The 1^st Annual Hands-on Workshop on Electron Beam and X-ray Irradiation Technologies was held April 4-8, 2010 at the National Center for Electron Beam Research on the Texas A&M University campus in College Station, Texas. The workshop was attended by 16 representatives from the government and private industry (I am pictured the 7^th from the right). Participants came from the United States, Mexico and Africa. The participants included representatives from the government, academia, and private industry.  In addition to technical presentations covering the rationale for food irradiation, dosimetry, consumer acceptance and sensory and toxicological studies, there were guest speakers who discussed topics such as phytosanitary applications of irradiation, safety and control systems, and E-Beam and X-ray facility design considerations. In the afternoons, the participants had the opportunity to have hands-on experience with alanine dosimetry, irradiating and measuring dose distribution from E-Beam (single and double beam) and X-ray linear accelerators (linacs), as well as determining the D-10 value of microbial inactivation. Participants were also able to experience the spirit of Aggieland,   student life on Texas A&M University campus, and some A&M’s long standing traditions, such as yell practice and the Aggie ring.  Dr. Suresh Pillai and his workshop team (Charlotte Rambo, doctoral student and Dr. Palmy Jesudhasan, Research Scientist) did a great job hosting the event and have already started the planning for the 2nd Annual Hands-on Workshop in 2011.