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The US Particle Accelerator School (USPAS) is a national, graduate-level training program with the mission of developing and providing a broad curriculum of courses in the science of charged particle beams, lasers, and their associated technologies that are otherwise unavailable to the scientific and engineering communities. All USPAS courses are vetted by the major research universities universities that host the semi-annual USPAS sessions. These sessions are underwritten by the USPAS Consortium of national laboratories and universities with significant research accelerators.

The courses, running two weeks in duration, are hosted by major U.S. research universities, twice per year, once in June and once in January. Two-week course requirements include at least 45 contact hours with the instructors as well as daily problems and examinations. Successful completion of the courses earn the participants 3 semester hours of credit from the host university. Typical prerequisites for USPAS courses are classical mechanics and electromagnetism at the junior or senior undergraduate level. More advanced course may have specific additional prerequisites as listed in each course description.

The USPAS also promotes the writing and publication of textbooks in accelerator science and technology.

The USPAS curriculum

The USPAS offers both introductory and highly specialized courses. The topics offered on a regular basis include: design of linear and circular accelerators, beam optics, high current and high brightness beams, spin dynamics; experimental methods, microwave measurement and beam instrumentation labs, accelerator vacuum technology, beam manipulation techniques; synchrotron radiation sources, free electron lasers; beam dynamics theory, non-linear dynamics, computational methods in beam dynamics, beam instabilities; RF technology, superconducting magnets, superconducting RF, superconducting materials; radiation physics and radiation management; strategic management of research infrastructures, and applications of accelerators in medicine, industry, defense,

Nationally and internationally recognized physicists and engineers are selected from national laboratories, universities and private industry to provide large pool of potential instructors with a broad range expertise. This instructor pool enables the USPAS to offer a curriculum that covers the broad spectrum of material that represent state-of-the-art beam physics and accelerator technology.

USPAS administration

The central USPAS Office located at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory carries out and coordinates all activities of the School. This administrative framework enables universities and laboratories across the nation to offer high-quality, advanced courses in accelerator science and technology.