Madison Accelerator Laboratory, a research facility available for operation in Fall 2017, features a fully operational medical electron linear accelerator manufactured by Siemens, a 140 keV X-ray imaging machine and standard particle detection instrumentation. The linac is a versatile magnetron unit that can provide electron and photon beams with energies up to 15 MeV.

The scope of this 2-day event is to bring together experts from institutions worldwide with similar facilities as well as institutions with a shared interest in exploring opportunities offered by the new facility at JMU in basic and applied research in nuclear physics, nuclear astrophysics, nuclear engineering, nuclear forensics and homeland security. Much broader applications in a variety of fields, such as accelerator physics, medical physics, materials science, environmental geochemistry, geology, biology, astronomy, archaeology or art history will be discussed as well, with the aim of forging possible collaborations.

The JMU Madison Accelerator Laboratory will also provide a unique platform for teaching undergraduate students in an accelerator-based environment. This will create a multitude of opportunities for students considering careers in nuclear or particle physics, nuclear engineering or medical physics as well as for those directly entering the workforce in nuclear industry or government. Thus, the workshop will discuss possible collaborations between the physics, nuclear engineering, and health sciences departments across the state of Virginia and beyond on the development of a broad educational curriculum in applied photon science and accelerator physics.