Education in a rapidly advancing technology: Accelerators and beams

The field of accelerators and beams (A&B) is one of today’s fast changing technologies. Because university faculties have not been able to keep pace with the associated advancing knowledge, universities have not been able to play their traditional role of educating the scientists and engineers needed to sustain this technology for use in science, industry, commerce, and defense. This problem for A&B is described and addressed. The solution proposed, a type of “distance” education, is the U.S. Particle Accelerator School (USPAS) created in the early 1980s. USPAS provides the universities with a means of serving the education needs of the institutions using A&B, primarily but not exclusively the national laboratories. The field of A&B is briefly summarized. The need for education outside the university framework, the raison d’être for USPAS, the USPAS method, program structure, and curriculum, and particular USPAS–university connections are explained. The management of USPAS is analyzed, including its unique administrative structure, its institutional ties, and its operations, finance, marketing, and governmental relations. USPAS performance over the years is documented and a business assessment is made. Finally, there is a brief discussion of the future potential for this type of educational program, including possible extrapolation to new areas and/or different environments, in particular, its extra-government potential and its international possibilities.