEngineer/Practitioner.”

Peter S. Winokur, Chair, NPSS FellowEvaluation Committee, can be reached at theDefense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board,Washington, DC; Phone: +1 202 694-7090; E-mail: [email protected].

Clearing Up Confusion in Fellows CategoriesBY KATHY KOWALENKO

(From The Institute print edition)

Even though it’s been nearly three yearssince nominations were first acceptedfor the newest Fellows category,

Application Engineer/Practitioner, few havebeen nominated. Out of the 268 Fellowsnamed in 2007, 15 were from the practition-er group compared to the 17 in the 271-member Class of 2006.

One reason might be because people arestill unsure about the type of work that quali-fies someone for this category, says 2003IEEE President Michael Adler and chair ofthe IEEE Board-appointed 2007 Fellow AdHoc Committee, which reviews the Fellowsprocess.

“Many nominators are checking off theResearch Engineer/Scientist box on the nomi-nation forms when perhaps they should bemarking the Application Engineer/Practitionercategory,” he says. “The position of somenominees is identified to be that of a researchscientist or engineer, but the work for whichthey are being cited could be considered that ofa practitioner,” Adler explains.

There were 213 Fellows from the researchengineer/scientist group in the 2007 class.

To help clear up any confusion and helpboost the number of Fellows from industry,here is a primer of the type of work that qual-ifies for the application engineer/practitionercategory.

The person has to be an IEEE senior mem-ber in good standing with five years of servicein any grade of membership excluding affili-ates, and who has made significant contribu-tions in any of these areas: product develop-ment, systems, applications or operations,project management or construction, processdevelopment, manufacturing innovations, orcodes or standards development.

Adler notes that it could be someone whodevelops a process to produce a product thatmay have been designed by others, and thathas had a major impact.

For example, among the 2007 class ofFellows in the Application Engineer/Practitioner category, were members whoinvented and standardized elements of optical

Experiencepays

The young breakrules for fun. Theold for profit.

Mason Cooley

FUNCTIONAL COMMITTEES

LOOKING FOR A FEW GOODAPPLICATION ENGINEER/PRACTIONER

FELLOW NOMINATIONS

Peter Winokur Chair, FellowCandidatesCommittee

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transmission systems, developed applications forsatellite data and airborne LIDAR (light detec-tion and ranging) imagery, researched signal pro-cessing for acoustics and sound reproduction,and provided technical leadership of a projectthat turned novel concepts for computer archi-

tecture into commercial processors.Nominations for the class of 2009 are now

being accepted. The deadline is 1 March 2008.Nomination instructions, forms and additionalinformation are available on the Fellows website at http://www.ieee.org/fellows.

John H. Booske received the Ph.D. degreein nuclear engineering from the Universityof Michigan, Ann Arbor in 1985, studying

under Professor Ronald Gilgenbach, and co-advised by Professor Ward Getty. He was aResearch Scientist at the University ofMaryland, College Park, from 1985 – 1989.In 1990 he joined the University of Wisconsinfaculty, where he is currently the Duane H. andDorothy M. Bluemke Professor of Electricaland Computer Engineering.

Ever since the invention of the magnetron,there has been an unrelenting demand formore powerful and efficient microwavesources. Since the mid 1950’s it was recog-nized that vacuum devices designed with thinsheet or “ribbon” electron beams would beespecially effective. In their “thin” dimension,these beams easily fit in small, high frequencyelectromagnetic structures, while their largeother dimension accommodates large currents(for high power) without exceeding the maxi-

AWARDS

Bill MosesNominations

Committee Chair

NOMINATIONSCandidates Sought for Elected AdCom Positions

Are you interested in helping run the NPSS?The NPSS AdCom (AdministrativeCommittee) is the body that “runs” the

NPSS, which includes setting the policies for all ofthe conferences and publications that the NPSSsponsors. Each year we hold elections for approxi-mately one quarter of the sixteen elected AdCompositions. This summer we will be holding elec-tions for AdCom members elected from threeNPSS communities: Plasma Science (the commu-nity that puts on ICOPS), Nuclear Medical andImaging Sciences (the community that puts onMIC), and Transnational (a geographically-basedrather than technically-based community). Theseare four-year terms that begin on January 1, 2009.In general, the requirements are that you are a

member of both the IEEE and the NPSS (whichbasically includes everybody who receives thisNewsletter) and that you have an interest in one ofthose three technical areas. If you are interested inrunning for one of these positions, you must letme know ([email protected]) by June 1 of thisyear. You will be asked to submit a 200-word biog-raphy plus a 200-word position statement. Pleasefeel free to contact me if you have any questions orneed more information.

Bill Moses, Nominations Committee Chair,can be reached at Lawrence Berkeley NationalLaboratory, MS55-12, One Cyclotron Road,Berkeley, CA 94720 USA; Phone:+1 510 486-4432; Fax: +1 510 486 4768; E-mail:[email protected].

The IEEE offers Institute Awards, and most societies and Society Technical Committees also offerawards. Elevation to IEEE Fellow is a prestigious honor awarded each year to no more than 0.1% ofthe full IEEE membership by the Institute Board of Directors. Nominations are made from amongSenior Members and nominees must be supported by at least six Fellows. After being reviewed andranked by the appropriate IEEE Society, the nominations are forwarded to the Institute’s FellowCommittee who then recommend a list of candidates to the IEEE Board of Directors for their consid-eration. The Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society is justifiably proud of its Fellows. We present herethe Class of 2007 Fellows, and wish them each our heartfelt congratulations.

John H. Booske

2007 NPSS FELLOWSJohn H. Booske

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mum current densities that can be practicallyfocused by magnetic fields. Unfortunately, itwas also discovered in the mid-1950’s thatthese sheet electron beams are unstable in theuniform, axial magnetic fields commonly usedwith many microwave vacuum tubes upthrough the 1970’s and 80’s. Hence, theywere abandoned as a potential solution for highpower millimeter-wave coherent radiationsources.

In the 1980s and 1990s, at the Universitiesof Maryland and Wisconsin, respectively, Johnconducted, collaborated on, and directedresearch showing that periodic magnetic fieldswill stably confine sheet electron beams. Thiswork is recognized as the enabling foundationfor numerous current projects developing highpower, millimeter-wave coherent radiationsources, for important applications in commu-nications, defense, and homeland security.Such projects include active development pro-grams at the Los Alamos National Laboratory,the Naval Research Laboratory, and theStanford Linear Accelerator Center.

Meanwhile, since the 1960s researchersstudying the use of microwave heating in mate-rials processing occasionally reported observa-tions of anomalously-enhanced reaction rates incomparison to conventional furnace heating.Lacking a credible theoretical explanation, theseresults were generally dismissed as artifacts ofinaccurate measurements. In the 1990s, Johndirected research that experimentally confirmedthe existence of a previously-unknown effect,termed the ponderomotive force, by whichstrong microwave fields can accelerate solidstate reaction rates. Working with students andcolleagues at the University of Wisconsin andthe Institute for Applied Physics in NizhnyNovgorod (Russia), computer simulations andtheoretical analyses showed how the mechanismcan be understood in terms of solid state ionictransport using solid state plasma concepts. Thiswork has placed the discussion of microwave-enhanced solid state reaction rates on a firm sci-entific basis, and enlightened the considerationof microwaves for industrial processing of mate-rials. These fundamental insights, along withstudies of microwave absorption in ceramics andsemiconductors are regarded as key contribu-tions to understanding how microwave radia-tion energy couples to and is absorbed by mate-rials during microwave heating.

Currently, John is working with colleaguesand students to pioneer the application of

microfabrication technologies for productionof high-power millimeter-wave and submil-limeter-wave vacuum electronic radiationsources. Through other collaborations, Johnhas produced detailed, fundamental descrip-tions of how phase distortion occurs in travel-ing wave tube amplifiers.

John has also contributed as a leader and aneducator. He coedited and coauthored a leadingreference book on vacuum electronics, ModernMicrowave and Millimeter Wave PowerElectronics (Wiley-IEEE Press, 2005). He wasa Guest Editor of a Special Issue of IEEETransactions on Plasma Science (2000). Heserved as Director of the UW-Madison’sMaterials Science Program from 2001 to 2005,leading a thorough restructuring of theProgram’s curriculum while building and diver-sifying the Program’s faculty. He has establisheda reputation for training graduate and under-graduate students who are highly coveted in thevacuum electronics industry and graduateresearch groups around the country. He led anational collaboration researching innovations inmicrowave vacuum electronics as Co-Director ofa five-university, DoD-funded, Multi-UniversityResearch Initiative (MURI) consortium (1999-2004). He is currently Director of a second, five-year, five-university MURI consortium research-ing the nanoscale physics of field emission cath-odes and vacuum window breakdown effects inhigh power microwave sources. He has been rec-ognized for his research creativity and pedagog-ical skills through numerous awards, includingthe National Science Foundation’s PresidentialYoung Investigator award, the University ofWisconsin Chancellor’s Distinguished Teachingaward, the University of Wisconsin’s VilasResearch Associates faculty award, and theBluemke Professorship. In addition to the fieldsof vacuum electronics and microwave materialsprocessing, John has an active research interestin bioelectromagnetics, collaborating on studiesof microwave imaging of breast cancer tumorsand the use of pulsed electric fields to facilitatetrans-membrane molecular transport in biologi-cal cells. In 2007, John was elected to Fellowgrade in the IEEE.

Citation: for contributions to vacuum elec-tronics and microwave processing of materials.

John Booske can be reached at the University ofWisconsin-Madison, Dept Electrical & ComputerEng, 1415 Engineering Dr, Madison, WI 53706-1607; Phone: +1 608 262 8548; Fax: +1 608 2621267; E-mail:[email protected]

Dress code

A good intentionclothes itselfwith power.

Ralph WaldoEmerson

Career path

Make crime pay,become alawyer.

Will Rogers

NPS0308.qxd 2/4/08 3:23 PM


Simon R. Cherry, Ph.D. received hisB.Sc.(Hons) in Physics with Astronomyfrom University College London in 1986

and a Ph.D. in Medical Physics from the Instituteof Cancer Research, University of London in1989. After a postdoctoral fellowship with Dr.Edward Hoffman at UCLA, he joined the facul-ty in the Department of Molecular and MedicalPharmacology at UCLA in 1993. From 1998-2001 he was Associate Director of the UCLACrump Institute for Molecular Imaging. In2001, Dr. Cherry joined UC Davis as a Professorin the Department of Biomedical Engineeringand Director of the Center for Molecular andGenomic Imaging. In 2007, Dr. Cherry becameChair of the Department of BiomedicalEngineering at UC Davis.

Dr. Cherry’s research interests centeraround in vivo molecular imaging systems. Afocus of his research is the development of veryhigh resolution positron emission tomography(PET) systems for preclinical imaging, in par-ticular the development of the microPET scan-ner that was subsequently widely adopted inacademia and industry. Additional interests

include multimodality imaging, especially theintegration of PET with CT and MRI, and 3-D fluorescence tomography. Dr. Cherry is afounding member of the Society of MolecularImaging. He serves on the Editorial Board ofthe journals Physics in Medicine and Biology,Molecular Imaging and Biology, and MolecularImaging. In 2006, Dr. Cherry was invited togive the Henry Wagner DistinguishedLectureship at the Society of Nuclear Medicineannual meeting and in 2007, Dr. Cherryreceived the Academy of Molecular ImagingDistinguished Basic Scientist Award. Dr.Cherry is the author of more than 150 peer-reviewed journal articles or book chapters inthe field of biomedical imaging. He is alsocoauthor of the 3rd edition of the textbookPhysics in Nuclear Medicine.

Citation: For contributions to molecularimaging.

Simon Cherry can be reached at the Dept ofBiomedical Eng, Univ of California, 1 ShieldsAve, Davis, CA 95616-8500; Phone: +1 530 7549419; Fax: +1 530 754 5739; E-mail: [email protected]

Avi Gover holds the Ludwig JokelElectronics chair and is professor in thePhysical Electronics Department of Tel-

Aviv University and head of the FEL KnowledgeCenter for Radiation Sources in Ariel.

He is one of the pioneers in the field of FreeElectron Lasers (FEL) on which he has workedsince 1977, when he started the theoreticalmodeling of this class of lasers with AmnonYariv at Caltech. His expertise is in both theoryand experiment. He participated in the designof a number of FEL experiments with differentkinds of accelerator technologies in the US, andconstructed an experimental FEL facility basedon an electrostatic accelerator in Israel.

Professor Gover has contributed to thedevelopment of numerous innovative theoreti-cal and experimental concepts related to freeelectron lasers. These include the identificationand study of the general FEL dispersion rela-tion (analogous to Pierce equation), the fun-damental relations of spontaneous and stimu-

lated emission in FEL, Smith-Purcell FEL, andElectrostatic Accelerator FEL. His theoreticaland experimental work on schemes and con-cepts of prebunched beam FEL revealed theconnection of “coherent emission” frombunched electron beams to Dicke's superradi-ance of atomic medium. Based on this work hedeveloped the concepts and theory of superra-diant and stimulated-superradiance FELs.

In recognition for his outstanding contribu-tion to FEL science and technology he wasawarded in 2005 the annual International FELprize. In Nov. 2007 he was awarded fellowshipin the American Physical Society for outstand-ing scientific achievements and leadership ininternational cooperation in the area of FreeElectron Lasers. Concurrently he was awardedFellowship in the IEEE .

Citation: for contributions to free electron lasersand superradiant bunched e-beam radiators.

Avi Gover can be reached by E-mail:[email protected]; Phone: +972-3-6408149

Simon R. Cherry

Simon R. Cherry

Avraham Gover

Avraham (Avi)Gover

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Y.Y. Lau received his SB, SM, and PhDdegrees in Electrical Engineering fromthe Massachsetts Institute of

Technology in 1968, 1970, and 1973, respec-tively. From 1973 to 1979, he was anInstructor and then an Assistant Professor inapplied mathematics at MIT. He was withScience Applications Inc., McLean, VA, from1980 to 1983, and with the Naval ResearchLaboratory, Washington, DC, from 1983 to1992, as a Research Physicist at each. In 1992,he joined the University of Michigan, AnnArbor as a Professor in the Department ofNuclear Engineering and RadiologicalSciences, and in the Applied Physics Program.He has worked on electron beams, coherentradiation sources, plasmas and discharges. Hiscontributions include: wideband and lowmagnetic field operation of gyrotron ampli-fiers, multipactor discharge, accelerator stabili-ty, diode physics (higher dimensional and

quantum), low noise magnetron, high powermicrowave sources, Thomson X-ray sources,and heating phenomenology. He has ninepatents and over 170 refereed publications.He served three terms (1994-2005) as anAssociate Editor of the Physics of Plasmas, andwas a Guest Editor of the IEEE Transactionson Plasma Science Special Issue on High PowerMicrowave Generation (June, 1998). He waselected Fellow of the American PhysicalSociety in 1986. He received the 1989 Sigma-Xi Scientific Society Applied Science Award,and the 1999 IEEE Plasma Science andApplications Award.

Citation: for contributions to electron beamdevices, coherent radiation sources, and dis-charge physics.

Y. Y. Lau can be reached at University ofMichigan, Cooley Bldg, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2104; Phone: +1 734 764-5122; Fax: +1 734763-4540; E-mail: [email protected].

Yue Ying Lau

Jane M. Lehr

Jane Lehr received the Ph.D. degree inElectro-Physics from PolytechnicUniversity- New York and a Bachelor’s

of Engineering from Stevens Institute ofTechnology. After several years in industry,she joined the Air Force ResearchLaboratory, Directed Energy Directorate in1997. There, she continued earlier work onthe physics of electrical breakdown andswitching. She made key contributionstoward advancing the state of the art of highpeak power, ultra-wideband radiating sys-tems, including the compact and fully trans-portable system known as JOLT, where sheled the pulsed power segment. She, alongwith several colleagues, was awarded a patentfor the high efficiency transformer designused in the JOLT system.

In 2002, Dr. Lehr joined Sandia NationalLaboratories, Pulsed Power Sciences Center.During the Z Refurbishment project, she per-

formed component evaluation and develop-ment and led the system assessment test pro-gram and component development. Presently,she is again focusing on the physics of electri-cal breakdown and high power switching.

Dr. Lehr has been an active IEEE volun-teer. She has been a Guest Editor for theIEEE Transactions on Plasma Science, anAssociate Editor for the IEEE Transactionson Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation,Student Activity Chair for Region 6 andAlbuquerque Chapter Chair. She currentlyserves as President of the Nuclear and PlasmaSciences Society.

Citation: For contributions to high powerswitches and the generation of high power elec-tromagnetic radiation.

Jane Lehr can be reached at SandiaNational Laboratories, MS 1193, PO Box5800,Albuquerque, NM 87185-1193; Phone:+1 505 844 8554; E-mail: [email protected]

Y.Y. Lau

Jane M. Lehr

Tom K. Lewellen

Tom K. Lewellen is a Professor ofRadiology and Electrical Engineering atthe University of Washington. He

received a B.A. in Physics from OccidentalCollege in 1967 and a Ph.D. in Experimental

Nuclear Physics in 1972. After a postdoctoralfellowship designing beam optics for neutrontherapy applications, he joined the Division ofNuclear Medicine at the University ofWashington (UW) in 1974. Dr. Lewellen is cur-Tom Lewellen

NPS0308.qxd 2/4/08 3:23 PM


rently the director of the Physics group in theDivision of Nuclear Medicine (the group has 5faculty, 6 scientific staff, and several graduatestudents and postdoctoral fellows). His majorresearch interests are positron emission tomog-raphy (PET) system development and improv-ing methods for quantitative imaging (both inPET and single photon emission tomography).The UW group is currently working on designand construction of new high resolution animalPET scanners and MRI inserts, improved quan-titative data corrections for 3D PET systems,faster Monte Carlo simulation software foremission tomographs, and new data analysis

techniques for a wide variety of NuclearMedicine studies. Past services for IEEE includebeing the chair for the 1997 IEEE NSS/MIC,local arrangements chair for the 1999 IEEENSS/MIC, 2005 IEEE NSS/MIC generalchair, and NMISC chair from 2005 – 2007.

Citation: For contributions to nuclear medi-cine and positron emission tomography imagingsystems.

Tom Lewellen can be reached at Radiation,Nuclear Medicine, NW-0040,University ofWashington Medical Center, PO Box 357897,Seattle, Washington, USA; Phone: +1 206 543-2365; E-mail:[email protected].

Visionary?

Keep your eyes wide openbefore marriage,half shut after-wards.

BenjaminFranklin

My punishment

The sole causeof all humanmisery is theinability of people to sit quietly in theirrooms.

Blaise Pascal

Ilan Ben Zvi Awarded the 2007 Free Electron Laser Prize

Ilan Ben-Zvi, a physicist at the U.S.Department of Energy's BrookhavenNational Laboratory, a Senior Member of

the IEEE and chair of the NPSS ParticleAccelerator Science and Technology TechnicalCommittee, has won the 2007 Free ElectronLaser (FEL) Prize along with JamesRosenzweig of the University of California-Los Angeles. Sponsored by the InternationalFree Electron Laser Conference, which washeld this year in Novosibirsk, Russia, the prizeconsists of an award citation, a plaque, andmonetary award.

Ben-Zvi was recognized for “his outstand-ing contributions to FEL science and technol-ogy.” Ben-Zvi and Rosenzweig collaboratedon some subjects and were acknowledged forsimilar contributions to the field.

Ben-Zvi’s work leading to the FEL Prizeincluded two facets of FEL technology. First,he developed laser-photocathode radiofre-quency guns that provide record brightness tolaser beams. Also, Ben-Zvi performed proof-of-principle experiments on x-ray single-pass

FELs at Brookhaven's Accelerator TestFacility. Both aspects of Ben-Zvi's researchwere done in collaboration with numerousnational laboratories and universities.

I am proud to receive this award, the highesthonor in the free electron laser community,"Ben-Zvi said. "Research on free electron lasersand many types of advanced accelerators is ongo-ing at Brookhaven Lab, where two of my col-leagues - Vladimir Litvinenko and Li Hua Yu -have also been honored with the FEL Prize with-in the last four years.”

A Free-Electron Laser (FEL) is a laser whichuses synchrotron radiation from an electronbeam as the emission mechanism. Thus it com-bines the sharp focusing and pure color ofradiation from the laser and the high powerand short wavelength of synchrotron lightsource. In order to reach high power and shortwavelength, the FEL requires a high-bright-ness electron beam. A high-brightness electronbeam is similarly defined as a beam that can besharply focused and has a high purity of ener-gy. These properties are defining the “coher-ence” of the radiation. High brightness elec-tron beams enable the FEL to operate at a veryshort wavelength, down to hard X-rays.

The most successful high-brightness elec-tron source is the laser-photocathode RF gun.As the name implies, in this device electronsare being produced by illuminating a spot inthe gun by a laser beam, and using the photo-electric effect to extract short bursts of elec-trons, highly concentrated in space and time.To keep this tight concentration, the electronsIlan Ben Zvi Receives 2007 FEL Prize

NPS0308.qxd 2/4/08 3:24 PM

On October 29, 2007 I had the honorand pleasure of presenting, at theIEEE/NPSS Nuclear Science Sym-

posium luncheon in Hawaii, the most presti-gious and selective award of the RadiationInstrumentation Steering Committee (RISC):the Radiation Instrumentation Outstanding

Achievement Award. The award was estab-lished in 2001 to recognize outstanding contri-butions to the fields of radiation instrumenta-tion and measurement techniques for ionizingradiation, and was awarded every odd-num-bered year since that date. The award is intend-ed to honor a lifetime dedicated to the pursuit

SOCIETY AWARDSRADIATION INSTRUMENTATION OUTSTANDING

ACHIEVEMENT AWARDGLENN KNOLL

by Sara PozziRISC Honors and Awards Committee Chair

have to be accelerated rapidly to near the speedof light. For this one uses the very high electricfields that can be generated by radio frequency(RF) fields in a resonant copper (or supercon-ducting niobium) cavity. Thus the name “laser-photocathode RF gun”.

Since X-ray mirrors do not have the reflec-tivity of optical mirrors, X-ray FELs cannot usemany passes through the laser proper to buildup the powerful radiation as normal lasers do.The solution to that has been found in “single-pass” FELs, in which the radiation builds up sofast that a single pass through the FEL is suffi-cient to produce the full output. Single passFELs come in a few varieties, such as Self-Amplified Spontaneous Emission (SASE), orHigh-Gain Harmonic-Generation (HGHG).In a SASE FEL the spontaneous emission ofthe electrons in the beginning of the device,which is the basis of synchrotron light sources,is amplified by the same device to get the laserpower and coherency. In a HGHG FEL, anexternal conventional laser is used to triggerthe FEL on a harmonic related shorter wave-length. The short pulse capability of the FELand short wavelength are important featuresfor studying materials on the atomic scale,including light-induced structural changes ontime scales of a quadrillionth of a second. Thiswill allow scientists a glimpse on a time scalenever before possible and open untold oppor-tunities for understanding catalysis, chemicalprocesses, and molecular assembly.

“X-ray free electron lasers have excellentimaging capabilities, enabling biologists toresolve the structure of proteins, material sci-entists to study nanomaterials, and muchmore,” Ben-Zvi explained. “An x-ray FEL

source with laser power and brightness opensup new areas of science. Several of these facili-ties are now being built around the world.”

After earning a Ph.D. in physics from theWeizmann Institute of Science, Israel, in 1970,Ben-Zvi went to Stanford University, where hehelped develop the earliest stages of supercon-ducting linear accelerators. In 1975, hereturned to Weizmann, where he founded acryogenic technology laboratory. From 1980-1982, Ben-Zvi was a visiting associate profes-sor of physics at Stony Brook University, wherehe helped to establish an accelerator at theschool, inventing and developing acceleratorsystems now used throughout the world.

Ben-Zvi joined Brookhaven Lab as a visitingphysicist in 1988 and rose through the ranks toreceive tenure, and then become a seniorphysicist in 1997. He served as head ofBrookhaven's Accelerator Test Facility for 15years, and he is currently the associate chair forsuperconducting accelerator R&D atBrookhaven as well as an adjunct professor ofphysics at Stony Brook University. A Fellow ofthe American Physical Society, Ben-Zvi, asenior member of the Institute of IEEE is alsothe recipient of the 1999 IEEE/NPSSAccelerator Science and Technology Award.He also received Brookhaven Lab's Scienceand Technology Award in 2001. He has servedin leading roles in many scientific meetings andpanels, including the FEL '95 and FEL'01international meetings. He is the author orcoauthor of over 280 publications.

Ilan Ben-Zvi can be reached at BrookhavenNational Lab, PO Box 5000, Upton, NY11973-5000; Phone: +1 631 344 5143; Fax: +1631 344 5954; E-mail: [email protected]


Glenn Knoll

So, I’m problemfree

Never work on a problem for which you do not have anunfair advantage.

Hans Bethe

NPS0308.qxd 2/4/08 3:24 PM


The other wayround too

... and politics,at least in theUnited States, isall about turningpower intomoney.

Celia Farber

Now I understand

Patriotism is thelast refuge of thescoundrel.

Samuel Johnson

of excellence in the area of radiation detection. The principal criteria for the award are the

originality and impact of the contributions tothe field, the cumulative research contribu-tions over a career, and the influence on thefield through education.

The honors and awards committee of theRISC elected Professor Glenn Knoll as thisyear’s recipient. He is a Professor Emeritus ofNuclear Engineering and RadiologicalSciences at The University of Michigan, wherehe is active on a part-time research appoint-ment. Following his undergraduate educationat Case Institute of Technology, he earned aMaster's degree from Stanford University anda doctorate in Nuclear Engineering from theUniversity of Michigan. He joined theMichigan faculty in 1962, and served asChairman of the Department of NuclearEngineering and as Interim Dean of theCollege of Engineering. His research interestshave centered on radiation measurements,nuclear instrumentation, and radiation imag-ing. He is author or co-author of over 200technical publications, 7 patents, and 2 text-books. In the course of his tenure at theUniversity of Michigan he was advisor to 26Ph. D. students pursuing degrees in nuclearengineering. Many of these graduates thenproceeded to build careers in the area of radi-ation instrumentation.

Professor Knoll has been elected a Fellowof the American Nuclear Society, the IEEE,and the American Institute for Medical andBiological Engineering. In the course of his

career he received several awards from profes-sional societies, including the Glenn MurphyAward of the American Society forEngineering Education, the ANS Arthur HollyCompton Award, and the Annual Merit Awardof the Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society(NPSS) of IEEE.

Professor Knoll served for many years asreceiving editor for the journal NuclearInstruments and Methods in Physics Research,Part A, and is a current member of its EditorialAdvisory Board. He has also served on the edi-torial boards for several other scientific jour-nals. In 2000 he received the highest facultyaward from the College of Engineering of theUniversity of Michigan, the Stephen E.Attwood Award. In 1999, he was inducted tomembership in the National Academy ofEngineering. His textbook, titled “RadiationDetection and Measurement”, now in its thirdedition, is widely regarded as the standard inits field, and is in use at many universities andinstitutions worldwide. Many of us have beeninspired by his legacy and important contribu-tions to the field.

The citation on the award reads ‘For contri-butions to the education of a generation ofnuclear scientists and advancement of the sci-ence of radiation detection.’

The award comes with a plaque and certifi-cate, and a $2,000 check, which ProfessorKnoll has elected to donate to the recentlyestablished John King Scholarship Fund at theUniversity of Michigan.

Submitted

RADIATION EFFECTS AWARDS: Nominations Requested

RADIATION EFFECTS AWARDNominations are currently being accepted forthe 2008 IEEE Nuclear and Plasma SciencesSociety (NPSS) Radiation Effects Award. Thepurpose of the award is to recognize individu-als who have had a sustained history of out-standing and innovative technical and/or lead-ership contributions to the radiation effectscommunity. The $2000 cash award and plaquewill be presented at the 2008 IEEE NSRECheld in Tucson, Arizona July 14-18, 2008.

Nomination forms are available electronically athttp://www.nsrec.com/nominate.htm.Nominations must be submitted by March 15,

2008. Additional information can be obtained fromWayne Abare, Senior Member-at-Large for theRadiation Effects Steering Group. Wayne can bereached at 321-729-7224 or at [email protected]

PAUL PHELPS CONTINUING EDUCATIONGRANTNominations are currently being accepted forthe Paul Phelps Continuing Education Grant.The purpose of this grant is to promote contin-uing education and encourage membership inNPSS. University professors may nominate out-standing student members of NPSS for thisgrant. In addition, unemployed Members of

AWARD SOLICITATIONS

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ARTICLES

NPSS who need assistance in changing careerdirection are also eligible for this grant. Thegrant is for $500 to attend the 2008 NSRECShort Course in Tucson, Arizona, in July 2008.

Nomination forms are available electronical-

ly at www.nsrec.com/steeringcommittee. Thecompleted forms must be submitted to theRESG Member-at-Large, Marty Shaneyfelt, [email protected] by March 15, 2008.Marty can be contacted at 505-844-6137.

The common methods of radiologicalimaging (radiography, computed tomog-raphy and emission tomography) have

always struck me as not being natural means forimaging. A visual image is formed by the reflec-tion of light from the viewed object to the eye,i.e., the radiation source (light) and the detector(eyes) are on the same side of the object. On theother hand, radiographic and tomographicimages are generated by transmitted-throughradiation, with the source and detector placed atopposite sides of the object. In emission imaging,radiation can be detected at one side of theobject, but then the radiation source is embed-ded within the interrogated medium; an intrusiveprocess, unlike the passive form of natural vision.

Penetration of radiation, needed to imageinternal details, can also be realized by the scat-tering of radiation. This imaging processresembles natural vision, and can be accom-plished with the source and detector placed onthe same side of the object (i.e., by backscat-tering). One can then see through matter withradiation “eyes”, and examine large andextended structures, such as solid walls andfloors, where radiation cannot penetrate fromone side to the opposite side, and without theneed for internal sources. Why do not we thencommonly see scatterographs? The answer issimple: because scatter imaging is a third-degree interrogation process! Let me elaborate.

When a radiation beam passes through mat-ter, its intensity is attenuated by scattering andabsorption. In the transmission imaging ofradiography and computed tomography (CT),the intensity of radiation that survives thisattenuation process is recorded. Therefore, a

transmission measurement is a first-degreemeasurement, because it monitors only onefactor: the attenuation of radiation as it travers-es through the object from the source to thedetector, as schematically shown in Figure 1.The challenge is then to keep transmissionmeasurements from being contaminated by thehigher order effects of scattering and secondaryemissions (resulting from radiation absorp-tion). These are non-localized effects thatinterfere with the extraction of image informa-tion along the path of the monitored radiation.

In emission imaging, such as SPECT andPET, the source of radiation is present withinthe interrogated object, as schematicallyshown in Figure 1. As such, emission mea-surements are second-degree measurements,because each measurement depends on twoparameters: the intensity of the internal source(the parameter which formulates the image),and the attenuation of radiation from thesource to the detector (an intruding parameterthat needs to be corrected for). However,emission imaging can be approximated to afirst-degree imaging process, by ignoringattenuation. Even then, the emission signal hasto be protected from the higher contaminatingeffects of scattering and secondary emissions.

In scatter imaging, as schematically shownin Figure 1, each measurement is affected bythree parameters: attenuation before scatter-ing, the macroscopic scattering cross-sectionat the scattering point, and attenuation afterscattering. The higher order contaminatingeffects are then the subsequent multiple scat-tering of radiation and secondary emissions.This is a three-parameter interrogation


RADIOLOGICAL IMAGING TO THE THIRD DEGREE

by Esam HusseinUniversity of New Brunswick, Fredericton, Canada

(http://www.unb.ca/ME/faculty/hussein.html)

Esam Hussein

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process, as it can provide images of the twoattenuation coefficients (total cross-sections)of the incident and scattered radiation (calledhere μt and μ′

t , respectively), and the scatter-ing cross-section, μs . With scatter imaging,one has then in effect a dual-energy tomo-graph, with μt giving an image at the incidentenergy, and μ′

t providing another image at thescattering energy. In addition, one also has ascatter image through μs . The images for μt

and μ′t are like those of transmission, because

they have to be reconstructed from integratedsignals, formed by radiation travel from thesource to the scattering point, and away fromit. On the other hand, the μs image is differ-ential in nature, owing to its reliance on scat-tering at segregated points in the investigatedobject. In terms of spatial resolution and mate-rial contrast, the transmission-like and scatterimages complement each other; the informa-tion concealed by the integral nature of trans-mission is revealed by the differential nature ofscattering, and vice versa.

The triplex nature of scatter imaging makesit able to reveal more than one physicalattribute at each voxel in the image. Todemonstrate this, let us consider imaging withthe photons within an energy range wherephotoelectric absorption and Compton scat-tering are the dominant interactions, as it is thecase for photons emitted from most x-raymachines or radioisotopes. Then the recon-structed cross-sections can be expressed as:

μt = (σs + σa)ρ

Au= (Z σe + aZ m)

ρ

Au(1)

μs = σsρ

Au= Z σe

ρ

Au(2)

μ′t = (σ ′

s + σ ′a)

ρ

Au= (Z σ ′

e + a′Z m′)ρ

Au(3)

where σs and σ ′s are the scattering (Compton)

microscopic cross sections at the incident andscattered photon energy, respectively, σe and σ ′

eare the corresponding values per electron, σa

and σ ′a are absorption microscopic cross-sec-

tions at the two energies, respectively, whichare related to the atomic number Z by the pro-portionality constants a and a ′, respectively,and by the indices m and m ′, ρ is the massdensity, A is the mass number, and u is atomicmass unit.

In conventional transmission tomography,μt is reconstructed, while in dual energy CTboth μt and μ′

t are obtained, and their ratio isused as a composition (by Z) indicator. Scatterimaging indications can be used similarly, orby combining the attenuation-in indication ofEq. (1) with the scattering indication of Eq.(2) to obtain Z. Since for most materials,Z

A� 1

2, Eq. (3) can be used to independently

estimate the mass density, ρ. This estimatedvalue of ρ should then match those evaluatedusing Eqs. (1) and (2), and if not, a new esti-mate for ρ that best provides this matchingcan be obtained, leading to a new estimate forρ from Eq. (3). The process is repeated untilconsistent values are obtained for ρ and A.That is, with scatter imaging, one can obtain ateach voxel, the mass density and the equivalentmass and atomic numbers of the material with-in the voxel, which are more affirmative com-position indicators than those obtained bydual-energy transmission tomography.

Other obvious advantages of scatter imag-ing, compared to transmission imaging, are theflexibility in locating the source and the detec-tor, which do not have to be on opposite sides,the ability to use more than one detector forthe same radiation source beam, and the three-dimensional nature of the scattering processwhich makes it amenable to multi-planar imag-ing. In spite of all the above attractive featuresof scatter imaging, it faces considerable physicaland mathematical hurdles [1]. Decipheringinformation by visually observing raw scatterradiographs, or a set of measurements, is notdirectly possible, due the convoluted nature ofscatter indications. The problem is caused bythe non-localized diffused nature of scattering;although we examined the use of the coded-aperture technique to detect localized anom-alies with backscatter imaging [2].

The diffusivity of scattering can be over-

Closed mind

If you shut yourdoor to allerrors, truth willbe shut out.

RabindranathTagore

A little knowledge is ....

It is impossiblefor a man tobegin to learnwhat he thinkshe knows.

Epictetus

Figure 1: Schematics showing the pas-sage of one source-ray in various imag-ing modalities.

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come by monitoring only single-scatter events,via radiation collimation or by making use ofthe unique energy-angle relationship of thekinematics of corpuscular collisions. Eventhen, single collisions can take place at manylocations and mathematical inversion becomesnecessary to construct an intelligible imagefrom measurements. The mathematical prob-lem is nonlinear, because the intensity of thescattering signal increases with density anddecreases with attenuation. As a result, eachrecorded scattering measurement correspondsto two possible states: one at low densitywhere scattering is dominant and the other athigh density when attenuation prevails.

It is possible, however, to limit the solution tothe domain of scatter dominance by restricting thesize of the interrogated object to a volume equiv-alent to that formed by a mean-free-path of theincident radiation. One then assures uniqueness ofsolution, and the nonlinearity of the problem canbe overcome iteratively, as we have done for neu-tron [3] and gamma-ray imaging [4]. The onemean-free-path restriction limits the use of scatterimaging to a depth of about 150 mm of water-equivalent thickens for 1.25 MeV (60Co) photonsand 100 mm for 14 MeV neutrons; two energiesat the high end of common radiation sources.

In effort to extend the imaging depth of scat-ter imaging while removing the duality of solu-tion, we considered eliminating the effect ofscattering and of one of the associated attenua-tion terms. This was done by taking the ratio oftwo measurements, in which either the paths ofincident radiation overlap [5], or the paths ofdetected radiation coincide [6]. Then the imagereconstruction problem becomes equivalent tothat of transmission, where a solution for atten-uation factors is obtained. However, once thisfactor is determined, solution for the otherattenuation factor and the scattering cross-sec-tion becomes possible. An alternative approachis to use attenuation coefficients readily availablefrom transmission tomography to obtain aunique solution for the scattering cross-section[7]. We have also developed a scheme to biasthe solution to the domain of attenuation dom-inance to image pallet-size cargo shipments [8].

Figure 2 shows a recently acquired image withbackscattering using the method of [6], for 5×10mm2 pixels. The results of image reconstructionare not as crisp and fine as those observed in CTmedical imaging. However, scatter imaging, evenat the current state-of-the-art, can be useful in

one-side bulk-defect imaging, particularly whenonly one-side access is available or the object istoo thick to allow transmission-through imaging.Examples include: the detection of coke build-upin large diameter pipes, finding holes in refectoryliners within tanks and vessels, and examiningguide trays and supports inside tanks

It is obvious that the potential of scatterimaging and its powerful features are not fullyexploited. I summarized in the above the mer-its and obstacles of scatter imaging in the hopeof encouraging more research in this last fron-tier of imaging with radiation. Addressing thisproblem will also benefit the other third-degree imaging process: imaging with inducedemission (e.g., by neutron activation), whichhas three associated parameters -- attenuationof incident radiation, that of emitted radiation,and the activation cross-section (with its ele-mental discrimination ability).

REFERENCES1. Hussein, E.M.A., Nucl. Instrum. Methods

Phys. Res. B, 263, 27-31, 2007.2. Thangavelu, S. and Hussein, E.M.A., Appl.


Need some-where to go

Consistency is the last refuge of theunimaginative.

Oscar Wilde

Figure 2: An electron-density reconstructedtomograph of the middle cross-section of ahollow clay brick (top view shown in a pho-tograph). Measurements were acquired byscanning the object from its front (solid)side with a 137Cs source and detectingbackscattered photons at 876 positions andorientations. The image was reconstructedover 12x8 pixels (5x10 mm2 each) using themethod of [5], which requires the materialat the back of the imaged object to beassigned some known density (methods toremove this restriction are currently underdevelopment). This brick was chosen toemulate deteriorated refractory lining(Courtesy of Inversa Systems Ltd.,www.inversasystems.com).

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Radiat. Isot., 65, 189-198, 2007.3. Hussein, E.M.A., Meneley, D.A. and

Banerjee, S., Int. J. of Multiphase Flow, 12,1-6, 1986.

4. Arendtsz, N.V. and Hussein, E.M.A., IEEETrans. Nucl.Sci., 42, 2155-2172, 1995.

5. El Khettabi, F., Hussein, E.M.A. and Jama H.A.IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci., 51, 641-658, 2004.

6. Arsenault, P.J. and Hussein, E.M.A., IEEETrans. Nucl. Sci., 53, 1622-1633, 2006.

7. Busono, P. and Hussein, E.M.A., Phys.Med. Biol., 44, 1455 -1477, 1999.

8. Hussein, E.M.A., Bowles, J.T.C., InverseProblems, 23, 289-1309, 2007.

Professor Hussein’s intrigue with radiationinteractions has led him to writing a textbook:Radiation Mechanics: Principles & PracticeEsam Hussein, University of New Brunswick,Fredericton, NB Canada Elsevier Science, Oxford, 2007.(ISBN-13: 978-0-08-045053-7, ISBN-10: 0-08-045053-9)

The publisher’s link to the book is: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/bookdescription.cws_home/712864/description#description

A short description and a detailed table of con-tents is on http://www.unb.ca/ME/research/

LTMD/RadMech_Outline.htmlThis book presents a systematic and com-

prehensive analysis for the radiation interactionmechanisms, their kinematics and probabilities(cross sections), as well as their collectivemovement (transport). The more than 30ways via which radiation can interact with theconstituents of matter, and its fields, are dis-cussed, in accordance with the nature of inter-action mechanism.

Interaction kinematics are analyzed, support-ed with calculation algorithms, using relativistic(Einsteinian) and classical (Newtonian)mechanics, as well as the powerful concept ofinvariants. The quantum mechanical and elec-trodynamics foundations of the interactioncross-sections are examined in a straightforwardmanner that enables understanding of theirbehavior, without being immersed in detailedand complex manipulations. The radiation trans-port process and its associated computationalmethods are covered in a manner that empha-sizes the important features of each approach.

Esam Hussein can be reached at MechanicalEngineering, University of New Brunswick, 15Dineen Drive, PO Box 4400, Fredericton, NBE3B 5A3, Canada; Phone: +1 506 447-3105;Fax:+1 506-453-5025;E-mail:[email protected];http://www.unb.ca/ME/faculty/hussein.html

The selfishgene

When we areplanning forposterity, weought to remember thatvirtue is nothereditary.

Thomas Paine

Closer to home

Instead of lovingyour enemies,treat your friendsa little better.

Ed Howe

Ed. note: The following is taken from a series of slides related to the Humanitarian Technology Challenge(HTC), a new partnership between IEEE and the United Nations Foundation to identify relevant tech-nological challenges that humanitarian aid workers face in the field and then tap into the innovationand solution-building capacity of IEEE's members to provide focused solutions to all or some of the chal-lenges. The HTC Kick-Off Conference scheduled for 2008 will bring together representatives from Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), IEEE Members and Volunteers, Corporations, PhilanthropicFoundations and User Gateway NGOs (organizations that can help implement the solutions) to set thechallenges and the approaches to solving the challenges. This is only a sampling of the slides presented toour society presidents, but will give you an introduction and some insight into this important activity

Many of the activities planned also relate to the very important work of the broader organization,Engineers Without Borders, the engineering analog to Doctors Without Borders, the recipients of the 1999Nobel Peace prize. You can read more about both their US and international activities at http://www.ewb-usa.org/ or http://www.ewb-international.org/, respectively, or contact Prof. Bernard Amadei, EWB-IExecutive Director, E-mail: [email protected], Tel:1-303-929-8167. The NPSS liaison to the IEEE-UN Humanitarian Technology challenge is Ray Larsen, [email protected] or +1 650 926-4907.

Humanitarian Technology ChallengeA collaboration between the IEEE and the UN Foundation

November 2007Russ Lefevre, Chair, TAB New Technology Directions Committee

Mary Ward-Callan, Managing Director, Technical Activities

An unprecedented opportunity for a focusedcollaboration to develop technology-based

solutions to some of the most intractableproblems facing the world – particularly in

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The devil is inthe details

Amid the pressures ofgreat events, ageneral principlegives no help.

Georg WilhelmFriedrich Hegel

Fatalist

We’ll jump offthat bridge whenwe come to it.

Lester B.Pearson

developing regions– Led by the UN Foundation and IEEE – Participants should include:

• Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs)• User Gateway NGOs, e.g. WHO, Red

Cross, UN• Governments of developing countries• Corporations• IEEE Societies and Councils

– Including Individuals from industryand academia

• IEEE Sections

HTC PROJECT GOAL• Bring together humanitarian organizations,

first responders, technical experts (practicingtechnologists, professionals, and academi-

cians), companies, philanthropic groups toaddress some critical humanitarian-basedworld problems

• Initial emphasis:– Public Health (healthcare)– Disaster Response/Management

IEEE PERSPECTIVES– Bring a more systematic approach to apply-

ing technology to help solve world prob-lems. Drive innovation in a directed way

– Trial and Refine “Challenge/ProblemMethodology.” Refine repeatable method-ologies for addressing challenge oriented,large scale efforts

– Focus on problems needing technology solutions• Use systems engineering expertise to clearly

PROPOSED PROJECT FRAMEWORK

We are here: in framing stage

KEY OUTPUTS FROM EACH PHASE

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Misogynist?No!!

I used to gomissing a lot:Miss Canada,Miss UnitedKingdom, MissWorld...

George Best

Who’s that?

Politics doesn’tmake strangebedfellows –marriage does.

Groucho Marx

scope problems• Identify technology based solutions– Solutions should have a component of sus-

tainability to ensure long-term managementgiven the environmental, cultural, structural,political and socio-economic conditionswhere they will be deployed. Emphasis is oncomplete, repeatable, and deployed imple-mentations.

– Engage younger population in these endeav-ors by providing a web based experience tosolicit best ideas from large population inopen forums

– Inclusion of potential funders, NGOs, tech-nologists, implementers, and deployers

PHASE 1Project Framework Definition• Define general approach and project frame-work • Draft first pass project plan• Identify and select possible sponsors• Develop participation agreements ("public"and "private")• Arrange funding, Seek

– internal IEEE funding (initiative orreallocation)

– IEEE Foundation has committed tosupport Conferences events

– UN Foundation has committed tosupport Challenge Formulation

– Vodafone has committed to supportUNF Challenge Formulation &events

– other sources (TBD)[milestone] Sponsorship and funding defined• Assign full-time project manager• Create Steering and Partnership Committees• Build partnerships with "user gateway" orgs

acting as implementation brokers• Refine project plan

COMMUNICATIONS• Socialize project objectives and schedule• Solicit Society, Council, TAB participation• Solicit focused participation in Conferences

– Initial communication announcingchallenges and project to IEEEaudiences & public

– "The Institute" article (target Juneprint issue)

– "IEEE Spectrum" article (targetApril online edition)

– Targeted invitation to participate /

register– Final reminder

• Solicit general participation in online, virtu-al discussions

– Initial communications announcingproject and invitation to participate

• Announcements of events: Conferences,Workshops, Results

• Publicity ads for general public, govern-ment, etc.

• Reminders / marketing messages -- period-ically through project duration

• Communications to stakeholders: corpora-tions, foundations, other funders

• Communications assistance to sponsors• Promotion of results

STATUS• Idea investigation between UN Foundationand IEEE completed• General framework for project proposed• Partnership between UN Foundation andIEEE defined – event-related MOU complet-ed and signed in November• Funding solicited

– UNF approved, Vodafone fundingapproved

– IEEE NIC Phase I Initiativeapproved, preparing Phase II

– 2008 HTC Conference funded byIEEE Foundation, 2009 pending

– Interest from other groups is sub-stantial

• First meeting with NGOs to begin problemspace understanding was completed, identifiedsome needed changes to project plan• Additional Focus Groups with NGOs arebeing planned• Draft project plan completed in MicrosoftProject• Steering Committee being launched• Soliciting Society (incl. Council) PartnershipGroup

IEEE’S ROLE IN HUMANITARIAN ENDEAVORS• Engineering and the condition of the worldare intimately connected• IEEE tenets:

– Advance global prosperity– For the benefit of humanity

• Humanitarian activities of increasing interestto IEEE volunteers

– Ex: IEEE Committee on EarthObservation/GEOSS

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2008 Nuclear and Plasma Sciences SocietyAdministrative Committee

President Jane M. LehrVice President Craig Woody

Secretary Alberta M. Dawson LarsenTreasurer Edward J. Lampo

Most Recent Past President William W. MosesDivision IV Director Edward Della Torre

Elected Administrative Committee MembersTerms ending 2008: Uwe Bratzler (Transnational), ChristopherDeeney (PSA), Ronald J. Jaszczak (NMIS)Terms ending 2009: Daniel M. Fleetwood (RE), Anthony Peratt(PSA), Robert E. Reinovsky (PPST), Craig L. Woody (RI).Terms ending 2010: Sandra Biedron (PAST), Eric Frey (NMIS),James Schwank (RE), Rick Van Berg (RI)Terms ending 2011: David Abe (PSA), Janet L. Barth (RE), DillonMcDaniel (PPST), Hutch Neilson (FE)

Technical Committee ChairsComputer Applications in Nuclear and Plasma Science (CANPS):Jean-Pierre Martin; Radiation Instrumentation (RI): RichardLanza; Fusion Technology (FT): Mark Tillack; Nuclear Medicaland Imaging Sciences (NMIS): Charles C. Watson; ParticleAccelerator Science and Technology (PAST): Ilan Ben-Zvi;Plasma Science and Applications (PSA): Ronald M. Gilgenbach;Pulsed Power Science and Technology (PPST): Edl Schamiloglu;Radiation Effects (RE): Timothy R. Oldham.

Functional Committee ChairsAwards: Peter S. Winokur; Chapters and Distinguished Lecturers:Steven H. Gold; Communications: Peter N. Clout; Fellow CandidateEvaluation: Peter S. Winokur; Finance: Harold Flescher;Conference Policy: Raymond S. Larsen; Membership: ChristophIlgner; Nominations: William W. Moses; Publications: Paul V.Dressendorfer; Standards: Ronald M. Keyser; Transnational: UweBratzler.

PublicationsEditor-in-Chief: Paul V. Dressendorfer; Editor, IEEETransactions on Nuclear Science: Paul V. Dressendorfer; Editor,IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science: Steven J. Gitomer;Editor, IEEE Transaction on Medical Imaging: Max A. Viergever;Conference Editors, Transactions on Nuclear Science: ZaneBell; John Cressler; Joel Karp; Jean-Pierre Dufey; Editor,Newsletter: Albe Dawson Larsen; Editor Emeritus: W. KennethDawson.

Liaison Representatives on other IEEE CommitteesCoalition for Plasma Science: Gerald L. Rogoff; DistinguishedLecturer Program: Energy Policy: Richard Lanza and CharlesNeumeyer; R&D Policy: Sandra G. Biedron; RADECSLiaisons: Harold Flescher and Ronald Schrimpf; SensorsCouncil: Anthony D. Lavietes; Social Implications ofTechnology: Raymond S. Larsen; Standards: MichaelUnterweger; TMI: A. Bertrand Brill and Ronald J. Jaszczak.Medical: A. Bertrand Brill, International Conferences: PatrickLe Dû; IEEE Women In Science: Allan H. Johnston.

The Institute of Electrical & Electronic Engineers, Inc.445 Hoes Lane • Piscataway, NJ 08854 Non-Profit Org.

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