Although this campaign has concluded, it's easy to give to Ohio University and support the Distinguished Professor J. Rapaport Endowment for the Institute of Nuclear and Particle Physics Fund.
Nuclear physics at Ohio University was started in 1962 with the hiring of Professor Roger Finlay. The initial research program utilized a small 150-kV Cockroft-Walton accelerator for generating neutrons that was located in an old automobile garage. The Department of Physics, however, had more ambitious plans. Construction of the Ohio University Accelerator Laboratory (OUAL) began in 1965 and was completed in 1967, with funds supplied by the State of Ohio. In addition, Clippinger Laboratories, which houses the rest of the Department of Physics and several other science departments, was completed nearby on campus in 1967. Additional faculty hires in the area of nuclear physics also took place during this time period.
The purchase of the 4.5-MV tandem accelerator was funded by a one million dollar grant awarded by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission to Ohio University in 1967. The principal investigator was Professor Ray Lane, who had been recently hired. The accelerator was manufactured by the High Voltage Engineering Corporation located in Burlington, Massachusetts. The machine was designed to deliver high currents and consists of a unique "T" configuration, with the charging system running vertically and the beam horizontally. The accelerator itself took 18 months to manufacture and over 10 months to install, with the first experiments starting in 1971. Interestingly, the only other accelerator of this design was also installed in "Athens" — at the National Centre for Scientific Research "Demokritos" in Athens, Greece — and it too is still in operation!
The accelerator tank, arriving on campus.
Roger Finlay, observing the process.
The control room in the early days.
The history of the Edwards Accelerator Lab is now 50 years strong. Please help us make the next 50 years even stronger with a gift today.
To see more photos, visit the Edwards Accelerator Laboratory History webpage.
Nuclear physics at Ohio University was started in 1962 with the hiring of Professor Roger Finlay
It's been a half-century of discovery at the Edwards Accelerator Laboratory with first design-voltage operations in 1971
This gift level recognizes that the initial research program utilized a small 150-kV Cockroft-Walton accelerator for generating neutrons
This gift level recognizes the 4.5-MV tandem accelerator which was funded by a $1M grant awarded by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission to Ohio U in 1967
The accelerator itself took 18 months to manufacture and over 10 months to install, with the first experiments starting in 1971