Though proton therapy may seem relatively new, the idea of utilizing energetic protons as a treatment for cancer was first published by scientist Robert R. Wilson in 1946. Early treatments were performed at nuclear physics facilities, such as the Harvard Cyclotron Laboratory, and eventually gave way to the first hospital-based proton therapy center in 1990. Since then, almost a dozen of these proton cancer treatment centers have been established in the United States. Hampton University Proton Therapy Institute (HUPTI) was the eighth center to rise to prominence, and has evolved to become the largest facility of its kind in the world.