Announcements

We are pleased to announce that one new scholar has been appointed as Editorial Board Member (EBM) of Quantum Beam Science (ISSN: 2412-382X), joining in March 2025. We wish our new member success in both his research and efforts to develop the journal.

Name: Prof. Dr. Yuanrong Lu
Affiliation: Institute of Heavy Ion Physics, State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Physics and Technology, School of Physics, Chengfu Road 201, Peking University, Beijing, China
Research interests: heavy ion physics; high current particle accelerator physics and technology; RFQ neutron imaging and applications

Further details about the Editorial Board of Quantum Beam Science can be found by clicking the following link: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/qubs/editors.

The following is an interview with Prof. Dr. Yuanrong Lu, who shared his academic background and his plan for the journal:

1. Could you please tell us a little bit about yourself and your academic background and what your current interests are?

I am Yuanrong Lu from the School of Physics, State Key Lab of Nuclear Physics and Technology, Peking University. I got my B.S. degree in 1986 and my master’s degree in 1993 for nuclear physics and technology from the department of technical physics, Peking University, and my Ph.D.  in 2005 in applied physics at Frankfurt University. I have been working at Peking University from 1986 to now as an assistant and RF engineer. Since 2005, I have supervised more than 25 master’s and Ph.D. students up to now. I have been a Prof. Dr. Eng. since 2008 and a group leader for the Radio Frequency Quadruple Accelerator group. My research direction includes ECR ion source, RFQ and DTL linear accelerators, Plasma acceleration, and Nuclear medical applications. I joined the GSI UNILAC upgrade project as a guest scientist from 1994 to 1996; I was responsible for the RF control for the UNILAC. I designed and manufactured the analog and digital phase shifters for the buncher, RFQ, Alvarez, and single-gap resonators. The working frequency is 27MHz, 36MHz, and 108MHz. I modified and improved all solid-state amplifiers and made them suitable to be tuned or operated from 27MHz to 36MHz for the UNILAC upgrade. I did the first C+, N+, O+ RFQ in China at the end of the 20th century, which could accelerate O+ to 1MeV 3mA (peak current, duty cycle of 16.6%). I did the first experimental research for O+ and O- simultaneously acceleration in the above RFQ to annihilate the charge accumulation during ion implantation. The process of beam bunching and acceleration of positive and negative ions was simulated, and the microscopic beam waveforms of positive and negative oxygen ions were observed successfully with a coaxial fast Faraday cup. Beam experiments were completed on two existing RFQ accelerators. The equipartitioned design scheme of RFQ is used for the first neutron imaging facility based on 201.5MHz RFQ (PKUNIFTY: Peking University Neutron Imaging Facility) in China. In cooperation with the Institute of High Energy and the Institute of Atomic Energy, the 352MHz proton RFQ model cavity was developed, which effectively boosted the development of China's first proton ADS RFQ accelerator and won the Beijing Science and Technology Achievement Award in 2008. In cooperation with Lanzhou Institute of Modern Physics, Peking University, and Lanzhou Institute of Modern Physics, I have designed and built a high charge state heavy ion 238U34+ CW RFQ accelerator, which has successfully accelerated many kinds of heavy ion beams and has been in stable operation for 11 years. In cooperation with the Lanzhou Institute of Modern Physics, the world's first 162.5MHz window-type RFQ accelerator was developed, and the CW H2+ current intensity was successfully accelerated to 1.95mA, and the transmission efficiency was 90%. In cooperation with Chengdu Southwest Institute of Physics, a 162.5MHz D+ four-vane RFQ accelerator was designed and tested. Beam experiments on the RFQ accelerator indicated that the maximum accelerated beam current could reach 10mA with a duty factor of 1%.

I designed the linac injector for the HIT project at Heidelberg Medical Facility between 2002 and 2005 during my Ph.D. at the Institute of Applied Physics.  The same facility has been imported to Shanghai Proton Heavy Ion Hospital for cancer therapy. I try to push the development and application of BNCT in China.

2. Which research topics do you think will be of particular interest to the research community in the coming years?

Nowadays, the potential of AI has shown significant opportunities for quantum beam science; the multidisciplinary application for large-scale accelerator facilities will be expanded all over the world. New electron facilities such as the fourth-generation synchrotron light source, large ion facilities such as HIAF, and CERN facilities will have explosive data processing requirements. More phenomena and new physics will appear unexpectedly such as dark matter and dark energy, new elements, new nuclei, new materials, and applications, that will bring us a lot of beam science and applications.  

3. What are your plans and vision for the journal?

I am pleased and deeply honored to join the Editorial Board of Quantum Beam Science (QuBS). I am always happy to serve the academic community and contribute to the dissemination of scientific and technological advancements. I will do my best to promote QuBS and enhance its impact.