A Chance to Honor the IUCF Legacy

The Indiana University Cyclotron Facility (IUCF) had a major impact on the international nuclear physics research landscape of its day, the advancement of proton radiotherapy, and the research reputation of the University and its Physics Department, while training scores of graduate and undergraduate students from IU and many other universities. Working together, the staff, scientists and users created a dynamic national user facility,  operating from 1976 to 2010, attracting researchers from around the world.

In conjunction with IU’s bicentennial celebrations, we plan to commemorate IUCF’s important historical impact and the technical innovation of its design with a monument to be located near the entrance to the former IUCF building (now Multidisciplinary Engineering and Sciences Hall and the location of CEEM—the Center for the Exploration of Energy and Matter). While the facility was stripped of most of its accelerators and experimental equipment when scientific and medical use ceased in 2014, some of us intervened to save the spare IUCF injector cyclotron magnet from destruction. Our plan to install the magnet as a sculpture/scientific artifact with a commemorative plaque has been approved by IU.

We are now soliciting funds to support expenditures related to the installation and maintenance of an IUCF Magnet as a commemorative monument at the Center for Exploration of Energy and Matter on the Bloomington campus.

The Injector Magnet

The magnet to be mounted for display is a complete spare magnet, replicating one of the four corner magnets of the original injector cyclotron. It was used for field mapping and other testing during the original construction. Because it was never used to accelerate beams, it is not radioactive and is eminently suitable for display. The spare magnet is a little over six feet high, with a narrow footprint of roughly two feet by six feet and a weight of approximately 13.5 tons.

Working with the architects in the IU Capital Planning Office, we have developed a cost estimate of $12,100 for building the support pad and installing the magnet with a plaque. Because university funding for a commemorative project is very limited, we are appealing to those of you either associated with the cyclotrons or interested in supporting the IUCF legacy represented by its many productive years to participate in this project.

Gift Methods

Check

Mail check made payable to "Indiana University Foundation" to:

Indiana University Foundation
P.O. Box 6460
Indianapolis, IN 46206-6460

Please specify "Injector Magnet Project" fund.

Credit or debit card through MyIU

Corporate Matching

If you make a gift to the Injector Magnet Project Fund and your company participates in a corporate matching program, please see instructions at https://www.myiu.org/matching-gifts . The matching form should be mailed to:

Indiana University Foundation
ATTN: Revenue Operations
Showalter House/Post Office Box 500
Bloomington, IN 47402

Please specify that the gift is for the "Injector Magnet Project" fund.

Target Date

The initial target date for an unveiling of the cyclotron monument was to coincide with the 200^th anniversary celebration of IU in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic  delayed our plans. Construction of the mounting pad will take some time and is weather dependent, but we look forward to dedicating the cyclotron monument and a historical marker denoting IU’s long history of leadership in the development of cyclotrons for basic and applied research when this project is completed, and to maintaining the monument in future years. We’ll provide details of the unveiling ceremony at a later date.