Background

During the course of design, construction and initial operation of the Low Energy Neutron Source (LENS), scientists and engineers of Indiana University have worked closely with the counterparts from the US pulsed neutron sources. In June 2009 the International Mini-Workshop not only kicked off the Compact Pulsed Hadron Source (CPHS) at Tsinghua University, China Project but also fermented the notion of cooperation among accelerator-based-compact-source enthusiasts in many places in the world. A series of subsequent exchanges, contacts, and teleconference attested to the common desire for collaboration. The recent ICANS-XIX Meeting (March 2010, Grindelwald, Switzerland) offered an opportune occasion to consolidate an alliance; and, in a satellite meeting in Kloten on March 13, 2010 participants unanimously acceded to the establishment of the Union for Compact Accelerator-driven Neutron Source (UCANS). The eight initial members—those in attendance—are:

with additional potential members from elsewhere. Jack Carpenter of ANL will serve as a spokesperson of UCANS. In view of the actively ongoing works on accelerators, target-moderators, instruments and optics, all members felt a genuine need for frequent meetings (every ~6 months rather than 2 years like ICANS). Positively, UCANS is not exclusive of but complementary to ICANS. The first meeting is scheduled to be held at Tsinghua University in Beijing, August 15-18, 2010.