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At least 451 records · Page 25

MO-C-BRB-04: Observations of a Nuclear Radiologist on the Value of the Medical Physicist

With the profound changes currently occurring in medicine, the role of the medical physicist cannot stagnate, but must evolve to meet the challenges and opportunities that are presented. Medical physicists must understand these changes and establish themselves not only as relevant but as leaders in this new environment. We must increase our presence in clinical settings such as tumor boards, patient rounds, and the development of new diagnosis, imaging, and treatment techniques. By establishing ourselves as competent scientists, we can and must participate in the development of technologies through research, teaching, and clinical implementation. As medical physicists we must define our roles and value to our physician colleagues, patients, referring physicians, and senior administrators. We cannot afford to be viewed solely as quality assurance technologists, but need to move forward in step with medical and practice advances, becoming recognized as having a leadership role in providing quality research, technological development, and quality patient care. In this session, four leaders in medical research and healthcare will discuss their observations on how medical physicists have contributed to advancements in healthcare and opportunities to continue leadership in providing quality medicine through the applications of physics to research, education, and clinical practice. Learning Objectives: Understand the changes in the healthcare environment and how medical physicists can contribute to improving patient care. Learn how medical physicists are currently leading research efforts to improve clinical imaging and diagnosis. Understand the role of medical physicists in developing new technology and leading its translation into clinical care.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

MO-DE-BRA-03: The Ottawa Medical Physics Institute (OMPI): A Practical Model for Academic Program Collaboration in a Multi-Centre City

Purpose: To build a world-class medical physics educational program that capitalizes on expertise distributed over several clinical, government, and academic centres. Few if any of these centres would have the critical mass to solely resource a program. Methods: In order to enable an academic program, stakeholders from five institutions made a proposal to Carleton University for a) a research network with defined membership requirements and a process for accepting new members, and b) a graduate specialization (MSc and PhD) in medical physics. Both proposals were accepted and the program has grown steadily. Our courses are taught by medical physicists from across the collaboration. Our students have access to physicists in: clinical radiotherapy (the Ottawa Cancer Centre treats 4500 new patients/y), radiology, cardiology and nuclear medicine, Canada’s primary standards dosimetry laboratory, radiobiology, and university-based medical physics research. Our graduate courses emphasize the foundational physics plus applied aspects of imaging, radiotherapy, and radiobiology. Active researchers in the city-wide volunteer-run network are appointed as adjunct professors by Physics, giving them access to national funding competitions and partial student funding through teaching assistantships while opening up facilities in their institutions for student thesis research. Results: The medical physics network has grown to ∼40 members from eight institutions and includes five full-time faculty in Physics and 17 adjunct research professors. The graduate student population is ∼20. Our graduates have proceeded to a spectrum of careers. Our alumni list includes a CCPM Past-President, the current COMP President, many clinical physicists, and the heads of at least three major clinical medical physics departments. Our PhD was Ontario’s first CAMPEP-accredited program. Conclusion: A self-governing volunteer network is the foundational element that enables an MSc/PhD medical physics program in a city with multiple physicist employers. It enriches graduate education with an unusually broad range of expertise.

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗

MO-DE-BRA-06: 3D Image Acquisition and Reconstruction Explained with Online Animations

Purpose: Understanding the principles of 3D imaging and image reconstruction is fundamental to the field of medical imaging. Clinicians, technologists, physicists, patients, students, and inquisitive minds all stand to benefit from greater comprehension of the supporting technologies. To help explain the basic principles of 3D imaging, we developed multi-frame animations that convey the concepts of tomographic imaging. The series of free (gif) animations are accessible online, and provide a multimedia introduction to the main concepts of image reconstruction. Methods: Text and animations were created to convey the principles of analytic tomography in CT, PET, and SPECT. Specific topics covered included: principles of sinograms/image data storage, forward projection, principles of PET acquisitions, and filtered backprojection. A total of 8 animations were created and presented for CT, PET, and digital phantom formats. In addition, a free executable is also provided to allow users to create their own tomographic animations – providing an opportunity for interaction and personalization to help foster user interest. Results: Tutorial text and animations have been posted online, freely available to view or download. The animations are in first position in a google search of “image reconstruction animations”. The website currently receives approximately 200 hits/month, from all over the world, and the usage is growing. Positive feedback has been collected from users. Conclusion: We identified a need for improved teaching tools to help visualize the (temporally variant) concepts of image reconstruction, and have shown that animations can be a useful tool for this aspect of education. Furthermore, posting animations freely on the web has shown to be a good way to maximize their impact in the community. In future endeavors, we hope to expand this animated content, to cover principles of iterative reconstruction, as well as other phenomena relating to imaging.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

WE-A-201-00: Anne and Donald Herbert Distinguished Lectureship On Modern Statistical Modeling

Chris Marshall: Memorial Introduction Donald Edmonds Herbert Jr., or Don to his colleagues and friends, exemplified the “big tent” vision of medical physics, specializing in Applied Statistics and Dynamical Systems theory. He saw, more clearly than most, that “Making models is the difference between doing science and just fooling around [ref Woodworth, 2004]”. Don developed an interest in chemistry at school by “reading a book” - a recurring theme in his story. He was awarded a Westinghouse Science scholarship and attended the Carnegie Institute of Technology (later Carnegie Mellon University) where his interest turned to physics and led to a BS in Physics after transfer to Northwestern University. After (voluntary) service in the Navy he earned his MS in Physics from the University of Oklahoma, which led him to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore to pursue a PhD. The early death of his wife led him to take a salaried position in the Physics Department of Colorado College in Colorado Springs so as to better care for their young daughter. There, a chance invitation from Dr. Juan del Regato to teach physics to residents at the Penrose Cancer Hospital introduced him to Medical Physics, and he decided to enter the field. He received his PhD from the University of London (UK) under Prof. Joseph Rotblat, where I first met him, and where he taught himself statistics. He returned to Penrose as a clinical medical physicist, also largely self-taught. In 1975 he formalized an evolving interest in statistical analysis as Professor of Radiology and Head of the Division of Physics and Statistics at the College of Medicine of the University of South Alabama in Mobile, AL where he remained for the rest of his career. He also served as the first Director of their Bio-Statistics and Epidemiology Core Unit working in part on a sickle-cell disease. After retirement he remained active as Professor Emeritus. Don served for several years as a consultant to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and may be remembered for his critique of the National Academy of Sciences BEIR III report (stating that their methodology “imposes a Delphic quality to the .. risk estimates”.) This led to his appointment as a member of the BEIR V committee. Don presented refresher courses at the AAPM, ASTRO and RSNA meetings and was active in the AAPM as a member or chair of several committees. He was the principal author of AAPM Report 43, which is essentially a critique of established clinical studies prior to 1992. He was co-editor of the Proceedings of many symposia on Time, Dose and Fractionation held in Madison, Wisconsin. He received the AAPM lifetime Achievement award in 2004. Don’s second wife of 46 years, Ann, predeceased him and he is survived by daughters Hillary and Emily, son John and two grandsons. Don was a true gentleman with a unique and erudite writing style illuminated by pithy quotations. If he had a fault it was, perhaps, that he did not realize how much smarter he was than the rest of us. This presentation draws heavily on a biography and video interview in the History and Heritage section of the AAPM website. The quote is his own. Andrzej Niemierko: Statistical modeling plays an essential role in modern medicine for quantitative evaluation of the effect of treatment. This session will feature an overview of statistical modeling techniques used for analyzing the many types of research data and an exploration of recent advances in new statistical modeling methodologies. Learning Objectives: To learn basics of statistical modeling methodology. To discuss statistical models that are frequently used in radiation oncology To discuss advanced modern statistical modeling methods and applications.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

WE-A-201-01: Memorial Introduction

Chris Marshall: Memorial Introduction Donald Edmonds Herbert Jr., or Don to his colleagues and friends, exemplified the “big tent” vision of medical physics, specializing in Applied Statistics and Dynamical Systems theory. He saw, more clearly than most, that “Making models is the difference between doing science and just fooling around [ref Woodworth, 2004]”. Don developed an interest in chemistry at school by “reading a book” - a recurring theme in his story. He was awarded a Westinghouse Science scholarship and attended the Carnegie Institute of Technology (later Carnegie Mellon University) where his interest turned to physics and led to a BS in Physics after transfer to Northwestern University. After (voluntary) service in the Navy he earned his MS in Physics from the University of Oklahoma, which led him to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore to pursue a PhD. The early death of his wife led him to take a salaried position in the Physics Department of Colorado College in Colorado Springs so as to better care for their young daughter. There, a chance invitation from Dr. Juan del Regato to teach physics to residents at the Penrose Cancer Hospital introduced him to Medical Physics, and he decided to enter the field. He received his PhD from the University of London (UK) under Prof. Joseph Rotblat, where I first met him, and where he taught himself statistics. He returned to Penrose as a clinical medical physicist, also largely self-taught. In 1975 he formalized an evolving interest in statistical analysis as Professor of Radiology and Head of the Division of Physics and Statistics at the College of Medicine of the University of South Alabama in Mobile, AL where he remained for the rest of his career. He also served as the first Director of their Bio-Statistics and Epidemiology Core Unit working in part on a sickle-cell disease. After retirement he remained active as Professor Emeritus. Don served for several years as a consultant to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and may be remembered for his critique of the National Academy of Sciences BEIR III report (stating that their methodology “imposes a Delphic quality to the .. risk estimates”.) This led to his appointment as a member of the BEIR V committee. Don presented refresher courses at the AAPM, ASTRO and RSNA meetings and was active in the AAPM as a member or chair of several committees. He was the principal author of AAPM Report 43, which is essentially a critique of established clinical studies prior to 1992. He was co-editor of the Proceedings of many symposia on Time, Dose and Fractionation held in Madison, Wisconsin. He received the AAPM lifetime Achievement award in 2004. Don’s second wife of 46 years, Ann, predeceased him and he is survived by daughters Hillary and Emily, son John and two grandsons. Don was a true gentleman with a unique and erudite writing style illuminated by pithy quotations. If he had a fault it was, perhaps, that he did not realize how much smarter he was than the rest of us. This presentation draws heavily on a biography and video interview in the History and Heritage section of the AAPM website. The quote is his own. Andrzej Niemierko: Statistical modeling plays an essential role in modern medicine for quantitative evaluation of the effect of treatment. This session will feature an overview of statistical modeling techniques used for analyzing the many types of research data and an exploration of recent advances in new statistical modeling methodologies. Learning Objectives: To learn basics of statistical modeling methodology. To discuss statistical models that are frequently used in radiation oncology To discuss advanced modern statistical modeling methods and applications.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

WE-A-201-02: Modern Statistical Modeling

Chris Marshall: Memorial Introduction Donald Edmonds Herbert Jr., or Don to his colleagues and friends, exemplified the “big tent” vision of medical physics, specializing in Applied Statistics and Dynamical Systems theory. He saw, more clearly than most, that “Making models is the difference between doing science and just fooling around [ref Woodworth, 2004]”. Don developed an interest in chemistry at school by “reading a book” - a recurring theme in his story. He was awarded a Westinghouse Science scholarship and attended the Carnegie Institute of Technology (later Carnegie Mellon University) where his interest turned to physics and led to a BS in Physics after transfer to Northwestern University. After (voluntary) service in the Navy he earned his MS in Physics from the University of Oklahoma, which led him to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore to pursue a PhD. The early death of his wife led him to take a salaried position in the Physics Department of Colorado College in Colorado Springs so as to better care for their young daughter. There, a chance invitation from Dr. Juan del Regato to teach physics to residents at the Penrose Cancer Hospital introduced him to Medical Physics, and he decided to enter the field. He received his PhD from the University of London (UK) under Prof. Joseph Rotblat, where I first met him, and where he taught himself statistics. He returned to Penrose as a clinical medical physicist, also largely self-taught. In 1975 he formalized an evolving interest in statistical analysis as Professor of Radiology and Head of the Division of Physics and Statistics at the College of Medicine of the University of South Alabama in Mobile, AL where he remained for the rest of his career. He also served as the first Director of their Bio-Statistics and Epidemiology Core Unit working in part on a sickle-cell disease. After retirement he remained active as Professor Emeritus. Don served for several years as a consultant to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and may be remembered for his critique of the National Academy of Sciences BEIR III report (stating that their methodology “imposes a Delphic quality to the .. risk estimates”.) This led to his appointment as a member of the BEIR V committee. Don presented refresher courses at the AAPM, ASTRO and RSNA meetings and was active in the AAPM as a member or chair of several committees. He was the principal author of AAPM Report 43, which is essentially a critique of established clinical studies prior to 1992. He was co-editor of the Proceedings of many symposia on Time, Dose and Fractionation held in Madison, Wisconsin. He received the AAPM lifetime Achievement award in 2004. Don’s second wife of 46 years, Ann, predeceased him and he is survived by daughters Hillary and Emily, son John and two grandsons. Don was a true gentleman with a unique and erudite writing style illuminated by pithy quotations. If he had a fault it was, perhaps, that he did not realize how much smarter he was than the rest of us. This presentation draws heavily on a biography and video interview in the History and Heritage section of the AAPM website. The quote is his own. Andrzej Niemierko: Statistical modeling plays an essential role in modern medicine for quantitative evaluation of the effect of treatment. This session will feature an overview of statistical modeling techniques used for analyzing the many types of research data and an exploration of recent advances in new statistical modeling methodologies. Learning Objectives: To learn basics of statistical modeling methodology. To discuss statistical models that are frequently used in radiation oncology To discuss advanced modern statistical modeling methods and applications.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

WE-G-209-00: Identifying Image Artifacts, Their Causes, and How to Fix Them

Digital radiography, CT, PET, and MR are complicated imaging modalities which are composed of many hardware and software components. These components work together in a highly coordinated chain of events with the intent to produce high quality images. Acquisition, processing and reconstruction of data must occur in a precise way for optimum image quality to be achieved. Any error or unexpected event in the entire process can produce unwanted pixel intensities in the final images which may contribute to visible image artifacts. The diagnostic imaging physicist is uniquely qualified to investigate and contribute to resolution of image artifacts. This course will teach the participant to identify common artifacts found clinically in digital radiography, CT, PET, and MR, to determine the causes of artifacts, and to make recommendations for how to resolve artifacts. Learning Objectives: Identify common artifacts found clinically in digital radiography, CT, PET and MR. Determine causes of various clinical artifacts from digital radiography, CT, PET and MR. Describe how to resolve various clinical artifacts from digital radiography, CT, PET and MR.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

WE-G-209-01: Digital Radiography

Digital radiography, CT, PET, and MR are complicated imaging modalities which are composed of many hardware and software components. These components work together in a highly coordinated chain of events with the intent to produce high quality images. Acquisition, processing and reconstruction of data must occur in a precise way for optimum image quality to be achieved. Any error or unexpected event in the entire process can produce unwanted pixel intensities in the final images which may contribute to visible image artifacts. The diagnostic imaging physicist is uniquely qualified to investigate and contribute to resolution of image artifacts. This course will teach the participant to identify common artifacts found clinically in digital radiography, CT, PET, and MR, to determine the causes of artifacts, and to make recommendations for how to resolve artifacts. Learning Objectives: Identify common artifacts found clinically in digital radiography, CT, PET and MR. Determine causes of various clinical artifacts from digital radiography, CT, PET and MR. Describe how to resolve various clinical artifacts from digital radiography, CT, PET and MR.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

WE-G-209-02: CT

Digital radiography, CT, PET, and MR are complicated imaging modalities which are composed of many hardware and software components. These components work together in a highly coordinated chain of events with the intent to produce high quality images. Acquisition, processing and reconstruction of data must occur in a precise way for optimum image quality to be achieved. Any error or unexpected event in the entire process can produce unwanted pixel intensities in the final images which may contribute to visible image artifacts. The diagnostic imaging physicist is uniquely qualified to investigate and contribute to resolution of image artifacts. This course will teach the participant to identify common artifacts found clinically in digital radiography, CT, PET, and MR, to determine the causes of artifacts, and to make recommendations for how to resolve artifacts. Learning Objectives: Identify common artifacts found clinically in digital radiography, CT, PET and MR. Determine causes of various clinical artifacts from digital radiography, CT, PET and MR. Describe how to resolve various clinical artifacts from digital radiography, CT, PET and MR.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

WE-G-209-03: PET

Digital radiography, CT, PET, and MR are complicated imaging modalities which are composed of many hardware and software components. These components work together in a highly coordinated chain of events with the intent to produce high quality images. Acquisition, processing and reconstruction of data must occur in a precise way for optimum image quality to be achieved. Any error or unexpected event in the entire process can produce unwanted pixel intensities in the final images which may contribute to visible image artifacts. The diagnostic imaging physicist is uniquely qualified to investigate and contribute to resolution of image artifacts. This course will teach the participant to identify common artifacts found clinically in digital radiography, CT, PET, and MR, to determine the causes of artifacts, and to make recommendations for how to resolve artifacts. Learning Objectives: Identify common artifacts found clinically in digital radiography, CT, PET and MR. Determine causes of various clinical artifacts from digital radiography, CT, PET and MR. Describe how to resolve various clinical artifacts from digital radiography, CT, PET and MR.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

WE-G-209-04: MRI

Digital radiography, CT, PET, and MR are complicated imaging modalities which are composed of many hardware and software components. These components work together in a highly coordinated chain of events with the intent to produce high quality images. Acquisition, processing and reconstruction of data must occur in a precise way for optimum image quality to be achieved. Any error or unexpected event in the entire process can produce unwanted pixel intensities in the final images which may contribute to visible image artifacts. The diagnostic imaging physicist is uniquely qualified to investigate and contribute to resolution of image artifacts. This course will teach the participant to identify common artifacts found clinically in digital radiography, CT, PET, and MR, to determine the causes of artifacts, and to make recommendations for how to resolve artifacts. Learning Objectives: Identify common artifacts found clinically in digital radiography, CT, PET and MR. Determine causes of various clinical artifacts from digital radiography, CT, PET and MR. Describe how to resolve various clinical artifacts from digital radiography, CT, PET and MR.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

WE-H-204-00: History Committee Symposium

“William D. Coolidge, Inventor of the Modern X-ray Tube” David J. Allard, M.S., CHP - Director, PA DEP Bureau of Radiation Protection William David Coolidge 1873–1975 was a research scientist and inventor of the modern X-ray tube. Besides Roentgen, with his 1895 discovery and subsequent studies of X-rays, perhaps no other individual contributed more to the advancement of X-ray technology than did Coolidge. He was born in Hudson, MA and received his Bachelor of Science degree from MIT in 1896. That same year he went to Europe to study under renowned physicists of the time. Coolidge received his Ph.D. summa cum laude from the University of Leipzig in 1899 and soon after joined the staff of MIT. While studying at Leipzig, he met Roentgen. In 1905 he was asked to join the newly established General Electric Research Laboratory in Schenectady, NY. He promptly began fundamental work on the production of ductile tungsten filaments as a replacement for fragile carbon filaments used in incandescent light bulbs. This improved light bulb was brought to market by GE in 1911. It was subsequent application of his tungsten work that led Coolidge to his studies in X ray production. Circa 1910, the state-of-the-art X-ray tube was a “gas tube” or “cold cathode” type tube. These crude X-ray tubes relied on residual gas molecules as a source of electrons for bombardment of low to medium atomic number metal targets. In 1912 Coolidge described the use of tungsten as an improved anode target material for X-ray tubes. Shortly after in 1913 he published a paper in Physical Review describing “A Powerful Roentgen Ray Tube With a Pure Electron Discharge.” This tube used a tungsten filament as a thermionic source of electrons under high vacuum to bombard a tungsten anode target. Great improvements in X-ray tube stability, output and performance were obtained with the “hot cathode” or “Coolidge tube.” With some variation in filament and target geometry, this 100 year old invention is the same basic X-ray tube used today in medicine, research and industry. In 1932 Coolidge became Director of the GE Laboratory, then in 1940 Vice-President and Director of Research. In 1941 he was a member of a small committee, appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, to evaluate the military importance of research on uranium. This committee’s report led to the establishment of the Manhattan Engineering District for nuclear weapons development during WWII. Coolidge lived to be over 100 years old, he had 83 patents to his credit, numerous awards and honorary degrees, and in 1975 was elected to the National Inventor’s Hall of Fame. At the time he was the only inventor to receive this honor in his lifetime. Dr. Coolidge was also the first recipient of the AAPM’s highest science award - named in his honor. From notes of a day-long interview with Coolidge’s son Lawrence in the mid-1990s, previous biographies, publications, books, GE literature, historic photographs, e.g., a wonderful 1874 photo stereoview card with 1 year old baby “Willie Coolidge”, and other artifacts in the author’s collection, this presentation will review Dr. Coolidge’s amazing life, work, accomplishments and awards. “History and Archives Resources at AIP for AAPM and its Members” Gregory A. Good, Ph.D. - Director, AIP Center for History of Physics Melanie J. Mueller, MLIS - Acting Director, AIP Niels Bohr Library & Archives The American Institute of Physics established the Center for History of Physics and the Niels Bohr Library & Archives in the 1960s. Our shared mission is: To preserve and make known the history of the physical sciences. This talk will explore the many ways that AIP’s two history programs support the historical and archival activities of AAPM. Topics will include our ongoing oral history program, web outreach through exhibits and teaching guides, and archiving for AAPM and other Member Societies. We will focus in particular on materials in our collections related to the history of medical physics and to the history of AAPM. We will unveil and demonstrate a new “Archives Portal” that we are designing specifically to be useful to AAPM and its members. Learning Objectives: Study the background of the medical physicist - William David Coolidge Examine the time-line for his success Review the publications conceptualizing his works and progressions Realize what he invented Evaluate the importance of the invention Relate the success to national prominence Uncover how he influenced medical physicists today Find out how he was celebrated by the AAPM View the AIP established Center for History of Physics Consider the significant efforts and vision to preserve the history of medical physics Learn about the Niels Bohr Library & Archives Look back in time at medical physics in the 1960s Unveil and demonstrate a new “Archives Portal” that will be useful to AAPM.

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗

WE-H-204-01: William D. Coolidge, Inventor of the Modern X-Ray Tube

“William D. Coolidge, Inventor of the Modern X-ray Tube” David J. Allard, M.S., CHP - Director, PA DEP Bureau of Radiation Protection William David Coolidge 1873–1975 was a research scientist and inventor of the modern X-ray tube. Besides Roentgen, with his 1895 discovery and subsequent studies of X-rays, perhaps no other individual contributed more to the advancement of X-ray technology than did Coolidge. He was born in Hudson, MA and received his Bachelor of Science degree from MIT in 1896. That same year he went to Europe to study under renowned physicists of the time. Coolidge received his Ph.D. summa cum laude from the University of Leipzig in 1899 and soon after joined the staff of MIT. While studying at Leipzig, he met Roentgen. In 1905 he was asked to join the newly established General Electric Research Laboratory in Schenectady, NY. He promptly began fundamental work on the production of ductile tungsten filaments as a replacement for fragile carbon filaments used in incandescent light bulbs. This improved light bulb was brought to market by GE in 1911. It was subsequent application of his tungsten work that led Coolidge to his studies in X ray production. Circa 1910, the state-of-the-art X-ray tube was a “gas tube” or “cold cathode” type tube. These crude X-ray tubes relied on residual gas molecules as a source of electrons for bombardment of low to medium atomic number metal targets. In 1912 Coolidge described the use of tungsten as an improved anode target material for X-ray tubes. Shortly after in 1913 he published a paper in Physical Review describing “A Powerful Roentgen Ray Tube With a Pure Electron Discharge.” This tube used a tungsten filament as a thermionic source of electrons under high vacuum to bombard a tungsten anode target. Great improvements in X-ray tube stability, output and performance were obtained with the “hot cathode” or “Coolidge tube.” With some variation in filament and target geometry, this 100 year old invention is the same basic X-ray tube used today in medicine, research and industry. In 1932 Coolidge became Director of the GE Laboratory, then in 1940 Vice-President and Director of Research. In 1941 he was a member of a small committee, appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, to evaluate the military importance of research on uranium. This committee’s report led to the establishment of the Manhattan Engineering District for nuclear weapons development during WWII. Coolidge lived to be over 100 years old, he had 83 patents to his credit, numerous awards and honorary degrees, and in 1975 was elected to the National Inventor’s Hall of Fame. At the time he was the only inventor to receive this honor in his lifetime. Dr. Coolidge was also the first recipient of the AAPM’s highest science award - named in his honor. From notes of a day-long interview with Coolidge’s son Lawrence in the mid-1990s, previous biographies, publications, books, GE literature, historic photographs, e.g., a wonderful 1874 photo stereoview card with 1 year old baby “Willie Coolidge”, and other artifacts in the author’s collection, this presentation will review Dr. Coolidge’s amazing life, work, accomplishments and awards. “History and Archives Resources at AIP for AAPM and its Members” Gregory A. Good, Ph.D. - Director, AIP Center for History of Physics Melanie J. Mueller, MLIS - Acting Director, AIP Niels Bohr Library & Archives The American Institute of Physics established the Center for History of Physics and the Niels Bohr Library & Archives in the 1960s. Our shared mission is: To preserve and make known the history of the physical sciences. This talk will explore the many ways that AIP’s two history programs support the historical and archival activities of AAPM. Topics will include our ongoing oral history program, web outreach through exhibits and teaching guides, and archiving for AAPM and other Member Societies. We will focus in particular on materials in our collections related to the history of medical physics and to the history of AAPM. We will unveil and demonstrate a new “Archives Portal” that we are designing specifically to be useful to AAPM and its members. Learning Objectives: Study the background of the medical physicist - William David Coolidge Examine the time-line for his success Review the publications conceptualizing his works and progressions Realize what he invented Evaluate the importance of the invention Relate the success to national prominence Uncover how he influenced medical physicists today Find out how he was celebrated by the AAPM View the AIP established Center for History of Physics Consider the significant efforts and vision to preserve the history of medical physics Learn about the Niels Bohr Library & Archives Look back in time at medical physics in the 1960s Unveil and demonstrate a new “Archives Portal” that will be useful to AAPM.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

WE-H-204-02: Part 1: History and Archives Resources at AIP for AAPM and Its Members

“William D. Coolidge, Inventor of the Modern X-ray Tube” David J. Allard, M.S., CHP - Director, PA DEP Bureau of Radiation Protection William David Coolidge 1873–1975 was a research scientist and inventor of the modern X-ray tube. Besides Roentgen, with his 1895 discovery and subsequent studies of X-rays, perhaps no other individual contributed more to the advancement of X-ray technology than did Coolidge. He was born in Hudson, MA and received his Bachelor of Science degree from MIT in 1896. That same year he went to Europe to study under renowned physicists of the time. Coolidge received his Ph.D. summa cum laude from the University of Leipzig in 1899 and soon after joined the staff of MIT. While studying at Leipzig, he met Roentgen. In 1905 he was asked to join the newly established General Electric Research Laboratory in Schenectady, NY. He promptly began fundamental work on the production of ductile tungsten filaments as a replacement for fragile carbon filaments used in incandescent light bulbs. This improved light bulb was brought to market by GE in 1911. It was subsequent application of his tungsten work that led Coolidge to his studies in X ray production. Circa 1910, the state-of-the-art X-ray tube was a “gas tube” or “cold cathode” type tube. These crude X-ray tubes relied on residual gas molecules as a source of electrons for bombardment of low to medium atomic number metal targets. In 1912 Coolidge described the use of tungsten as an improved anode target material for X-ray tubes. Shortly after in 1913 he published a paper in Physical Review describing “A Powerful Roentgen Ray Tube With a Pure Electron Discharge.” This tube used a tungsten filament as a thermionic source of electrons under high vacuum to bombard a tungsten anode target. Great improvements in X-ray tube stability, output and performance were obtained with the “hot cathode” or “Coolidge tube.” With some variation in filament and target geometry, this 100 year old invention is the same basic X-ray tube used today in medicine, research and industry. In 1932 Coolidge became Director of the GE Laboratory, then in 1940 Vice-President and Director of Research. In 1941 he was a member of a small committee, appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, to evaluate the military importance of research on uranium. This committee’s report led to the establishment of the Manhattan Engineering District for nuclear weapons development during WWII. Coolidge lived to be over 100 years old, he had 83 patents to his credit, numerous awards and honorary degrees, and in 1975 was elected to the National Inventor’s Hall of Fame. At the time he was the only inventor to receive this honor in his lifetime. Dr. Coolidge was also the first recipient of the AAPM’s highest science award - named in his honor. From notes of a day-long interview with Coolidge’s son Lawrence in the mid-1990s, previous biographies, publications, books, GE literature, historic photographs, e.g., a wonderful 1874 photo stereoview card with 1 year old baby “Willie Coolidge”, and other artifacts in the author’s collection, this presentation will review Dr. Coolidge’s amazing life, work, accomplishments and awards. “History and Archives Resources at AIP for AAPM and its Members” Gregory A. Good, Ph.D. - Director, AIP Center for History of Physics Melanie J. Mueller, MLIS - Acting Director, AIP Niels Bohr Library & Archives The American Institute of Physics established the Center for History of Physics and the Niels Bohr Library & Archives in the 1960s. Our shared mission is: To preserve and make known the history of the physical sciences. This talk will explore the many ways that AIP’s two history programs support the historical and archival activities of AAPM. Topics will include our ongoing oral history program, web outreach through exhibits and teaching guides, and archiving for AAPM and other Member Societies. We will focus in particular on materials in our collections related to the history of medical physics and to the history of AAPM. We will unveil and demonstrate a new “Archives Portal” that we are designing specifically to be useful to AAPM and its members. Learning Objectives: Study the background of the medical physicist - William David Coolidge Examine the time-line for his success Review the publications conceptualizing his works and progressions Realize what he invented Evaluate the importance of the invention Relate the success to national prominence Uncover how he influenced medical physicists today Find out how he was celebrated by the AAPM View the AIP established Center for History of Physics Consider the significant efforts and vision to preserve the history of medical physics Learn about the Niels Bohr Library & Archives Look back in time at medical physics in the 1960s Unveil and demonstrate a new “Archives Portal” that will be useful to AAPM.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

WE-H-204-03: Part 2: History and Archives Resources at AIP for AAPM and Its Members

“William D. Coolidge, Inventor of the Modern X-ray Tube” David J. Allard, M.S., CHP - Director, PA DEP Bureau of Radiation Protection William David Coolidge 1873–1975 was a research scientist and inventor of the modern X-ray tube. Besides Roentgen, with his 1895 discovery and subsequent studies of X-rays, perhaps no other individual contributed more to the advancement of X-ray technology than did Coolidge. He was born in Hudson, MA and received his Bachelor of Science degree from MIT in 1896. That same year he went to Europe to study under renowned physicists of the time. Coolidge received his Ph.D. summa cum laude from the University of Leipzig in 1899 and soon after joined the staff of MIT. While studying at Leipzig, he met Roentgen. In 1905 he was asked to join the newly established General Electric Research Laboratory in Schenectady, NY. He promptly began fundamental work on the production of ductile tungsten filaments as a replacement for fragile carbon filaments used in incandescent light bulbs. This improved light bulb was brought to market by GE in 1911. It was subsequent application of his tungsten work that led Coolidge to his studies in X ray production. Circa 1910, the state-of-the-art X-ray tube was a “gas tube” or “cold cathode” type tube. These crude X-ray tubes relied on residual gas molecules as a source of electrons for bombardment of low to medium atomic number metal targets. In 1912 Coolidge described the use of tungsten as an improved anode target material for X-ray tubes. Shortly after in 1913 he published a paper in Physical Review describing “A Powerful Roentgen Ray Tube With a Pure Electron Discharge.” This tube used a tungsten filament as a thermionic source of electrons under high vacuum to bombard a tungsten anode target. Great improvements in X-ray tube stability, output and performance were obtained with the “hot cathode” or “Coolidge tube.” With some variation in filament and target geometry, this 100 year old invention is the same basic X-ray tube used today in medicine, research and industry. In 1932 Coolidge became Director of the GE Laboratory, then in 1940 Vice-President and Director of Research. In 1941 he was a member of a small committee, appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, to evaluate the military importance of research on uranium. This committee’s report led to the establishment of the Manhattan Engineering District for nuclear weapons development during WWII. Coolidge lived to be over 100 years old, he had 83 patents to his credit, numerous awards and honorary degrees, and in 1975 was elected to the National Inventor’s Hall of Fame. At the time he was the only inventor to receive this honor in his lifetime. Dr. Coolidge was also the first recipient of the AAPM’s highest science award - named in his honor. From notes of a day-long interview with Coolidge’s son Lawrence in the mid-1990s, previous biographies, publications, books, GE literature, historic photographs, e.g., a wonderful 1874 photo stereoview card with 1 year old baby “Willie Coolidge”, and other artifacts in the author’s collection, this presentation will review Dr. Coolidge’s amazing life, work, accomplishments and awards. “History and Archives Resources at AIP for AAPM and its Members” Gregory A. Good, Ph.D. - Director, AIP Center for History of Physics Melanie J. Mueller, MLIS - Acting Director, AIP Niels Bohr Library & Archives The American Institute of Physics established the Center for History of Physics and the Niels Bohr Library & Archives in the 1960s. Our shared mission is: To preserve and make known the history of the physical sciences. This talk will explore the many ways that AIP’s two history programs support the historical and archival activities of AAPM. Topics will include our ongoing oral history program, web outreach through exhibits and teaching guides, and archiving for AAPM and other Member Societies. We will focus in particular on materials in our collections related to the history of medical physics and to the history of AAPM. We will unveil and demonstrate a new “Archives Portal” that we are designing specifically to be useful to AAPM and its members. Learning Objectives: Study the background of the medical physicist - William David Coolidge Examine the time-line for his success Review the publications conceptualizing his works and progressions Realize what he invented Evaluate the importance of the invention Relate the success to national prominence Uncover how he influenced medical physicists today Find out how he was celebrated by the AAPM View the AIP established Center for History of Physics Consider the significant efforts and vision to preserve the history of medical physics Learn about the Niels Bohr Library & Archives Look back in time at medical physics in the 1960s Unveil and demonstrate a new “Archives Portal” that will be useful to AAPM.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

TH-D-BRB-04: Pinnacle Scripting: Improving Efficiency While Maintaining Safety

Scripting capabilities and application programming interfaces (APIs) are becoming commonly available in modern treatment planning systems. These links to the treatment planning system (TPS) allow users to read data from the TPS, and in some cases use TPS functionality and write data back to the TPS. Such tools are powerful extensions, allowing automation of routine clinical tasks and supporting research, particularly research involving repetitive tasks on large patient populations. The data and functionality exposed by scripting/API capabilities is vendor dependent, as are the languages used by script/API engines, such as the Microsoft .NET framework or Python. Scripts deployed in a clinical environment must be commissioned and validated like any other software tool. This session will provide an overview of scripting applications and a discussion of best practices, followed by a practical introduction to the scripting capabilities of three commercial treatment planning systems. Learning Objectives: Understand the scripting capabilities available in several treatment planning systems Learn how to get started using scripting capabilities Understand the best practices for safe script deployment in a clinical environment R. Popple, Varian Medical Systems has provided research support unrelated to the topic of this session.R. Cardan, Varian Medical Systems for grant research, product evaluation, and teaching honorarium.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

The Expanding Universe: Dark Energy

In 1998, observations of distant supernovae led physicists that not only was the universe expanding, but the expansion was speeding up. In this article, we describe the evidence for an expanding universe and describe what physicists and cosmologists have learned in the intervening years. The target audience for this article is high school physics teachers and college physics professors at teaching institutions.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

The Nature of the Electron

Winston Churchill once said of Russia that it was a riddle wrapped in mystery inside an enigma. Were the British Bulldog a physicist, he might have been talking of something other than our Slavic comrades. He might have been talking about an electron. It might seem weird to think of an electron as mysterious. After all, introductory physics instructors everywhere teach students about charge and current and have them do labs to calculate the particle's charge-to-mass ratio. If the particle is easy enough to understand that you can present it in technical detail to first-year physics students, how mysterious can it be? Of course, you have probably now turned your thoughts to the quantum electron and Schrödinger's equation and whether cats are alive or dead, and perhaps you are beginning to remember that the electron hasn't told us all of its tales. And the story of quantum mechanics is now nearly a century old. Science has moved on and researchers have abandoned the simpler quantum representations of the electron for the more advanced relativistic quantum mechanics and now quantum field theory. Like Salome in Richard Strauss's opera, the electron seems to be doing a dance of seven veils and the dance is not yet over. The electron still has a few secrets to reveal. This article will mostly cover the more modern representations of the electron. A brief reminder of the electron of classical physics and early quantum theories will begin the story, but these will be used simply as a diving board as we plunge into the story of the modern electron. And, as we will see, that story is very deep.

Lincoln, Don↗