William & Mary Physics Undergrad Receives Research Assistantship
Alice Perrin, a senior physics major at The College of William and Mary is the recipient of the 2014-15 Jefferson Science Associates Minority/Female Undergraduate Research Assistantship (JSA MFURA) at Jefferson Lab. Her assistantship project involves setting up a testing facility to measure the performance of 3D printed scintillators to be used in a particle detector.
A physics undergraduate at The College of William and Mary has been selected for a research assistantship at Jefferson Lab.
Alice Perrin, a senior physics major from Roanoke was named recipient of the 2014-15 Jefferson Science Associates Minority/Female Undergraduate Research Assistantship (JSA MFURA) at Jefferson Lab.
Perrin is conducting the year-long research assistantship under the supervision of her advisor, W&M physics professor, Wouter Deconinck. Her project involves setting up a testing facility to measure the performance of 3D printed scintillators to be used in a particle detector. The project includes learning how to mix scintillator compounds with photopolymer compounds, performing vacuum and cryogenics tests on sample materials, and using a 3D printer. Her first visit to Jefferson Lab was in September.
The JSA MFURA program at Jefferson Lab offers opportunities to minority and female students pursuing undergraduate degrees in physics. For the selected student, the MFURA program provides a unique opportunity to realize how his or her undergraduate studies translate into real-world research applications and experience. Through the project that the assistantship recipient conducts, the student demonstrates how their physics research is applicable to Jefferson Lab’s nuclear physics program.
This assistantship benefits the student and the lab, according to Elizabeth Lawson, JSA Board liaison and Initiatives Fund program manager. “It provides outstanding opportunities and critical experience for the recipient and provides Jefferson Lab and the broader field of nuclear physics with a source of technical students from underrepresented groups early in their professional careers,” she said.
“The lab provides the students with opportunities not available elsewhere. Being able to conduct research as part of an undergraduate education is a significant advantage for a student at a research university and the role these opportunities play in the overall learning experience is very important,” Lawson added.
Criteria for selection are based on the scientific quality of a candidate’s proposed project, its relevance to the Jefferson Lab scientific program, and the student's academic record. The assistantship is awarded to eligible undergraduate students who are attending Southeastern Universities Research Association-member universities.
"Miss Perrin's project description was well written," commented Jian-Ping Chen, selection committee chair. "The project was carefully planned and directly relevant to Jefferson Lab research. She has an excellent academic record and is qualified to carry out the project."
The assistantship is supported by the JSA Initiatives Fund Program, an annual commitment from the JSA owners, SURA and PAE Applied Technologies, to support programs, initiatives, and activities that further the scientific outreach, and promote the science, education and technology missions of Jefferson Lab and benefit the lab’s user community. The assistantship provides a stipend to support the student at their university during the academic year, as well as travel funds to visit Jefferson Lab.
Additional information about the assistantship is online at: https://www.jlab.org/div_dept/admin/HR/research/.
Information about the JSA Initiatives Fund program is available at:
http://www.jsallc.org/IF/IFIndex.html.
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Young Scientist Combines Physics, Engineering to Research Better Cavity Designs
Subashini De Silva measures the cavity frequency on a network analyzer just before the high-power test of a “proof of principle” crab cavity for the Large Hadron Collider. The network analyzer is connected to the cavity inside a dewar at the Vertical Test Area in the Test Lab. Photo by HyeKyoung Park, JLab.
Subashini De Silva, a once-shy young woman who'd never left the city of her birth has become a world traveler, passionate researcher and award-winning presenter at conferences.
Through her work as a Ph.D. candidate, and support from outstanding mentors, she has seized upon and excelled at her work with the investigation and optimization of a new compact superconducting cavity for deflecting and crabbing applications.
Born in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Subashini or “Suba” as she’s known by her colleagues, did her primary schooling at Sujatha Vidyalaya and Sirimavo Bandaranaike Vidyalaya. Her parents were both professionals – her dad a mechanical engineer and her mom a banking officer – who encouraged her education at every turn.
As a youngster, her favorite subject was mathematics. “It seemed I’d found in math something I really liked” she recalled.
By the time she was completing high school, De Silva was granted access to one of the leading public universities in the country. Following a science major, her first year at the University of Colombo, she took applied and pure math and physics. She pursued her studies in physics in the last two years at the university, specializing in Engineering Physics.
And, in the meantime, she decided to pursue a second degree, Information Technology, which harkened back to her childhood dream of becoming a software engineer. The IT degree was offered outside of the university, and added to her already full workload.
In 2004, she received both a Bachelor’s of Science in Engineering Physics as well as a bachelor’s degree in information technology.
While she had begun to think about jobs outside the university, De Silva was awarded a position as a teaching assistant at the University of Colombo. For a year and a half, while she considered her next move, she managed labs in electronics and general physics for students, and served as a lab leader for the computational lab.
But she still was in a quandary: what to do with the next stage of her life?
Very few of her fellow students went on for higher degrees, but as she looked around at jobs that might be available to her, she found that none of them intrigued her. “During that year, I realized I could end up in some place doing work not at all related to what I’d learned or really wanted to be doing,” she noted. “But choosing to move on was very, very hard.”
She gathered herself together and began to apply to schools in the United States. She received several offers for master’s and Ph.D. programs. Old Dominion University in Norfolk offered her full tuition, a stipend and the opportunity to teach as a TA, and she accepted. I received a great opportunity and got the chance of learning from great professors at ODU, she said. She was supervised by Jean Delayen, Old Dominion University physics professor and Jefferson Lab senior staff scientist.
“He has been a fantastic advisor all throughout,” De Silva said of Delayen. “I was given every opportunity a graduate student could ever ask for. He guided all the graduate students at the Center for Accelerator Science at Old Dominion University to excel in everything we do. I look back now and realize how lucky I was to be part of his group.”
HyeKyoung Park, a Jefferson Lab engineer, has also been immensely helpful, De Silva added. “HyeKyoung is an exceptional person and mechanical engineer. I learned much more by working with her than if I’d been working by myself.”
In just the past year, De Silva presented a paper on “Superconducting RF-Dipole Deflecting and Crabbing Cavities” at the 16th International Conference on RF Superconductivity in Paris and one on “Compact Superconducting Crabbing and Deflecting Cavities” at the International Linear Accelerator Conference in Tel Aviv, Israel.
She has given talks on Cavity II test results at CERN, the ODU-SLAC RR Dipole Prototype at Fermilab, and gave the TOOHIG Fellowship Presentation at the Joint LARP CM20/HiLumi Meeting in California. She has also been published in journals with Delayen and others, and in conference materials.
De Silva recently finished her dissertation, titled: Investigation and Optimization of a New Compact Superconducting Cavity for Deflecting and Crabbing Applications, and since September 2013 has been working in a postdoctoral position at ODU.
She is grateful for the opportunities afforded to her at Jefferson Lab and ODU. “The environment and the people have helped me grow professionally and personally,” she said. “Coming to Jefferson Lab was an opportunity of a lifetime; this is the best place to be for SRF research. The scope of work conducted here offers many opportunities for graduate students; and everyone is so supportive. If I needed help, all I had to do was ask. Someone would take the time to go through a problem so that I could get to the answer.”
“I’ve had nothing but good experiences here,” De Silva said with a smile. “Everyone has been so supportive and helpful.”
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Role Model and Activity Volunteers Needed to Help with BEAMS - Lab's Science and Math Outreach Program for Students
BEAMS students learn about energy transfer, insulators and scientific procedure during the "Cold Stuff" activity (pictured). Jefferson Lab volunteers are needed to help the students with a range of classroom activities and as mentors for Role Model visits.
Becoming Enthusiastic About Math and Science – or BEAMS – Jefferson Lab's long-running math and science enrichment program for upper-elementary and middle-school students needs help. Lab staff members, users and students interested in assisting with educational activities conducted at the lab during normal business hours, are encouraged to contact Christine Wheeler, Science Education.
The largest need, between now and May 2015, is for volunteers to support Role Model Visits. An important part of the BEAMS experience is the Role Model Visit; and Science Education is seeking lab volunteers to provide these 15-minute interactions with the students, according to Wheeler.
For a Role Model Visit, a group of 12 –15 students is brought to the volunteer’s office or a conference room if the office isn’t feasible. Volunteers usually begin by introducing themselves and briefly talking about their job, their education or, how they came to Jefferson Lab, or aspects of their job that they most enjoy. Volunteers engage the students by asking them questions and answering the students’ questions. Students should be encouraged to ask questions. Many questions deal with education, careers and job training. An adult, either a teacher or a lab Education staff member, accompanies the students.
Role Model Visits usually take place from 11–11:15 a.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays from late November through May.
“These are fun and easy!” Wheeler says. “While they are short interactions, these visits have a positive impact on the students, and provide them with information about a variety of careers and jobs in STEM fields.”
Volunteers are also needed to lead or help with classroom activities. These volunteers spend about 75 minutes in a BEAMS classroom in the Support Service Center, Bldg. 28, either leading an educational activity or assisting students as they carry out an activity. A range of activities are presented in the BEAMS classroom. “Many times volunteers will select an activity that they enjoy and lead or help with it,” Wheeler points out.
BEAMS supports Newport News inner-city public school students as they progress from fifth through eighth grade. Nearly 1,500 students and their teachers visit Jefferson Lab between two and five days each school year to participate in BEAMS science and math activities conducted with the help of lab scientists, engineers, technicians and administrators.
BEAMS program goals include: motivating students to boost their learning; strengthening students' math and science skills with hands-on activities; and having students interact with individuals who use math and/or science in their daily work environment. BEAMS also provides teachers with classroom activities based on Jefferson Lab science and technology.
For the 2014-2015 academic year, BEAMS class visits began in late September and will run through May. Usually two classes visit the lab at a time and participate in two to four separate activities during each day-long visit.
"Lab staff, students and users are critical to the success of the lab's science education programs, especially BEAMS," Wheeler says. "Our BEAMS volunteers have been sharing their passion and excitement for math, science and technology with students for more than 20 years. Students gain knowledge and skills and volunteers have a chance to make a difference in the lives of students and have fun working with lots of smiling faces. Everybody wins!
"Want to help, but not sure how? That's what we're here for," Wheeler points out. "Science Education staff members are happy to provide the training you need whether you’ve assisted previously or you are volunteering for the first time. If you want to observe a classroom activity before signing up to volunteer, we can schedule that, too."
For additional information, class visit schedules and volunteer opportunities, contact Wheeler at ext. 7560 or email wheelerc@jlab.org.
You may view some of the BEAMS activities' work sheets at the following pdf links:
- Cold Stuff: http://education.jlab.org/cold_stuff.pdf
- Hot Stuff: http://education.jlab.org/hot_stuff.pdf
- Solar System: http://education.jlab.org/solar_system.pdf
- Thermometers: http://education.jlab.org/thermometers.pdf
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Sherwood-Randall Sworn In as New Department of Energy Deputy Secretary
Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall was confirmed by the Senate on Sept. 18, as the Department of Energy’s Deputy Secretary. She was sworn in by Vice President Joe Biden on Oct. 10.
Dr. Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall was confirmed by the Senate on Sept. 18, as the Department of Energy’s Deputy Secretary. She was sworn in by Vice President Joe Biden on Oct. 10.
“Liz… joins us with deep expertise in the Department’s nuclear security mission, including both nuclear weapons and countering proliferation,” said Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz. “Her extensive public service and recent responsibilities on the White House National Security team position her to contribute to the Department’s energy and security missions in a major way, both domestically and internationally. I thank the Senate for their attention to Liz’s nomination, and look forward to working closely with her as a key, trusted colleague.”
As deputy secretary, Sherwood-Randall will support Secretary Moniz in the management and operation of the Department of Energy. She will have responsibility for enhancing DOE’s delivery of results for the American people, including: strengthening project oversight and management; ensuring the safety, security and effectiveness of the nation’s nuclear weapons and advancing the Administration’s nonproliferation agenda; supporting the vital contributions of our unique national laboratory network; and promoting the administration’s “all-of-the-above” energy strategy for a low carbon future and a strong economy.
As a top advisor to President Obama for nearly six years, Sherwood-Randall served as the White House coordinator for Defense Policy, Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction, and Arms Control for the National Security Council, from April 2013 until her Senate confirmation. From 2009 to 2013, she served as the president’s principal advisor on Europe, including 49 countries and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the European Union, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Prior to her service in the current administration, Sherwood-Randall was a senior research scholar at Stanford University from 2000 to 2008, and a founding principal in the Harvard-Stanford Preventive Defense Project from 1997-2008. She was also an adjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations from 2004-2008.
Sherwood-Randall served in the Clinton Administration from 1994 through 1996 as the deputy assistant secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia. Previously, she co-founded and served as the associate director of Harvard University’s Strengthening Democratic Institutions Project. At the outset of her public service career, Sherwood-Randall was a chief Foreign Affairs and Defense Policy adviser to then-Senator Joseph Biden.
A native of California, she received her bachelor’s degree at Harvard University, and her doctorate as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University. She is married to Dr. Jeffrey B. Randall, and they have two sons.
Editor’s note: The full text of this DOE news release is online at: http://www.energy.gov/articles/dr-elizabeth-sherwood-randall-top-white-house-national-security-council-official-confirmed
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Orr Confirmed as Under Secretary for Science and Energy
Franklin (Lynn) Orr was confirmed by the Senate on Dec. 4, as the Under Secretary for Science and Energy at the Department of Energy. Photo courtesy of F. Orr.
Dr. Franklin (Lynn) Orr was confirmed by the Senate on Dec. 4, as the Under Secretary for Science and Energy at the Department of Energy.
“Lynn Orr is an outstanding scientist and has successfully led a major multidisciplinary program on energy sources, technology and analysis at one of the top research universities. This experience will serve him well as the DOE Under Secretary for Science and Energy,” said Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. “I look forward to working closely with Lynn to shape the nation’s clean energy agenda, and to sustain American leadership in science. I thank the Senate for approving his nomination.”
As Under Secretary for Science and Energy, Orr will oversee all of the Department of Energy’s science research programs, including a majority of the national labs. This position is part of the department’s s recent reorganization, which expanded the Under Secretary for Science role to encompass both science and energy. Orr’s role will include oversight of research in the Offices of Science, Fossil Energy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Nuclear Energy, Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, Indian Energy, and the Technology Transfer Coordinator.
For almost 30 years, Orr has been a member of the faculty at Stanford University. In 2009, he helped create the Stanford Precourt Institute for Energy, which he has led since its founding. Before that, he served as the dean of the Stanford School of Earth Sciences and later helped start the Global Climate and Energy project – a 10-year project to research technology options for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from energy use.
Orr has taken part in various studies conducted by the National Academies’ National Research Council. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment. He received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University and his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota.
Editor’s note: The full text of this DOE news release is online at: http://www.energy.gov/articles/dr-franklin-orr-confirmed-under-secretary-science-and-energy
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Milestones for August-September 2014
Hello
Dasuni Adikaram, Hall A Postdoctoral Fellow, Experimental Nuclear Physics Division
Jami Anthony, Procurement Administrator, Chief Financial Officer Division
Nathan Baltzell, Hall B Postdoctoral Fellow, Experimental Nuclear Physics Division
William Brinton, Electronic CAD Designer, Engineering Division
Joshua Caterbone, Electrical Coordinator, Facilities Management and Logistics
Timothy Davis, Radiofrequency (RF) Systems Technician, Engineering Division
Miranda Ellis, Staff Services Student Intern, Chief Financial Officer Division
Mustapha Ennajem, Facilities Mechanical Technician, Facilities Management and Logistics
Suzanne Fleming, Procurement Administrator, Chief Financial Officer Division
Mark Lester, Electronic Fabrication Technician, Engineering Division
Frank Marhauser, SRF Accelerator Scientist, Accelerator Operations, R&D Division
Rachel Olson, Staff Services Student, Chief Financial Officer Division
Vincent Pope, Senior Machinist, Engineering Division
Nobuo Sato Gonzalez, Postdoctoral Fellow, Theoretical and Computational Physics
Angela Stanley, Materials & Logistics Clerk, Facilities Management and Logistics
Baylee Thayer, Materials & Logistics Clerk, Facilities Management and Logistics
John Warren, Public Affairs Manager, Chief Operating Officer Division
Randy (Roy) Whitney, Sr. Sustainability/Tech. Transfer Specialist, Chief Financial Officer Division
Goodbye
Krishna Adhikari, Experimental Nuclear Physics Division
Lingyun Dai, Theoretical and Computational Physics
Joseph Guerra, Experimental Nuclear Physics Division
Virginia Hagen-Gates, Engineering Division
Percy Harrell, Engineering Division
Pedro Jimenez-Delgado, Theoretical and Computational Physics
Richard Kenney, 12 GeV Upgrade Project
Peter Kneisel, Accelerator Operations, R&D Division
Scott Madaras, Accelerator Operations, R&D Division
John Mammosser, Accelerator Operations, R&D Division
Chrysostomos Michaelides, Engineering Division
William Shelton, Chief Financial Officer Division
Patricia Tillery, Experimental Nuclear Physics Division
Randy (Roy) Whitney, Chief Information Officer/Chief Technology Officer, Information Technology Division
Brent Woodruff, Experimental Nuclear Physics Division
These Milestone entries are full-time, term, casual and student actions provided by Human Resources and listed alphabetically for August and September 2014.
Jefferson Lab is currently seeking qualified individuals for nearly 20 positions, including postdoctoral fellows, engineers, technicians, designer, system administrator, compensation consultant and engineering co-op student positions. All current employment opportunities are posted at: https://careers.peopleclick.com/careerscp/client_jeffersonlab/external/search.do
Information about career opportunities at Jefferson Lab is available at: https://www.jlab.org/job-openings
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In Memoriam:
Lab Community Mourns Death of Engineering Division’s Jonathan Joyce
Jonathan Joyce
Jonathan Henry Joyce, 52, of Gloucester, died on Oct. 4. He had been a mechanical technician working in the Engineering Division’s Vacuum Group for the past six years.
He was a member of the Lighthouse Worship Center and the Christian Motorcycle Association, and was an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed hunting and fishing. Joyce was a graduate of The Apprentice School and had a bachelor’s degree in business.
He is survived by his wife, Sharon, and his sons Joshua (wife Kristina) of Ft. Sill, Okla., and Justin (wife Robin) of King George, and his brother Julian R. Joyce of Roanoke.
The visitation was held at Lighthouse Worship Center on Oct. 10. The funeral service and a reception for family, relatives and friends followed on Oct. 11. Burial was at the. Bellamy Memorial Cemetery in Gloucester.
Memorial donations may be made to the Gloucester Volunteer Fire and Rescue Squad, Inc., P.O. Box 1417, Gloucester, VA 23061.
The obituary published in the Daily Press is online at:
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/dailypress/obituary.aspx?n=jonathan-henry-joyce&pid=172730525&fhid=16556
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Like dancers swirling on the dance floor with bystanders looking on, protons and neutrons that have briefly paired up in the nucleus have higher-average momentum, leaving less for non-paired nucleons... 
Jefferson Sciences Associates (JSA) announced on Oct. 28 the award of $401,020 for fiscal year 2015 to support projects related to education, outreach and career development....... 
