  A 1-D linear gyrokinetic code called AWECS is developed to study the kinetic
excitation of Alfvenic instabilities in a high-beta tokamak plasma, with beta
being the ratio of thermal to magnetic pressure. It is designed to describe
physics associated with a broad range of frequencies and wavelengths. For
example, AWECS is capable of simulating kinetic ballooning modes, Alfvenic
ion-temperature-gradient-driven modes, as well as Alfven instabilities due to
energetic particles. In addition, AWECS may be used to study drift-Alfven
instabilities in the low-beta regime. Here, the layout of the code and the
numerical methods used are described. AWECS is benchmarked against other codes
and a convergence study is carried out.
