The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science is training the next generation of physicists and engineers who build the particle accelerators used in research, medicine, and industry across the UK. Accelerators are not just for smashing particles at CERN. They power X-ray light sources like Diamond, which reveal the atomic structures of proteins and new materials. They also produce beams used in cancer therapy and for sterilising medical equipment. The UK faces a shortage of skilled people who can design, build, and operate these machines. This institute directly addresses that gap by training PhD students and staff across Oxford, Royal Holloway, and Imperial College, with additional links to national labs and CERN. If this programme succeeds, the UK will have a steady pipeline of experts capable of maintaining existing facilities—such as the ISIS neutron source and Diamond Light Source—and leading future projects like a next-generation electron-positron collider or compact laser-driven accelerators. The work is a mix of fundamental science and applied technology. While some research, such as plasma-wakefield acceleration, may not yield immediate practical tools, past fundamental work on accelerators led directly to medical linacs and synchrotron light sources that now underpin modern biology and materials science.
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The John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science (JAI) is a centre of excellence for advanced accelerator science and technology. We perform R&D and training, provide expertise, and promote accelerator applications in science and society. The JAI currently comprises 20 faculty, 23 staff, and 38 PhD students from the Physics Departments of Oxford University (UOXF), Royal Holloway University of London (RHUL), and Imperial College London (ICL). An additional 33 staff from the UK's national laboratories and CERN are affiliated with our research and teaching programmes. We have six guiding principles: a) Develop, support and engagement of accelerator science facilities and R&D programmes of strategic importance for the UK; b) Develop worldwide collaborations that enhance the capabilities available to us; c) Develop novel acceleration and compact light source techniques and their applications; d) Deliver a world leading training programme to develop the next generation of leaders in the field; e) Communicate developments in the field to the public and decision makers; f) Strengthen the links among the partner universities to deliver a programme that is greater than the sum of its parts. For the period 2021-2025, we have focused on research areas that have the greatest benefit to national priorities: * Low-emittance, high-brightness electron beams, including next-generation electron-positron colliders (ILC, CLIC), the Diamond Light Source (DLS) and its upgrade, and a future UK FEL. * High-energy/high-intensity hadron beams, including current and future energy-frontier proton colliders (LHC, HL-LHC, FCC), and ISIS and its upgrade. * Advanced acceleration techniques, including laser- and beam-driven plasma-wakefield acceleration. * Particle-beam therapy applications using electron, proton and ion beams. Through this programme we are supporting the UK's accelerator strategy by taking lead roles in both our national and overseas facilities including: DLS, ISIS and CLF at STFC/RAL, CLARA at STFC/DL, LHC, HL-LHC, CLIC, FCC and AWAKE at CERN, FLASHforward at DESY, and ATF/ATF2 at KEK. These themes position us optimally to support our core goals of supporting major national and international accelerator developments; motivating our researchers and giving them skills in state-of-the-art technologies; and being able to transfer our knowledge to major collaborative developments and to industry.
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