Abstract
Robert H. Siemann originally conceived of the Advanced Accelerator Research Department (AARD) as an academic, experimental group dedicated to probing the technical limitations of accelerators while providing excellent educational opportunities for young scientists. The early years of the Accelerator Research Department B, as it was then known, were dedicated to a wealth of mostly student-led experiments to examine the promise of advanced accelerator techniques. High-gradient techniques including millimeter-wave rf acceleration, beam-driven plasma acceleration, and direct laser acceleration were pursued, including tests of materials under rf pulsed heating and short-pulse laser radiation, to establish the ultimate limitations on gradient. As the department and program grew, so did the motivation to found an accelerator research center that brought experimentalists together in a test facility environment to conduct a broad range of experiments. The Final Focus Test Beam and later the Next Linear Collider Test Accelerator provided unique experimental facilities for AARD staff and collaborators to carry out advanced accelerator experiments. Throughout the evolution of this dynamic program, Bob maintained a department atmosphere and culture more reminiscent of a university research group than a national laboratory department. His exceptional ability to balance multiple roles as scientist, professor, and administrator enabled the creation andmore » preservation of an environment that fostered technical innovation and scholarship.« less
Highlights
Siemann originally conceived of the Advanced Accelerator Research Department (AARD) as an academic, experimental group dedicated to probing the technical limitations of accelerators while providing excellent educational opportunities for young scientists
The early years of the Accelerator Research Department B, as it was known, were dedicated to a wealth of mostly student-led experiments to examine the promise of advanced accelerator techniques
The Final Focus Test Beam and later the Linear Collider Test Accelerator provided unique experimental facilities for AARD staff and collaborators to carry out advanced accelerator experiments
Summary
Bob approached accelerator physics with the same intellectual rigor as any other field of scientific inquiry He understood that the farthest-reaching innovations in accelerator science were most likely to be spawned in an academic atmosphere founded on thorough inquiry and painstaking documentation. The founding of this scholarly journal is perhaps the most emblematic example of his dedication to his field as a true science. The resulting discipline of mind—of being able to think on the feet from first principles—served Bob well in many arenas He was revered by his students for his clear physics insight, patient guidance, and flexible style. He would relentlessly push students to work 12-hour days (a ‘‘short workday’’) and to repeatedly revise papers until the science was accurate and the language precise, but would listen carefully and provide gentle guidance when students sought his counsel
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