Cryogenics and Superconductivity training outside of the traditional classroom

This is part three of our survey of educational opportunities in the fields of cryogenics and superconductivity. The other three parts are:

This content will be updated as new information becomes available. If you would like us to include information on any educational institution or resource please contact us.

CSA Short Courses and Educational Opportunities

The Cryogenic Society of America, Inc., has historically sponsored Short Courses in conjunction with the Cryogenic Engineering Conference and the International Cryogenic Materials Conference, as well as with the Applied Superconductivity Conference (ASC).

Some of the past course topics have been “Fundamentals of Cryogenics,” “Safety,” “Design of Optimal Helium Refrigeration and Liquefaction Systems,” “Cryogenic Properties of Materials,” “Cryocoolers and Microcryocoolers,” “Low Temperature Superconductors,” “High Temperature Superconductors,” “Metals and Alloys” and “Composites and Resins.”

Instructors are leaders in their field, including Dr. “Rao” Ganni, Dr. Steven Van Sciver, Thomas Peterson, Dr. Peter Lee, Dr. Richard Reed, David Evans and other cryogenics experts.

For many years, CSA has also sponsored a “Foundations of Cryocoolers” short course at the International Cryocooler Conference, taught by Dr. Ray Radebaugh with Dr. Willy Gully; in 2012 and 2014 it was taught with Dr. Phil Spoor. This course prepares attendees for ICC, giving them a broad background on cryocoolers plus the latest technical information. Radebaugh has taught a cryocooler course for CSA at all the major conferences, tailoring it to the audience and updating it regularly.

CSA On-site courses

CSA has also twice presented an on-site course, “Aerospace Cryogenic Systems,” at NASA Glenn Research Center, taught by Drs. Radebaugh, John Pfotenhauer and Peter Shirron as well as a Cryogenics Safety course taught by Wesley Johnson.

The Society can tailor on-site courses to the individual facility and bring together leading experts to teach it upon request. For example, CSA sponsored Guy Gistau’s Helium course for a group in Florida.

CSA Webinars

CSA offers webinars on various topics, which can be tailored to meet specific needs. CSA welcomes suggestions of topics for future webinars.

To discuss CSA courses or webinars, contact Dr. John Weisend II, CSA Chairman and Education Committee Chair.

Cryocourses.com and CRYOCO LLC

Cryocourses.com and Cryoco LLC – a cryogenic training / consulting company offering courses in cryogenic applications. More details are available at: www.cryocourses.com.

Contact David-John Roth, SME III-Cryogenics, for information, scheduling, and prices.

Cryoco LLC/cryocourses.com has provided 168 courses to date in 34 years of providing courses in cryogenics to NASA, commercial aerospace, oil & gas, national labs, nuclear, medical, commercial manufacturing and cryogenic supply companies. Offerings include:

  • An Annual Comprehensive 5-day Cryogenic Engineering and Safety course
  • Cryogenic safety courses in any application or fluids (LN2, LNG, LHe)
  • Cryogenic engineering: 4- or 5-day courses in any application
  • Custom written 2- to 5-day safety or engineering courses in cryogenics

The engineering courses typically cover basic thermodynamics, cryogenic fluids, LNG technology, materials, equipment, system design, vacuum, refrigeration, liquefaction, cryocoolers, instrumentation and safety, all in one venue. These courses are for degreed and non-degreed technical, operations and safety personnel, as well as beginners entering into the field of cryogenic applications.

LeTourneau University Short Courses

Two courses, entitled “An Introduction to Applied Superconductivity and Cryogenic Instrumentation” and “Foundations of Cryogenic Engineering,” can be offered as short courses.

Upon completing the applied superconductivity class, attendees will have a basic proficiency in behavior of low and high temperature superconductors; understand basic approaches to characterizing superconducting materials; and have a basic familiarity with the most common superconducting systems, their supporting cryogenic systems, and benefits.

The cryogenic engineering foundations course provides an introduction to industrial and research applications of cryogenics. First there is an introduction to the behavior of materials at cryogenic temperatures—solids, liquids, and gases. A review of the principles of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer at low temperatures is provided. Cryogenic refrigeration cycles are modelled and analyzed. Students are introduced to design principles for maintaining a space below ambient temperatures (insulation, supports, and penetrations) and transport of cryogens, and will learn about basic instrumentation at low temperatures. Practical applications, future developments and safety are emphasized.

Both of these classes can be adapted to the needs of the attendees with regards to the time available and topical focus.

For more information contact Prof. Jonathan A. Demko, P.E., [email protected]

Course on Low Temperature Electronics

Dr. Randall Kirschman offers a short course on Low Temperature Electronics. This course is a comprehensive overview of the subject and is usually presented on-site at the sponsoring organization.

The length of the complete course is two days, but a shorter version is possible. The cost is negotiable and depends upon the number of participants, format and location. It is assumed that the participants will have a basic knowledge of electronics and semiconductor devices. A master copy of course materials is provided, consisting of approximately 150 slides plus 200 pages of notes and more than 1,500 bibliographical entries. The course notes may also be purchased separately.

Course objectives: (a) to describe applications where the technologies of electronics and low temperatures are brought together; (b) to illustrate the relationships between fundamental phenomena, materials behavior, and device and system characteristics and performance at low temperatures; (c) to provide an overview of the behavior of materials and components used in electronics at low temperatures: metals, ceramics, plastics, passive components, semiconductor materials and devices, as well as the behavior of electronic circuits and assemblies; (d) to provide practical information on materials, devices, circuits and techniques for persons involved in low-temperature electronics.

For more information, visit www.ExtremeTemperatureElectronics.com or contact Dr. Kirschman via [email protected] or +1-650-962-0200. Dr. Kirschman is based in Silicon Valley, California.

CERN (The European Organization for Nuclear Research)

CERN’s two main courses including superconductivity and cryogenics in rotation with other domains are the JUAS (Joint Universities Accelerator School) and CAS (CERN Accelerators School).

Joint Universities Accelerator School (JUAS)

JUAS holds two five-week courses (Science of Particle Accelerators and Technology and Applications of Particle Accelerators) annually at the European Scientific Institute (ESI) in Archamps, taught by renowned experts from universities and laboratories, and accredited by the partner universities. In addition, JUAS contributes to knowledge dissemination and outreach in the field.

CERN Accelerator School (CAS)

CAS was established in 1983 with the mandate “To preserve and transmit knowledge accumulated, at CERN and elsewhere, on particle accelerators and colliders of all kinds.” It takes place in different CERN member states, with participants and lecturers worldwide. The framework includes General Accelerator Physics, alternating introductory and advanced course; topical schools, two or three per year specializing in a field; occasional courses within the framework of JUAS.

Contact Dr. Dimitri Delikaris, Head of the Cryogenics Group, for more information.

European Course in Cryogenics

The Course is organized by the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the Technical University of Dresden (TUD) in Germany, the Faculty of Mechanical and Power Engineering of the Wroclaw University of Science and Technology (WUST) in Poland and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) of Trondheim in Norway.

Lecturers are members of the organizing universities and a number of invited external experts.

In addition to the lessons, the program of the ECC includes technical excursions, tutorials and demonstrations. The weekends are foreseen mainly for social activities and travel.

The course will finish with two written examinations concerning the two main subjects (cryogenics, fundamentals and processes).

The ECC will begin on the 10th of August and extend over the following three weeks. It is open to all graduate and doctoral students. Due to the limited capacity, interested students should apply for participating before the end of April.

Detailed information about the application process and the program of the course may be found on the flyer or at the dedicated webpage.
https://www.cryoeurope.org/news/announcements/european-cryogenics-course-2020.html

Mainz Institute for Theoretical Physics Summer School 2018

MITP will host a summer school for Ph.D. students in theoretical physics. The theme for the third summer school is “Towards the Next Quantum Field Theory of Nature” which spans a broad scope of open questions in high energy physics and the theoretical tools needed for progress. Lecture topics will range from supersymmetric field theories and the naturalness problem to effective field theories and precision QCD, and from gravitational waves and early universe phase transitions to the Standard Model and Higgs physics. Attendance will be limited to 50 students, who will be hosted at the Erbacher Hof in downtown Mainz.

The lecture schedule will be complemented by discussion sessions, tutorials, and social activities to encourage networking and a vivid exchange of ideas. Applicants should be in the later stages of their Ph.D. career and are expected to commit to the full three week program. Apply by March 30, 2018. For questions, please contact the organizing team at [email protected].

US Particle Accelerator School (USPAS)

USPAS is a national graduate-level program that provides training and workforce development in the science and technology of charged particle accelerators and associated systems. Courses offered by the USPAS are typically not available in standard university curricula and are delivered in an intensive format, allowing enrolled students to achieve competency in topics in a short period of time. Courses are delivered by well-known topical experts. Two sessions a year convene, Winter (January), and Summer (June). Sessions are two weeks in duration and are sponsored by research universities. Eligible students can receive the equivalent of 3 semester hours of academic credit by successfully completing course requirements which include lectures, problem sets, and examinations/projects. Students and instructors often make valuable professional contacts which enhances the experience. The USPAS regularly teaches cryogenic engineering courses centering on large cryogenic systems employed in accelerator facilities using superconducting magnets to focus and bend charged particle beams and/or superconducting RF cavities to longitudinally accelerate or bunch beams. Courses on superconducting magnets and RF technology are also regularly offered.

Detailed information and class offerings are available at https://uspas.fnal.gov. For more information please contact USPAS at [email protected].

VDI Forum Cryogenics, Germany

This three-day cryogenic information and training forum, begun in 1973, is a technical introduction to the fundamentals of refrigeration including liquefaction, refrigeration units and cryocoolers, thermodynamic properties of cryogens, concepts of heat transfer and thermal insulation, design techniques for the layout of cryogenic systems, basics and techniques of cryogenic temperature measurement and control circuits, safety, among many other topics.

Topics concerning today’s and future large-scale applications in cryogenics include helium refriterators and liquefiers, superconducting high field magnets, cryopumps and hydrogen as an alternative fuel.

Target group: Natural scientists, engineers and technicians who work at cryogenic facilities; engineers and technicians working for research, development and production who want to be informed about the latest technological developments in this expanding specialist area.

More information about the course in English is available at https://www.vdi-wissensforum.de/en/event/cryogenics and in German at https://www.vdi-wissensforum.de/weiterbildung-prozessindustrie/kryotechnik/

For more information, contact Dr. Holger Neumann, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT).

Haus der Technik – Seminar Cryostat design

This three-day cryogenic information and training seminar, begun in 2010, is a technical introduction to cryostat design including the basic principles of cryostat design with cooling methods, cryo supply, thermal insulation; materials with material properties, measuring methods and results, examples and implementation; measuring and control technology with control valves, safety concepts, temperature-, pressure- and distance measurement, mass flow measurement and liquid level measurement; design examples with norms, construction elements, methods for design and construction, examples; vacuum technology with pressure ranges, vacuum pumps, leak detection; safety course.

Target group: Engineers, scientists, technicians and designers from research, development and production who wants to get familiar with the fundamental principles and the state of development in this field and apply them for their own designs or specifications.

More information about the course in German is available at https://www.hdt.de/kryostatbau-h050091275

For more information, contact Dr. Holger Neumann, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT).

CRYOCOURSE, the European Advanced Cryogenics Course

CRYOCOURSE is the European intensive course on advanced cryophysics and cryogenics. Since 2002, twelve events (courses and conferences) have been held, gathering 500 young researchers from the European Union, but also from non-EU countries.

These theoretical and practical hands-on courses cover the main topics of cryogenics, from fundamental physics concepts to industrial applications. Courses are taught in English. Group discussions in several European languages are encouraged, when possible. Students may be eligible for total or partial financial support.

More information is available at http://cryocourse.grenoble.cnrs.fr/ and on the EMP web page http://emplatform.eu/events/cryocourses.

There will be no CRYOCOURSE in 2017 because of the LT and ULT conferences being held in Europe during the summer..

Contact : Henri Godfrin, CNRS-Institut Néel, BP 166 38042 Grenoble Cedex 09 France. Phone: +33 (0)4 76 88 90 63
Email: [email protected]

Pump Training

Cryogenic Industries Service Centers offers a comprehensive Pump Training, which provides training in theory, as well as hands-on experience. This Pump Training is generally offered twice a year (Spring & Fall) at each of the company’s service facilities, which are located in Houston TX, Pittsburgh PA, Atlanta GA and Santa Ana CA.

Download pump training flyer

For scheduling details or to sign up for a training, see the company’s website or contact [email protected].