Cryogenic Information Report

In the early 1980s, Graham Walker wrote his classic two-volume monograph Cryocoolers. Records show that sections of this work have been referenced more often and by more authors than any other cryogenic paper published in the mid-1980s. Nevertheless, the significant time lapse in so dynamica field and Walker and Bingham's experience of teaching short courses has revealed the need for a more up-to-date book - one that is more compact, lower in cost, and embraces more topics. Low-capacity Cryogenic Refrigeration provides an elementary yet comprehensive introduction to the subject, with diverse applications in scientific, medical, educational, military, and civil systems. It is complementary to the earlier two-volume work, but covers a wider field and has a wealth ofinformation about the new developments in the last fifteen years. In addition to descriptions of all the principal methods to achieve low-capacity cryogenic refrigeration, this new volume contains a valuable guide to the literature sources and references more advanced works.

The 1999 Joint Cryogenic Engineering Conference (CEC) and International Cryogenic Materials Conference (ICMC) were held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from July 12th to July 16th. The joint conference theme was "Cryogenics into the Next Millennium". The total conference attendance was 797 with participation from 28 countries. As with previous joint CEC and ICMC Conferences, the participants were able to benefit from the joint conference's coverage of cryogenic applications and materials and their interactions. The conference format of plenary, oral and poster presentations, and an extensive commercial exhibit, the largest in CEC-ICMC history, aimed to promote this synergy. The addition of short courses, workshops, and a discussion meeting enabled participants to focus on some of their specialties. The technical tour, organized by Suzanne Gendron, was of Hydro-Quebec's research institute laboratories near Montreal. In keeping with the conference venue the entertainment theme was Jazz, culminating in .the performance of Vic Vogel and his Jazz Big Band at the conference banquet. This 1999 ICMC Conference was chaired by Julian Cave of IREQ - Institut de recherche d'Hydro-Quebec, and the Program Chair and Vice-Chair were Michael Green of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Balu Balachandran of the Argonne National Laboratory respectively. We especially appreciate the contributions of both the CEC and ICMC Boards and the conference managers, Centennial Conferences, under the supervision of Paula Pair and Kim Bass, in making this conference a success.