Srinivas Krishnagopal

Last week, Srinivas Krishnagopal of the Centre for Advanced Technology in Indore, India, visited KEK to have discussions with the researchers on ATF, STF and J-PARC. "These facilities look extremely good", he said. "J-PARC is a very big project, and it appears that it will be built efficiently on time. The operation of KEKB is also going very well. I am told that KEK is inviting international collaborators for these facilities, especially from Asian countries. I’m sure the accelerator community in India would look forward to such collaborations."

Krishnagopal moved to the United States in 1985 to attend Cornell University. After receiving his PhD there, he went on to work on free-electron lasers at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory until 1992, when he moved back to India to work for the Centre for Advanced Technology. At that time, he started theoretical work on beam-beam interactions and R&D for future accelerator technologies, including photo injectors and FELs.

While visiting KEK, Krishnagopal expressed that India has interests in accelerators for future light sources, for spallation neutron sources with protons, and other applications.

"Collaborations are fruitful if the interests of both parties are met", he says. "The facilities here are very large and very ambitious. It seems to me that there is a good potential for a collaboration for mutual benefit."

Krishnagopal also noted that the relationship to Indian industries has been rapidly growing since the beginning of construction on such projects as Indus-2 and LHC. "It was a turning point for them. Indian companies are ready to take up these high tech jobs", he says.

With the next Linear Collider workshop to take place in Bangalore, India in March, Krishnagopal looks forward to welcoming the ILC community. "People here are gentle and very helpful”, he says. “Lots of young people are working on important projects, which look very promising. Both the scientists and secretaries speak very good English. I look forward to see them again in Bangalore in next March, where we will hold the next Linear Collider workshop."

More information about Centre for Advanced Technology.

-- Youhei Morita