Undergraduate Education with the Rutgers 12-Inch Cyclotron

The Rutgers 12-Inch Cyclotron is a research grade accelerator dedicated to undergraduate education. From its inception, it has been intended for instruction and has been designed to demonstrate classic beam physics phenomena and provides students hands on experience with accelerator technology. The cyclotron is easily reconfigured, allowing experiments to be designed and performed within one academic semester. Our cyclotron offers students the opportunity to operate an accelerator and directly observe many fundamental beam physics concepts, including axial and radial betatron motion, destructive resonances, weak and azimuthally varying field (AVF) focusing schemes, RF and DEE voltage effects, diagnostic techniques, and perform low energy nuclear reactions. This paper emphasizes the unique beam physics measurements and beam manipulations capable at the Rutgers 12-Inch Cyclotron.