Specialized scientists from all over the world visited Saskatoon this week for a conference dedicated to those who work with particle accelerators. It’s hosted by the Canadian Light Source on the USask campus and includes tours of the synchrotron facility.

The International Beam Instrumentation Conference has previously been held in places like Barcelona, Melbourne and Kraków, Poland. CLS machine director, Mark Boland says CLS staff are thrilled to host some of the world’s brightest minds in this field. “We have pretty much every continent represented. It’s a very open and collaborative community. We have people from China. We have people from the U.S., Europe, Australia…” During the conference, they share insights with each other and learn from challenges others have had, rather than being competitive, Boland says. “The competition is only intellectual. Who can make the best device and you actually get bragging rights.” There is a prize which celebrates the best beam diagnostic tools.

Just under 200 particle accelerator experts from 18 countries visited Saskatoon this week and today (Thurs) is the final day of the conference. Boland says along with the speaker series and industry booths, those attending also got to experience Saskatoon. There was also a visit to the Remai Modern, an evening out at Champetre Country, and tours of the Canadian Light Source.

Boland points out the the CLS is one of the largest science projects in Canada’s history with more than a thousand academic, government and industry scientists from around the world using the facility every year.