ACFA and Its Activities
What is ACFA: In the last two to three decades Asian countries have demonstrated a remarkable progress in the field of accelerator-based science and technology. In addition to the rapid growth of the accelerator facilities in Asian countries, tremendous need was felt for an active collaboration among various accelerator institutions to support the future accelerator activities in Asia for a long time. The proposal of having a new organization was discussed in an informal meeting jointly called by Professor Z. Zheng, Director of IHEP, and Professor H. Sugawara, ex-Director General of KEK, held at IHEP/Beijing on Aug.16, 1995. A new forum called ACFA (Asian Committee for Future Accelerators) was established on April 8, 1996 at the 1st Plenary ACFA Meeting in Pohang, Korea.
ACFA Objectives: The primary objective of ACFA is to promote and strengthen regional collaboration in accelerator-based sciences. The functioning of ACFA in particular, seeks cooperative ways;
 | To facilitate efficient utilization of existing human and material resources, |
| To bring up scientists of the next generation, and |
| To encourage future projects in Asia and make recommendations for them to the governments.ACFA is playing an important role in formulating e+e- Global Linear Collider in Asia. |
ACFA Activities: ACFA organizes its activities according to the following guiding principles:
| ACFA is open to any active region in Asia, which is willing to contribute to the advancement of accelerator-based science. |
| ACFA is not intended to displace or supersede any existing organization. |
| ACFA will closely cooperate with ICFA (International Committee for Future Accelerators). |
The major activities of ACFA includes
| Regular meetings of Plenary ACFA. Every year a Plenary ACFA meeting has been organized to discuss accelerator activities of various ACFA member countries and the progress of various working groups after its inception. The first Plenary ACFA was held in Pohang in 1996 then in Thailand ('97), Tsukuba, Japan ('98), Indore, India ('99), Kyongju, Korea ('00), Beijing, China ('01), Melbourne, Australia ('02) and the last in Hsinchu, Taiwan ('03). |
| Organize or participate sponsoring accelerator schools, symposia, workshops and conferences. ACFA has successfully organized several workshops, symposia and schools in various locations in Asia namely, joint US-CERN-Japan Accelerator School on RF Engineering at Hayama, Japan ('96), 1st Asian Particle Accelerator Conference APAC98 in Tsukuba, Japan in ('98), 1st JSPS Asian Accelerator School on Storage Rings & Superconducting Technology at Beijing in ('99), 2nd Asian Particle Accelerator Conference APAC01 in Beijing in ('01), JSPS Asian Seminar on Synchrotron Radiation Sciences for SESAME in Amman, Jordan in ('02) and CAT-KEK-Sokendai School on Spallation Neutron Sources at CAT, Indore, India ('04). |
| Set up study groups to address special issues of the accelerator sciences. ACFA has organized a few working groups which are actively playing important roles in linear collider activities, high power proton accelerators, electronic publications and electronic networking activities in Asia. |
| Strengthening of Asia-wide collaboration. On ACFA initiative, KEK is now proposing to initiate, with the kind support from JSPS (Japan Society for the Promotion of Science) extension of the multilateral Core University Collaboration program in Asia region. The first multilateral core university program is likely to start between Japan-Korea-China-Taiwan-Thailand-India from Japan Financial Year 2004. |
ACFA Membership: ACFA membership is open to any active region in Asia. The new active region can join ACFA by proposing and identifying its representative to ACFA Chairman in a written statement. The proposals are discussed and approved in Plenary ACFA meetings. Present ACFA members include Australia, Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, R O Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
Structure of ACFA: ACFA consists of the Plenary ACFA, Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary and Deputy Secretary and Working Group/Study Group.
Plenary ACFA Meetings: A Plenary ACFA meeting is normally held every year. The decisions on all the ACFA activities are based on the consensus of the representatives from all the participating regions. Every participating region appoints its representatives, maximum three, to the Plenary ACFA from the fields of Accelerator Physics, Particle and Nuclear Physics and Synchrotron Radiation and Spallation Neutron Sources.
Officers of ACFA: The Plenary ACFA elects from its participating region a Chairman and a Vice-Chairman, who then nominate respectively a Secretary and a Deputy Secretary. The Chairman is responsible for the day-to-day running of ACFA and when Chairman is absent the Vice-Chairman is responsible. The Secretary and the Vice-Secretary carry out the office duties under the guidance of the Chairman. Each officer serves for a single term of two years. Upon completion of each term, the Vice Chairman and the Deputy Secretary become respectively the Chairman and Secretary for the succeeding term. Presently Dr. D.D. Bhawalkar is the ACFA Chairman and Prof. Shin-ichi Kurokawa is the Vice-Chairman. Mr. Satish Chandra Joshi and Prof. Setsuya Kawabata are the Secretary and Deputy-Secretary respectively for the term of 2003 - 2004.
 The author of this article, ACFA secretary Dr. Satish Chandra Joshi, works at the Center for Advanced Technology, Indore India.
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