Accelerator Control System

Speaker: Tom Himel

Date: Thursday, June 10, 2004
Time: 3:30 - 5:00 PM
Location: Orange Conference Room, Bldg 40
Goodies: Tea and Cookies Provided

News Flash: Accelerator Software Performs Unnatural Acts in Nanoseconds

How do you get over 1,500 bunches of particles to stick together when they want to repel each other, to travel in a curve when they want to go straight, and to waltz when they want to jitterbug? Come hear Tom Himel's talk on Accelerator Control Systems.

The control system which runs the linear accelerator and PEP was developed in the 1980's for the SLC and has expanded and evolved for over 20 years. It now consists of about 200 computers distributed around the site, over 1,000,000 lines of software, many thousands of electronic modules, thousands of kilometers of cable, and a partridge in a pear tree. The architecture of the control system will be described and a live demonstration of some of its functionality given.

About the Speaker:

Tom got his BS in physics from Caltech and his PhD from Stanford. His thesis experiment was on the Mark-II at SPEAR. He then worked on the UA2 detector at CERN for 4 years before coming back to SLAC where he has remained ever since. Projects he has contributed to include the SLC, PEP-II and the NLC. Tom has been involved in control systems for detectors or accelerators during much of that time. His favorite hobby is making Halloween decorations for his home.