Volker Ziemann earned his PhD in accelerator physics from Dortmund University in 1990. After post-doctoral positions in Stanford at SLAC and in Geneva at CERN, where he worked on the design of the LHC, he moved to Uppsala in 1995 where he worked at the electron-cooler storage ring CELSIUS. In 2005 he moved to the physics department where he taught physics. Since 2024 he has been Director for Accelerator Education at Jefferson National Laboratory. He was responsible for several accelerator physics projects at CERN, DESY, and XFEL. In 2014 he received the Thuréus Prize from the Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala. He was a member of Uppsala University’s senate, served on evaluation committees for the German ministry of research and the Canadian NSERC, is a member of the Scientific Council of the Helmholtz Institute in Mainz, and teaches at CERN accelerator schools. He authored four books and over 200 articles and reports.
What I love about this book is the ease with which it introduces the reader to the complex art of accelerator design. In a friendly, conversational tone that invites you to read on, the book not only teaches the basics of accelerator physics, but also introduces us to more advanced topics such as nonlinear beam dynamics, various instabilities, and sophisticated methods such as Lie algebra and Hamiliton formalism. The well-designed and well-placed MATLAB exercises help with understanding and internalisation, and provide a virtual 'control room' experience. It is also noteworthy that no aspect of a real accelerator is neglected, be it dosimetry, the vacuum system or the building. Its comprehensive approach makes the book a highly recommended resource for aspiring accelerator physicists. - Atoosa Meseck, Professor of Accelerator Physics, University of Mainz, March 2025