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Washington University Cyclotron Records

 Collection
Identifier: WUA-01-wua00297

This collection covers information about the cyclotron built on the Danforth Campus in 1940 and subsequent redesigns of the cyclotron. It also includes information on the preliminary work towards the Positron Emission Transaxial Tomography Scanners (commonly abbreviated PET) at the School of Medicine. The collection does not include specific information about the cyclotrons at the School of Medicine.

Dates

  • Creation: circa 1940-1985

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Open

Conditions Governing Use

Users of the collection must read and agree to abide by the rules and procedures set forth in the Materials Use Policies.

Providing access to materials does not constitute permission to publish or otherwise authorize use. All publication not covered by fair use or other exceptions is restricted to those who have permission of the copyright holder, which may or may not be Washington University.

If you wish to publish or license Special Collections materials, please contact Special Collections to inquire about copyright status at (314) 935-5495 or spec@wumail.wustl.edu. (Publish means quotation in whole or in part in seminar or term papers, theses or dissertations, journal articles, monographs, books, digital forms, photographs, images, dramatic presentations, transcriptions, or any other form prepared for a limited or general public.)

Extent

14 linear feet

14 boxes (2 oversized tubes)

5 drawers

Historical Information

The cyclotron, a device that combines magnetic and electrical fields to produce nuclear isotopes, was invented in 1930 by Dr. Ernest O. Lawrence. On the cutting edge of scientific research in the 1930s, cyclotrons were capable of accelerating nuclear particles which created radioisotopes for study in physics, chemistry, and medical research.[1]  In a cyclotron, electrical flows produced by an oscillator in combination with a magnetic field cause positively charged atoms to spiral through two hollow copper boxes called “dees” (which are shaped like the capitol letter “D”).  The “dees” form a broken circle, which accelerated the atoms as they “jump” across this gap. When the stream of atoms reaches the edge of one of the copper boxes it is brought out through a small hole and then enters another box where it bombards the chosen target material.[2]

Work on the first cyclotron (45-inch) at Washington University began in 1939 at the recommendation of Arthur Hughes, Head of the Department of Physics, and physical construction of the cyclotron began in 1940. Cyclotron operations were under the direction of Dr. R. L. Thornton, who had worked with Dr. Lawrence in California, and Dr. A. S. Langsdorf, Jr. By 1941 the cyclotron operations was able to show evidence of a proton beam.  At the time of its construction, it was the third largest cyclotron in the nation, with two larger located at the University of California.  The Washington University device was constructed within a specially designed and shielded underground building on campus.  The most prominent feature was the nearly ten foot high magnet, with both pole-faces 45 inches in diameter, originally manufactured by the Mosler Shaping Co. of Ohio.  The magnetized coils were built by the Wagner Electric Co. of St. Louis. [3]

From 1942 – 1943, at the request of the federal government, the cyclotron was operated under contract for the Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD) and worked to produce plutonium for study at laboratories in Chicago. From 1943 –1944 this work continued as part of the Manhattan Project.

Following World War II, cyclotron operations were conducted by the Washington University Department of Physics and the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, at the School of Medicine.  Work during this time was supported with contracts to produce various isotopes for the Office of Research and Innovation of the US Navy (this contract was later transferred to the Department of Scientific Research of the US Air Force) and other research universities and laboratories across the country.  Contracts with the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) produced isotopes which could not be produced with reactors.  In the 1960s the Washington University cyclotron was re-built for greater efficiency.

Starting in the 1970s, cyclotron research focused more on the medical applications of this technology and production of radiopharmaceuticals.  Work by the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, at the School of Medicine, included designing Positron Emission Transaxial Tomography Scanners (commonly abbreviated PET) and other imaging devices.

[1] Robert Chadwell Williams. From the Hill to the Hilltop: Washington University and the Manhattan Project, 1940 -1946. Originally prepared for the Joseph W. Kennedy Lecture, Washington University in St. Louis. 2 May 1985, p. 3.

[2] Alumni Bulletin, Washington University, May 1941, p. 6.

[3] Alumni Bulletin, Washington University, March 1940, p. 9.

Arrangement

This collection is divided into seven series as follows:

Series 01: Subject Files of the WU Cyclotron (includes summaries of work done from 1944 – 1978, arranged in alphabetical order).

Series 02: General Cyclotron Information (includes operation information for the WU Cyclotron, reports related to grant funding, information on a proposed addition, reports of the Midwest Universities Research Association (MURA), and publications related to nuclear physics, including manuals and academic papers. Arranged in original order by general topic).

Series 03: 45 inch Cyclotron and Magnet Design (includes files related to the creation of isotopes for the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), US Navy, and other research institutions.  Also includes cyclotron building addition by Hammond, Charle, and Burns in 1962 – 1963.  Arranged in original order with magnet information followed by other files in alphabetical order).

Series 04: PETTS IV and V - Medical School Cyclotron (includes files related to medical application of cyclotron materials and development of Positron Emission Transaxial Tomography Scanners [commonly abbreviated PET] number four and five at the Washington University School of Medicine.  Files are arranged in original order).

Series 05: Correspondence of John Hood (arranged in alphabetical order).

Series 06: Thesis of Washington University students related to nuclear physics (arranged in alphabetical order by author last name, followed by related files in original order).

Series 07: Oversized architectural drawings and plans

Source of Acquisition

This material was donated to the University Archives on April 22, 1998.

Processing Information

Compiled by Jay Kempen in August 2002.  Updated by Sarah Pabarcus and Miranda Rectenwald in October 2006.

Title
Washington University Cyclotron Records
Description rules
dacs
Language of description
eng

Revision Statements

  • 2021 April 1: Resource record updated in ArchiveSpace by Sarah Schnuriger.

Collecting Area Details

Part of the University Archives Collecting Area

Contact:
Sonya Rooney
Olin Library, 1 Brookings Drive
MSC 1061-141-B
St. Louis MO 63130 US
(314) 935-5495