“It is my honor and a distinct pleasure to extend a warm welcome to all of the participants attending this year’s annual Health Physics Society Conference [Midyear Topical Meeting] who will gather in Oakland from January 27 –30, 2008.
On the occasion of this magnificent event, I am humbled and excited to recognize not only your individual achievements, but your collective dedication to fostering a fruitful and constructive dialogue on the vital issues which face our medical institutions and the overall health of our human family.
As Mayor, it gives me a great sense of pride to have such an accomplished collection of individuals gather in our Convention Center, and for that I send a special word of thanks to the Northern California Chapter of the Health Physics Society.
I will also take this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation for the incredible work NCCHPS has done to provide educational opportunities for future generations of aspiring scientists and those who seek vocations in the medical field.
I wish you all continued success in your research and support your efforts to cultivate innovative collaboration through education and scholarship.”
Respectfully, Ronald V. Dellums, Mayor of Oakland
The Northern California Chapter and the Accelerator Section of the Health Physics Society also welcome and invite you to attend the 2008 HPS Midyear Topical Meeting, “Radiation-Generating Devices,” (January 27-30, 2008) and the HPS Professional Development School (PDS), “Topics in Accelerator Health Physics,” (January 31 to February 2, 2008) at the same location, the Oakland Marriott City Center and Oakland Convention Center. For more information about the meeting with links to the PDS and plenty of local attractions, please go to the midyear website.
Discover a vibrant, picturesque city! Oakland’s landscape is a mix of lovely hillside neighborhoods; exciting and diverse architecture; a bustling waterfront; two shimmering lakes; 19 miles of shoreline along the San Francisco Bay; unparalleled Bay views; and more parks and open space per capita than any other city in the Bay Area. A city on the move, Oakland has emerged as a major economic force in the region. Long a center for international trade, the Port of Oakland is the nation's fourth busiest cargo container port.
For your enjoyment while you are here, the Local Arrangements Committee has planned tours of Livermore Valley wineries, the Saint George’s Distillery, the Port of Oakland, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s Advanced Light Source (the domed building in the picture below).
The Advanced Light Source, one of the world's brightest sources of ultraviolet and soft x-ray beams--and the world's first third-generation synchrotron light source in its energy range--makes previously impossible studies possible. The original building, situated in the East Bay Hills overlooking San Francisco Bay, was completed in 1942. Designed by Arthur Brown Jr. (designer of Coit Tower in San Francisco), it was built to house LBNL’s namesake E.O. Lawrence’s 184-inch cyclotron, an advanced version of the first cyclotron he invented and for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1939.
Editor's note: This article was originally published in the December 2007 issue of the Health Physics News newsletter.