iThemba LABS

iThemba Laboratory for Accelerator Based Sciences (or iThemba LABS; Xhosa: iThemba, lit. 'Hope') is a scientific research centre with plants at Faure near Cape Town and on the Wits Campus in Johannesburg.

iThemba Laboratory for Accelerator Based Sciences
Established
  • National Accelerator Centre - 1966 (1966)
HeadquartersWestern Cape
Location
Coordinates34.025°S 18.716°E / -34.025; 18.716
Director
Dr. Makondelele Victor Tshivhase
Parent organisation
National Research Foundation
Websitetlabs.ac.za

The organisation has in the past been known as the National Accelerator Centre, and specialises in the use of particle accelerators. The main research fields involve the production of medical radioisotopes for the treatment of cancer, material sciences, nuclear fission experiments, development of new accelerator technology and the real-time treatment of cancer patients through proton and neutron therapy.

The mass spectrometry unit was opened by South Africa's Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor in 2014.[1] In 2018 a conference was held to mark ten years of a collaboration programme with CERN.[2]

The main plant near Cape Town houses a number of accelerators that are used for various research purposes. Materials and biological studies are mainly served by a Van der Graaff accelerator, while nuclear physics research and radioisotope production make use of a number of cyclotrons. The main cyclotron, is a K = 200 open sector cyclotron (OSS) and is fed by two pre-accelerators. The OSS is designed to produce protons at 200MeV. The preamplifiers are solid pole cyclotrons (SPS) and produce 8MeV proton beams.[3][4][5][6][7][8]

References
  1. Mafika (2014-07-08). "Africa's first accelerator mass spectrometry lab unveiled". Brand South Africa. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  2. "SA physicists benefiting from European nuclear research collaboration". www.iol.co.za. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  3. McKenzie, Jean. "Cape Town lab commissions cyclotron to manufacture FDG". www.engineeringnews.co.za. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  4. "10 years of South African collaboration with CERN". www.news.uct.ac.za. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  5. "SOUTH AFRICA: Universities prepare for nuclear future". University World News. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  6. "SA crunches into the collider data grid". The Mail & Guardian. 2015-05-07. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  7. Campbell, Keith. "South Africa emerges as leading global nuclear medicine supplier". www.engineeringnews.co.za. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  8. Moodley, Sashnee. "Nuclear programme aims to create thinkers, problem solvers". www.engineeringnews.co.za. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
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