2010 is the 70th anniversary of the development of the high-power cavity magnetron by Randall and Boot at Birmingham University. This invention, which made high power microwave generation possible, was made into a practical device by the GEC Company in England and put into large-scale production in the USA. It had a decisive impact on military operations in World War Two, and gave birth to much of the radar technology which followed, and much later, to the development of the microwave oven as a widely used and inexpensive consumer product
[singlepic id=1302 w=300 h=193 float=left] The origins of the cavity magnetron, which are much less well-known go back to at least the mid-1930s with key work being done in Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Russia, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Japan and the USA.
To mark the anniversary and to bring together knowledge of the early work and also to learn how the magnetron has been improved and used since then, the IEEE United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland Section, the UK Defence Electronics History Society, and the Institution of Engineering and Technology are jointly sponsoring an international conference CAVMAG 2010 on the origins and evolution of the cavity magnetron with the support of the R8 History Activities Council and the IEEE History Center.
CAVMAG2010 will take place at Bournemouth University, England, 19th-20th April 2010.
Further information is available at www.cavmag2010.org.uk
In order to encourage a good attendance, the advance registration fee has been set at the low level of 65 pounds (for members of IEEE, IET and DEHS) and 80 pounds for others.
This rate applies for payments received up to 22nd March 2010.
Registration may be done on-line at the IET website (using the link from the CAVMAG2010 website), or by sending payment by cheque or BACS (see Registration page of the conference website www.cavmag2010.org.uk)
Numbers for an optional visit to the Royal Signals Museum on 18th April and for the conference dinner on 19th April are limited, and early registration is recommended to be sure of a place.
The conference is sponsored by
The Defence Electronics History Society (DEHS)
IET (History of Technology TPN)
IEEE UKRI Section Life Members Affinity Group
UKRI Microwave Theory and Techniques/Electron Devices/Photonics/Antennas and Propagation Joint Chapter
IEEE History Center
IEEE Region 8 History Council