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Seminar

Accelerating Innovation: Advanced Manufacturing for Particle Accelerators

Nov
04
04 Nov 2025 /  
11:00am - 3:00pm
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Online event

About

Join us for an online event hosted by the Institute of Engineering and Technology’s Particle Accelerator Engineering Technical Network, bringing together engineers and technicians from across the accelerator community to explore the latest developments in advanced manufacturing for particle accelerators.

World-leading mechanical engineers will present cutting-edge techniques and innovations in the design and production of accelerator components, sharing practical insights into new processes, materials, and technologies shaping the future of the field.

This is an opportunity to learn from experts at the forefront of accelerator engineering, exchange knowledge with peers, and discover how emerging manufacturing methods are driving performance, reliability, and efficiency in one of the world’s most challenging engineering domains.

Speakers

- Alan Saillet
- Dr. Reza Valizadeh
- Dr. Wenbin Zhong
- Tim Mitchell
- Luke Farley
- Daniel Morris
- Prof. Amin Abdolvand
- Richard Farrow

This meeting will be moserated by Rita Da Silva, Elekta

For any queries regarding this event please contact Gemma Hadley ghadley@theiet.org.

Particle Accelerators

4

Continuing Professional Development

This event can contribute towards your Continuing Professional Development (CPD) hours as part of the IET's CPD monitoring scheme.

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04 Nov 2025 

11:00am - 3:00pm

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Organiser

  • Particle Accelerator TN

Speakers

Professor Amin Abdolvand

Chair of Functional Materials & Photonics - University of Dundee

Professor Amin Abdolvand is Chair of Functional Materials & Photonics and Head of the Biomedical & Mechanical Engineering Division at the University of Dundee.

A Fellow of the Institute of Physics and Senior Member of Optica, he is recognised for pioneering research in precision laser–matter interactions and advanced surface engineering. He leads the development of laser-engineered surface structuring (LESS) - a high-precision laser technology that dramatically reduces secondary electron yield (SEY) in accelerator components. In collaboration with CERN, his work underpins the implementation of insitu laser treatments for electron-cloud mitigation in the High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC).

Beyond accelerator applications, his research extends to laser nanofabrication and functional materials for photonics, sensing, and energy technologies.

Dr. Wenbin Zhong

Senior Research Fellow - University of Huddersfield

Dr. Wenbin Zhong obtained his PhD in ultra-precision machining at the University of Strathclyde in 2018. Following the PhD, he joined the EPSRC Future Metrology Hub at the University of Huddersfield as a Research Fellow, earning a promotion to Senior Research Fellow in May 2023. His research often involves tackling complex ultra-precision manufacturing challenges, including the prototyping of the disc for CERN's Compact Linear Collider (CLIC), and a mirror for European Space Agency's (ESA) Mars Rover project.

Dr Reza Valizadeh

Senior Material and Surface Scientist - STFC ASTeC

Dr Valizadeh leads the thin film and surface characterization programs at Vacuum solution group in ASTeC. His scientific and R&D programs is focused on engineering surfaces and materials used in particle accelerators to enhance their capability through higher luminosity, higher energy while operating at lower and sustainable cost or finding solutions to mitigate existing performance limiting problems. His R&D investigation span over variety discipline such as surface modification  and characterisation, synthesis of functional thin film for Photocathode for accelerators, SRF thin film for RF cavity, NEG coating for extreme high vacuum, Low SEY surfaces for low PSD and ESD.

He has over 35 years of experience in thin film synthesis and since 2001, he has extensively studied non-evaporable getter as thin film to achieve extreme high vacuum. His study resulted in lowering the activation temperature from originally reported 180 °C to 150 °C by introducing quaternary alloy of TiZrVHf, using NEG as a hydrogen barrier by adopting triple layer of nitride, dense and columnar NEG, adding high conductive material such as gold, silver, copper and alumina to reduce NEG surface resistance and using single elements in highly columnar structure that can perform as good as ternary alloy NEG.

Luke Farley

Mechanical Engineer - Cockcroft Institute at Daresbury Laboratory

Luke Farley is a Mechanical Engineer working for the Cockcroft Institute at Daresbury Laboratory. He currently works on both the LHC High-Luminosity (HL-LHC) project - supporting the build of STFC’s first Double Quarter Wave (DQW) Crab Cavity Cryomodule, and the US Electron Ion Collider (EIC). He specialises in additive manufacturing for novel applications. Most recently he has been working on the design, manufacturing and optimisation of 3D printed vacuum enclosures for helium leak testing of vacuum and cryogenic welds.

Tim Mitchell

Principal Welding Engineer - TWI

Tim Mitchell (TWI), CEng, PhD, BEng, MWeldI, is a Principal Welding Engineer in the Power Beam Processes (PBP) section with over two decades of experience delivering R&D programmes and production of prototype components for various industries such as aerospace and nuclear. Expert in aspects of EB Welding and machine design. Covering maintenance, weld procedure development and qualification. Including novel welding of ferrous and non-ferrous materials, and reactive and refractory metal welding.

Programme

Draft Programme (Please note this is subject to change)

11:00     Intro
11:10     Bulk-Machined Seamless Single-Cell Copper Elliptical Cavities, Alan Saillet
11:30     Surface coating Neg coatings, Dr. Reza Valizadeh
11:50     On-machine surface measurement for ultra-precision 5-axis machines, Dr. Wenbin Zhong
12:10     TWI, Tim Mitchell

12:30     Lunch
 
13:30     3-D printing clam shells, Luke Farley
13:50     Mass production of magnetrons and IOTs, Daniel Morris
14:10     LESS, Prof. Amin Abdolvand
14:30     How UK companies can get involved at CERN, Richard Farrow
14:50     Close

 

 

 

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