John Adams and CERN: Personal Recollections

Abstract

By any standards, John Adams had a most remarkable career. He was involved in three important, emerging technologies, radar, particle accelerators and controlled fusion, and had an outstanding impact on the last two. Without a university education, he attained hierarchical positions of the highest level in prestigious national and international organizations. This article covers the CERN part of his career, by offering some personal insights into the different facets of his contributions to major accelerator projects, from the first strong-focusing synchrotron, the PS, to the SPS and its conversion to a proton–antiproton collider. In particular, it outlines his abilities as a leader of an international collaboration, which has served as an example for international initiatives in other disciplines.