People, News and Events in the Cryogenic Field

Photos from events in the field of Cryogenics are posted here.  If you have a photo to share with the CSA community, please send it to csa@cryogenicsociety.org.  News Items are listed here.

Hugh Montgomery Named Jefferson Lab's New Director
Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility has named Hugh Montgomery the facility's new Director as of September 2008, according to Fermilab Today. Montgomery is currently the Associate Director for Research at Fermilab, where he has been employed for almost 25 years. "We will miss Mont's great leadership, his profound knowledge of physics, his drive and his great sense of humor," said Fermilab Director Pier Oddone. In Montgomery's new position he will also serve as President of Jefferson Science Associates, a joint venture between the Southeastern Universities Research Association and CSC Applied Technologies. "After almost 25 years at Fermilab, this move certainly represents a major change in my life," Montgomery told Fermilab Today. "The new position will be an enormous challenge for me but also an enormous opportunity to which I am looking forward."

Roderic Fink Accepts CGA Lifetime Achievement Award
Longtime CSA Member Roderic Fink was awarded the H. Emerson Thomas Award for Lifetime Achievement at the Compressed Gas Association's (CGA) Safety Awards Banquet on March 18. Fink is a former owner and shareholder of CSA Corporate Sustaining Member Acme Cryogenics, Inc. and one of the organizers of the CSA Lehigh Valley Chapter.

John Porter "Jack" Hoey Died February 8, 2008, West Palm Beach FL.
John Porter “Jack” Hoey, Founder of Scientific Instruments Inc. of West Palm Beach FL, a CSA Corporate Sustaining Member, passed away peacefully surrounded by his loving family on February 8. Jack was born in Bellefontaine OH on May 6, 1927. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1949 with a Degree in Aeronautical Engineering. In 1967 Jack founded Scientific Instruments Inc. and served as President until his retirement in 1995. Scientific Instruments is involved in many areas of cryogenic technology. Product areas include cryogenic thermometry, temperature controllers and indicators, probes and transducers for medical, laboratory, aerospace, industrial and petrochemical applications. Jack and the early staff at Scientific Instruments performed groundbreaking work in early Germanium Resistance thermometers. Applications for these devices included use in helium storage systems on all the Apollo moon missions and continuing support throughout the entire Space Shuttle Program. Under Jack’s leadership, Scientific Instruments invented and patented the first Liquid Level, Temperature and Density (LTD) system for large liquid natural gas storage tanks in 1974. This device is still manufactured by the company and is installed at over 50 sites globally. Jack Hoey’s vision for Scientific Instruments was based on diversification and participation in the various fields of cryogenic technology. This long range vision has allowed the company to grow and prosper to the point of celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2007. Jack will long be remembered as a generous, giving man who loved helping people. He was involved in many charities and gave freely of his time and resources in their support. His friends and loved ones will always remember his winning smile, warm sense of humor and welcoming heart.

Dr. Randall Barron "King Cryo" wearing the caricature tee shirt presented by the students in his Cryogenic Systems class at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, Louisiana.
“KING CRYO” When Dr. Randall Barron entered the classroom of his Cryogenic Systems class at Louisiana Tech University on February 29, 2008, he was surprised to see each of the 33 students in the class wearing a tee shirt with his caricature on the front. All of the students had signed the shirt, and they had included several “quotes” from the class during the term. Then the students presented Dr. Barron with a tee shirt, which he wore to the next class meeting. “The preparation and presentation of the caricature tee shirt to me by my students was something that touched me significantly,” says Dr. Barron, Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering at the university in Ruston, Louisiana. “It is evidence that engineering students are not only ingenious in applying technical principles, but also sensitive to people who try to be their mentors and to prepare them for their future careers,” he concluded.

Inauguration Symposium Held for LHC
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) under construction at CERN will be the largest scientific instrument in the world. A Symposium for the Inauguration of LHC Cryogenics took place on May 31st and June 1st 2007 at CERN. From left: CERN officials; Georgio Passardi, leader of Cryogenics for Experiments group; Philippe Lebrun, Head of Accelerator Technology department; Giorgio Brianti, founder of the LHC project; Lyn Evans, LHC project leader and Laurent Tavian, leader of Cryogenics for Accelerators group

NHMFL Magnet Sets New Record
The Florida State University High Magnetic Field Laboratory (NHMFL) and partner SuperPower, Inc., Schenectady NY, have set a world record for a magnetic field using a superconducting magnet. The record of 26.8 tesla was set July 20 at the High Field Test Facility. The new record magnetic field was more than 1.8 tesla higher than the previous record. The magnet's coil was wound by SuperPower with high-temperature superconductor yttrium barium copper oxide (YBCO). The Mag Lab's Applied Superconductivity Center has previously worked with SuperPower to run tests on YBCO.

Dr. Herby Sixsmith, 93, died on June 17 in Lebanon, NH
Herby Sixsmith was born February 23, 1914 in Dublin, Ireland. Following his graduation from Trinity College, Dublin, he worked with British research teams for the Admiralty Research Group in the development of the cavity magnetron – a device critical to radar during World War II. He then returned to academia to lecture and embark on a Ph. D. in Physics at the University in Reading. He then joined the Dept. of Engineering Science at Oxford University. While at Reading and Oxford, he developed devices useful for the liquefaction of gases to produce cryogens. These fundamental building blocks – miniature turbomachines, gas bearings, heat exchangers – gained him international recognition and brought opportunities to work at several national laboratories to support the U.S. high-energy physics programs. He retired from Oxford and in 1979 took an engineering position at Creare Incorporated in Hanover, NH, where his innovations continued as he accumulated international and U.S. patents until his retirement earlier this year. Herby’s most notable contribution at Creare was the development of the key technologies for a cryocooler that controls the temperature of the Near InfraRed Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) on the Hubble Space Telescope. The cryocooler was installed on HST in 2002 and has allowed astronomers a unique view of the history of the universe. Herby had a love of the mountains, gardens and crows, and rejoiced in his friends. He spent years in the Alps and on the trails of the White Mountains. He was a member of the Fell and Rock Climbing Club of the English Lakes District, and his sabbaticals in the western U.S. introduced him to hiking in the Rockies. He is survived by his loving wife, Winifred, of Reading, England and by his nephew Jack Carter in Ireland.

Jefferson Lab Engineers Receive Prestigious White House "Closing the Circle Award" in Washington DC on June 12, 2007
The Jefferson Lab engineers who received a White House "Closing the Circle Award" were (left to right): Cryogenic Group Leader and CSA Board Member Dana Arenius, and Team Members Mathew Wright, Jonathan Creel, Kelly Dixon, Peter Knudsen, and Venkatarao "Rao" Ganni. Dr. Ganni is a Fellow of the Cryogenic Society, recognized for his valuable contributions to the field of cryogenics. Dixon, Knudsen and Ganni are all active members of the Cryogenic Society of America. The engineers revolutionized the way helium cryogenic (refrigeration) plants work, reducing electricity consumption at Jefferson Lab and other Department of Energy scientific research facilities. The new processes require very few or no new components and nearly double the lifetime of refrigeration equipment, while improving system reliability, availability, stability and efficiency.

Tom Haruyama Wins the Commendation of the Research and Education Promotion Fund
Tom Haruyama receives the Commendation of the Research and Education Promotion Fund from the Alumni Association of Keio University Faculty of Science and Technology in recognition of his development of a pulse-tube cryocooler for liquid-xenon particle detectors.

Ronald Ross Retires from Jet Propulsion Laboratory
From Left: Dr. Mous Chahine, Fred O'Callaghan, Ron Ross, Lary Sumas Ronald Ross retired as Supervisor of the Advanced Thermal Group at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory on November 16. In 2007 Ross hopes to do consulting work in the field of space cryocoolers for JPL and others.

2nd Cryogenic Operations Workshop held at SLAC
On May 9-11th 2006, the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) hosted the 2nd Cryogenic Operations Workshop. The Workshop provides a periodic forum for national laboratories to present and discuss current technological advancements, operability, and maintenance experience of large cryogenic plant facilities which support the physics research community. 34 people from more than a dozen laboratories and 5 different countries attended the workshop. Talks were given on topics ranging from the characteristics of helium compressors to the cryogenic system of the proposed International Linear Collider. The emphasis was on the exchange of experience and practical knowledge. A short course on Cryogenic Safety was presented by R. Bell. Attendees also enjoyed a tour of SLAC technical facilities and social activities. More information on the workshop, including copies of the presentations may be found here: www-conf.slac.stanford.edu/cryo2006/ The next Cryogenic Operations Workshop will be hosted by CERN in 2008. (Photo taken by Diana Rogers of SLAC)

New Southern California Chapter Forms!
Attendees at the Southern California Chapter organizational meeting held October 13, 2005 at Aerospace Corporation in Los Angeles. Back Row- Jeremy Harvey (Raytheon), John Shimada (Wyle lab), Blyssey and Chantal Ballo (Cabrillo Marine Aquarium), Lou Saleno (NASA Ames), Sidney Yuan (Raytheon). Front Row- Bill Fischer (Aerospace Corp.), Dan Kuo, Tony Loc and Tibor Lody (L3 Communications Co.), Ms. B Ballo (Cabrillo Marine Aquarium).

Collins Awardee
At the 2005 CEC/ICMC conference in Keystone CO, Dr. Glen McIntosh, President of Cryogenic Technical Services, Inc., a CSA Corporate Sustaining Member, and a columnist for Cold Facts magazine, received the CEC's prestigious Samuel Collins Award.