It may seem a long way away, but the Health Physics Society (HPS) 2008 midyear symposium is looming in the very near future. The HPS wants us to include a larger crowd than just research accelerators to increase the attendance at this meeting. Lorraine Day and I have discussed the possibility of including the following: medical accelerators, tomography and other radiation-based medical imaging techniques, industrial accelerators and sterilization irradiators of all types, homeland security interrogation technology, high-dose dosimetry, high-energy neutron spectroscopy, and high-energy neutron dosimetry. We would certainly entertain other suggestions to broaden the interest in the meeting and are searching for an appropriate title. Radiation-generating machines is too limiting and really does not describe the array of different subjects applicable to accelerators.
Pre-planning this meeting will consume a great deal of the section's energy over the next two years. I would like to strongly encourage as many as possible of the section board members to attend the 2006 midyear meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona, this winter. We should begin laying the foundation by starting the pre-planning process at this meeting. Those of you in the section who may find it within yourselves to volunteer to prepare for this meeting are strongly encouraged to contact one of the board members or Accelerator Section officers. I am sure we will have plenty of opportunities for participation.
Lorraine is planning to expand the accelerator session at the next annual meeting to become a day-long plenary session. This program is planned to last long enough to allow time for a Morgan lecturer and two thirty-minute presentations (or three thirty-minute presentations if the HPS board does not approve a Morgan lecturer). The Accelerator Section meeting will also be scheduled without having to miss lunch. Please submit abstracts at your earliest convenience to allow me the time I need to coordinate the session. The length of the session is directly dependant upon the number of abstracts submitted, so please do not wait until the last minute to submit abstracts.