At Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) there is a long and distinguished history in the development of accelerator-based synchrotron light and ion beam cancer therapy (IBCT) facilities. LBNL built and commissioned the Advanced Light Source (ALS), the world’s first soft X-ray third generation light source in early 1990s, that is currently the world’s brightest source of soft X-rays. In addition to the ALS, extensive work is underway directed at the development of the next generation of Free Electron Lasers (FELs). With the success of the ALS and the consolidated FEL R&D activities, LBNL is well positioned to host a soft X-ray FEL of unprecedented brightness. In the area of ion beam cancer therapy, LBNL also has a distinguished history. The field of IBCT was pioneered at LBNL in the 1950s. In subsequent years, 4,000 patients were treated using protons or heavier ions such as carbon. Worldwide IBCT is currently a rapidly expanding field with nearly 100,000 patients having been treated. Presently at LBNL, R&D is underway to develop technologies to improve ion beam cancer therapy that might significantly improve the performance or reduce the cost of treatment. In this talk, Dr. Robin will briefly describe the present research activities, and future prospects in light sources and ion beam cancer therapy.
David Robin is an accelerator physicist and senior scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). He joined LBNL after completing his Ph.D. thesis at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1991 on quasi-isochronous storage ring accelerators under the direction of Professor Claudio Pellegrini. After joining LBNL, he initially worked on the lattice design and beam dynamics for the SLAC PEP-II B-Factory's Low Energy Ring. In 1993, he joined the staff of the Advanced Light Source located at LBNL. The Advanced Light Source is a synchrotron radiation source optimized to generate soft X-ray radiation and is currently the world's brightest source of soft X-ray radiation. At the Advanced Light Source he has led many upgrades of the accelerator including the Superbend and the Top-off upgrades. His current position is Division Deputy for Accelerator Operations and Development at the Advanced Light Source where he oversees upgrades and development of the accelerators. More recently he has been involved in the design and development of an ultra high brightness soft x-ray free electron laser. Also he has been involved in an effort to explore how LBNL can now contribute technology to the field of Ion Beam Cancer Therapy (IBCT) and help to bring a world leading IBCT center to the Bay Area – where the field of Ion Beam Therapy began.
