1950 Aerial Photo of Cyclotron Buildings	1959 Aerial Photo of Cyclotron Buildings

Installation of magnet for Cyclotron	1959 Campus Map showing the Cyclotron Building (30), with Control and Laboratory Buildings (29)
Cyclotron forgings on a special rail car

The University had installed a seven million volt cyclotron in Bausch & Lomb in 1936.  In 1947 a new 250 million volt cyclotron was installed in a new building on the south edge of the River Campus.  A dedicated 473-foot long railroad spur, known as the "Cyclotron and Southern," was built from the adjacent Erie Railroad to allow delivery of the heavy forgings.  The Cyclotron building and adjacent control buildings were completed in 1947 and the unit began operation on the last day of 1948.  An addition was made to the cyclotron control building around 1955, giving in an "L" shape and a separate shop building was added around 1958. 

The cyclotron was shut down in 1968 and demolished in 1970 along with the building that housed it.  The control building and shop were demolished in December 2004 to facilitate construction of the new Goergen Hall..

References
1946 "University's Giant New Cyclotron Guaranteed to be True Atom-Smasher," Rochester Review 25(1):14 (September-October 1946)

1946 "Shortest Single-Gauge R.R. In World Built at U. of R.," The Campus, December 5, 1946, Page 3.
Cyclotron and Southern is open for business.

1947 "Up and At 'Em with 250,000,000 Volts," Rochester Review 25(3):5 (January-February 1947) | Cover |

1947 "First Steel Block Placed for Cyclotron Magnet," Campus Times, January 10, 1947, Page 1. | Part 2 |

1947 "Cyclotron Railroad Ends 1 Month Life," Campus Times, February 21, 1947, Page 1. | Part 2 |

1947 "Campus Cyclotron Near Completion," Campus Times, October 10, 1947, Page 1. | Part 2 |

1949 "Note on the Rochester Cyclotron," by S. W. Barnes, A. F. Clark, G. B. Collins, C. L. Oxley, R. L. Mccreary, J. B. Platt, and S. N. Vanvoorhees, Physical Review 75:983 (March 15, 1949)
This work was assisted by the joint program of the Office of Naval Research and the Atomic Energy Commission.

1949 "U of R Cyclotron To Be Dedicated in Day-Long Program Next Tuesday," Campus Times, March 25, 1949, Page 2.

1949 "Notables see UR Cyclotron Put to Work," Democrat and Chronicle, March 30, 1949, Page 17.

1949 "New Cyclotron, Psychiatric Clinic Dedicated," Rochester Review 10(4):3-4 (April-May 1949)

1949 "Why Another Cyclotron," Lee A. DuBridge, Bulletin of Atomic Scientists 5(6-7):201-203 (June-July 1949)

1950 "Frosh Marvels at Cyclotron's Size, Finds Wire Fence More Shocking," Campus Times, October 20, 1950, Page 8.

1951 Ninth Semiannual Report of the Atomic Energy Commission, January 1951
Pages 13-14:  Particle Accelerator Program.  Similar machines are nearing completion at the University of Chicago and the Carnegie Institute of Technology, and a slightly smaller one was completed at the University of Rochester in late 1948.  These four accelerators have been jointly financed by the AEC and the ONR.
Page 16:  New Buildings and Equipment.  University of Rochester. AEC Training Building, estimated total cost 1.3 million dollars; completed and in use.

1957 "Atomic Energy Commission Supports Nuclear Research," Rochester Review 19(2):6 (November 1957)
Two new one-story buildings are virtually completed on the River Campus for expansion of the physics research facilities, both finances by a $200,000 grant from the A.E.C. One is an addition to the synchrocylotron facilities and the other is a particle physics building.

1959 "Cyclotron Explores Secrets of Atomic Nuclei Particles," Campus Times, February 6, 1959, Page 2.

1968 "Farewell to the Cyclotron - and to UR's Ducks," Rochester Review 31(2):27 (Fall 1968)

1970 "UR Razing 2,000-Ton Cyclotron," Democrat and Chronicle, November 7, 1970, Page 6B.

1977 History of the University of Rochester, 1850-1962, by Arthur J. May.  Expanded edition with notes
Chapter 33, The First Century Ends
But more exciting by far was the construction of a giant cyclotron or atom-smasher for research in nuclear physics on the southeastern rim of the campus; reportedly this huge 250 million volt monster was the second most powerful in existence. It was largely paid for by the United States Navy Department, which was likewise responsible for operating expenses. The University contributed two buildings to the complex, built in a small ravine where the embankment formed a radiation shield; to haul in the heavy research equipment a short, temporary standard gauge railway track was laid down. After two and a half years of building, the cyclotron went (1949) into operation in the presence of a company of distinguished guests with Lee A. DuBridge, then president of the California Institute of Technology, as the principal speaker.

2003 "UR plans $30 million 'bio-optics' building," Democrat and Chronicle, November 26, 2003, Page 3B. | Part 2 |
Two small buildings will be demolished to make way for the campus addition.  The building demolition is slated to happen in December 2004.

2017 "Where Have All the Cyclotrons Gone?," by Melissa Mead, Rochester Review 80(2):21 (November-December 2017)

© 2021 Morris A. Pierce