coming soon
Given new experiments starting up and on the horizon, and the vastly increasing data volumes even at small experiments, the Nuclear Physics community has in recent years been thinking about the next generation of data processing and analysis workflows that will maximize the science output.
Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (Jefferson Lab) provides scientists worldwide the lab’s unique particle accelerator, known as the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF), to probe the most basic building blocks of matter by conducting research at the frontiers of nuclear physics (NP) and related disciplines. In addition, the lab capitalizes on its unique technologies and expertise to perform advanced computing and applied research with industry and university partners, and provides programs designed to help educate the next generation in science and technology.
Majority of computational science activities in Jefferson Lab focus on these areas : large scale and numerical intensive Lattice Quantum Chromodynamics (LQCD) calculations, modeling and simulation of accelerators and the experiment detectors, fast data acquisition and streaming data readout, high throughput computing for data analysis of experimental data, and large scale distributed data storage and management.
Many Jefferson Lab scientists and staffs lead or actively participate the computational efforts in the above areas. Among those are computer/computational scientists and computer professionals from newly formed computational sciences and technology division (CST), physicists from physics division and the Center for Theoretical and Computational Physics, and accelerator physicists from Center for Advanced Studies of Accelerators (CASA). In addition, collaborations with universities and industrial partners further research and development in computational science.
Jefferson Lab maintains various state of art high performance computing resources onsite. CSGF students will utilize these resources to carried out their researches in the specific areas described below:
CASA and Jefferson Lab SRF institute focus on advanced algorithms, such as fast multipole methods, for multiparticle accelerator dynamics simulations, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) applied to superconducting RF (SRF) accelerator operations, and integrated large and multi-scale modeling of SRF accelerator structures. These areas will be an essential part of a national strategy to optimize DOE operational facility investments, and to strengthen Jefferson Lab’s core competency of world-leading SRF advanced design and facility operations. Especially, current active simulation projects
like electron cooling, intra-beam scattering, and coherent synchrotron radiation present diverse research domains ranging from numerical algorithms development to parallel computing.
With tremendous advancement in micro-electronics and computing technologies in the last decade, many nuclear physics and high-energy physics experiments are taking advantage of these developments by upgrading their existing triggered data acquisition to a streaming readout model (SRO) , whereby detectors are continuously read out in parallel streams of data. An SRO system, which could handle up to 100 Gb/s data throughput, provides a pipelined data analysis model to nuclear physics experiments where data are analyzed and processed in near real-time fashion. Jefferson Lab is leading a collaborative research and development effort to devise SRO systems not only for CEBAF 12GeV experiments but also for the upcoming EIC facility. SRO development offers CSGF students some exciting research areas such as network protocol design, high speed data communication, high performance data compression and distributed computing.
Analysis of data from modern particle physics experiments uses technically advanced programming and computing techniques to handle the large volumes of data. One not only needs to understand aspects of parallel programming using modern languages such as C/C++, Java, and Python, but also must incorporate knowledge of experimental techniques involving error propagation and estimation in order to properly interpret the results. Aspects of this range from writing a single algorithm used in event reconstruction, to using the collection of algorithms written by others, to managing campaigns at HPC facilities that apply these algorithms to large datasets. Detector calibrations and final physics analysis are also significant parts of the analysis chain. CSGF students could participate in any of these areas.
Rapid developments in hardware computational power and an ever increasing set of data has lead to explosive growth in machine learning techniques, specifically deep learning techniques. These techniques threaten to change just about every facet of modern life and nuclear physics is no exception. At Jefferson Lab machine learning is being developed for every step in the physics workflow. To deliver beam to the experimental halls the accelerator relies on radio frequency (RF) cavities to accelerate the electrons. Occasionally these cavities, of which there are over 400 in operation around the accelerator, fault which disrupts the delivery of the beam to experiments. To quickly identify and diagnose cavity faults A.I. is being developed and deployed. Experiments themselves are developing and/or deploying A.I. to monitor detector performance, decide what data to keep, reconstruct detector responses, simulate the detectors, and even to analyze collected data. With the active development of machine learning tools and techniques Jefferson Lab hopes to drive nuclear physics research forward, enabling physicists to more quickly obtain and analyze high quality data.
Computational Sciences and Technology (CST) Division
The software computing round table meetings - we had one on Jupyter on Tuesday, December 3, 2019
In light of the evergrowing role that Software & Computing play in High Energy Physics, Nuclear Physics, and related fields, Brookhaven National Laboratory, the HEP Software Foundation, and Jefferson Lab are organizing the Software & Computing Round Table to foster the interplay of computing and science. The monthly round table forum aims for knowledge transfer and to encourage common projects within our scientific community.
Accelerate your career with a new role at the nation's newest national laboratory. Here you can be part of a team exploring the building blocks of matter and lay the ground work for scientific discoveries that will reshape our understanding of the atomic nucleus. Join a community with a common purpose of solving the most challenging scientific and engineering problems of our time.
A career at Jefferson Lab is more than a job. You will be part of “big science” and work alongside top scientists and engineers from around the world unlocking the secrets of our visible universe. Managed by Jefferson Science Associates, LLC; Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility is entering an exciting period of mission growth and is seeking new team members ready to apply their skills and passion to have an impact. You could call it work, or you could call it a mission. We call it a challenge. We do things that will change the world.
At Jefferson Lab we believe in giving back to our community and encouraging the next generation of scientists and engineers. Our staff reaches out to students to advance awareness and appreciation of the range of research carried out within the DOE national laboratory system, to increase interest in STEM careers for women and minorities, and to encourage everyone to become a part of the next-generation STEM workforce. We are recognized for our innovative programs like:
1,500 students from 15 Title I schools engage in the Becoming Enthusiastic About Math and Science (BEAMS) program at the lab each school year.
60 teachers are enrolled in the Jefferson Science Associates Activities for Teachers (JSAT) program at the lab inspiring 9,000 students annually.
24 high school students have internships and 34 college students have mentorships at the lab.
Inventing Tools to Make Research Possible
At Jefferson Lab, ingenuity doesn't come solely from researchers; it exists at every level. Take Mechanical Technician Mark Stapleton, for example. When he learned that each of the 14 compressors that are critical to operations of the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility would have to be offline for a full week one compressor at a time every year for routine maintenance, he set out to find a solution to reduce the time spent offline. That is when he invented what is called an Axial Thrust Transmitter used to reduce downtime from one week to between four and eight hours.
How does Stapleton’s Axial Thrust Transmitter work? During his annual routine maintenance, Stapleton is looking for bearing wear that is as small as 0.0001 inches. To detect this wear, he first depressurizes the compressor and then inserts the Axial Thrust Transmitter into a port on the unit. The tool transmits the movement of the rotors to a dial indicator. If his system detects movement of more than 0.001 inches, he removes and rebuilds that section of the compressor.
Since then, he has made his career out of inventing tools and processes to keep the lab functioning efficiently.
As a member of Jefferson Lab’s Cryogenic Systems Department, Stapleton works with the compressors that power the Central Helium Liquefier, which is one of the largest refrigerators in the world. The CHL enables operations of the CEBAF accelerator, which is built on superconducting technology that must be cooled to within a few degrees of absolute zero (2 Kelvin) to function.
Another refrigerator, “The Cryogenic Test Facility, supports experimental processes for multiple laboratories,” Stapleton explains. “Individuals from around the world come to do their experiments and test their instrumentation so they can utilize those cold temperatures.”
The facility, Stapleton adds, has recently been enhanced. “We used to have expansion engine with two piston,” he says. “They are now in stand-by mode and we are running a cold box that has two expansion turbines, which takes high-pressure warm helium gas, spins it at remarkable speeds sending it back to a low-pressure side, colder and able to keep the multiple stages of Heat Exchangers at their optimum temperatures.” But when a seal failed on a Kinney Liquid Ring Pump, which is needed for 2K operation at the CTF, Stapleton noticed that the repair technician used a device that scratched the shaft. He then got to work inventing a tool that uses a clamp and screws to create a better hold, without damaging the Vacuum pumps shaft.
Stapleton is not only focused on ensuring scientists have the ideal set-up for conducting their experiments, but he is also focused on the cost-efficiency of his solutions. Since his first invention 23 years ago, his simple tool set has not only increased the online time of the CHL’s compressors by 50,000 hours, but it has also saved the lab an estimated $644,000. “The kit for doing the manufacturer’s check is $2,000,” Stapleton explains. Since 1993 CHL had six Howden Compressors now there are two CHL’s with a total of 14 compressors requiring the routine annual check, his Axial Thrust Transmitter has led to an annual savings of $28,000. “I like to think that we are saving taxpayers money,” says Stapleton.
Stapleton’s Play Shop
For Stapleton, finding new ways to make the complicated machinery at the lab run more efficiently crosses over into his off-hours time. He has a small “play machine shop” at his home where he enjoys tinkering. That passion for tinkering has impacted the lab in immeasurable ways.
Once, when a compressor failed, Stapleton worked with the manufacturer’s repair person to get it up and running again. “We disassembled one of the machines and found that the ball bearings had come apart and [the repair person] was showing us the steps he took to find out what was wrong with the compressor,” Stapleton explains. “I took some measurements and I went into my machine shop at home and machined up a new axial thrust tool. And then I made two more for different machines.”
Similarly, when a seal failed on a Howden compressor, Stapleton noticed that the repair technician used a device that scratched the shaft. Stapleton got to work inventing a tool that uses a vacuum pump and series of clamps and screws that creates a better seal without damaging the device’s shaft.
“I’m enjoying myself here,” says Stapleton. “I’m just a high school graduate, and this has been a school of training. And I’ve worked with the finest scientists in the world.”
Setting Sail
Stapleton, 62, is now tinkering with the idea of retirement so that he can spend more time with his wife and his personal projects. One of those projects has been building a 27’ mono-haul sailboat that is sitting in his back yard waiting for him to finish. The design of the boat was influenced by one of Stapleton’s colleagues at the lab who was once a leading windsurfer on the East Coast. “He gave me ideas on the keel design,” says Stapleton. “It’s a variable-weight, adjusted keel.” Stapleton does not plan to keep the sailboat, however, and just looks forward to finishing it so that he can find a new project to tackle.
While Stapleton may seem like an expert mechanical engineer, he shies away from that description. “One of my bosses used to call me an ‘expert,’” he says. “I don’t like that word, because I’m still learning. I’d rather be called a ‘’spert.’ I’m just a ‘spert—a simple drop of water in an ocean of ‘sperts.” When Stapleton does manage to retire, he knows that he will be leaving behind a community of the top ‘sperts in their fields and feels lucky to have been one of them.
The Jefferson Lab campus is located in southeastern Virginia amidst a vibrant and growing technology community with deep historical roots that date back to the founding of our nation. Staff members can live on or near the waterways of the Chesapeake Bay region or find peace in the deeply wooded coastal plain. You will have easy access to nearby beaches, mountains, and all major metropolitan centers along the United States east coast.
To learn more about the region and its museums, wineries, parks, zoos and more, visit the Virginia tourism page, Virginia is for Lovers.
To learn more about life at Jefferson Lab, click here.
We support our inventors! The lab provides resources to employees for the development of patented technology -- with over 180 awarded to date! Those looking to obtain patent coverage for their newly developed technologies and inventions while working at the lab are supported and mentored by technology experts, from its discovery to its applied commercialization, including opportunities for monetary awards and royalty sharing. Learn more about our patents and technologies here.
“Chemistry is the art of science and art; you’re manipulating and creating things. We have lots of different recipes to work with.”
"Everybody in the chain is working towards the same goal: to ensure that everything is built safe and to the code specifications"
"When I’m 95 years old, I hope I will be one of those people who worked in the background to affect other people’s lives for the better."
“Here at the lab you get to see what you’ve worked on. You can hold it in your hands. It’s rewarding to know that you’ve played a part in helping the machine to be successful.”
"Today, we use a lot of those same teamwork traits [learned from the military] on a daily basis as we're all working toward similar goals here at the lab in better understanding nuclei!"
Jefferson Science Associates, LLC manages and operates the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. Jefferson Science Associates/Jefferson Lab is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer and does not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, or veteran status or on any other basis prohibited by federal, state, or local law.
If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please send an e-mail to recruiting @jlab.org or call (757) 269-7100 between 8 am – 5 pm EST to provide the nature of your request.
JSA is an E-Verify Employer
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A Proud V3-Certified Company
JSA/Jefferson Lab values the skills, experience and expertise veterans can offer due to the myriad of experiences, skill sets and knowledge service members achieve during their years of service. The organization is committed to recruiting, hiring, training and retaining veterans, and its ongoing efforts has earned JSA/Jefferson Lab the Virginia Values Veterans (V3) certification, awarded by the Commonwealth of Virginia.
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Contrary to popular belief, Lorem Ipsum is not simply random text. It has roots in a piece of classical Latin literature from 45 BC, making it over 2000 years old. Richard McClintock, a Latin professor at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, looked up one of the more obscure Latin words, consectetur, from a Lorem Ipsum passage, and going through the cites of the word in classical literature, discovered the undoubtable source. Lorem Ipsum comes from sections 1.10.32 and 1.10.33 of "de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum" (The Extremes of Good and Evil) by Cicero, written in 45 BC. This book is a treatise on the theory of ethics, very popular during the Renaissance. The first line of Lorem Ipsum, "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet..", comes from a line in section 1.10.32.
Contrary to popular belief, Lorem Ipsum is not simply random text. It has roots in a piece of classical Latin literature from 45 BC, making it over 2000 years old. Richard McClintock, a Latin professor at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, looked up one of the more obscure Latin words, consectetur, from a Lorem Ipsum passage, and going through the cites of the word in classical literature, discovered the undoubtable source. Lorem Ipsum comes from sections 1.10.32 and 1.10.33 of "de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum" (The Extremes of Good and Evil) by Cicero, written in 45 BC. This book is a treatise on the theory of ethics, very popular during the Renaissance. The first line of Lorem Ipsum, "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet..", comes from a line in section 1.10.32.
Contrary to popular belief, Lorem Ipsum is not simply random text. It has roots in a piece of classical Latin literature from 45 BC, making it over 2000 years old. Richard McClintock, a Latin professor at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, looked up one of the more obscure Latin words, consectetur, from a Lorem Ipsum passage, and going through the cites of the word in classical literature, discovered the undoubtable source. Lorem Ipsum comes from sections 1.10.32 and 1.10.33 of "de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum" (The Extremes of Good and Evil) by Cicero, written in 45 BC. This book is a treatise on the theory of ethics, very popular during the Renaissance. The first line of Lorem Ipsum, "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet..", comes from a line in section 1.10.32.
Contrary to popular belief, Lorem Ipsum is not simply random text. It has roots in a piece of classical Latin literature from 45 BC, making it over 2000 years old. Richard McClintock, a Latin professor at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, looked up one of the more obscure Latin words, consectetur, from a Lorem Ipsum passage, and going through the cites of the word in classical literature, discovered the undoubtable source. Lorem Ipsum comes from sections 1.10.32 and 1.10.33 of "de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum" (The Extremes of Good and Evil) by Cicero, written in 45 BC. This book is a treatise on the theory of ethics, very popular during the Renaissance. The first line of Lorem Ipsum, "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet..", comes from a line in section 1.10.32.
Contrary to popular belief, Lorem Ipsum is not simply random text. It has roots in a piece of classical Latin literature from 45 BC, making it over 2000 years old. Richard McClintock,
