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  • Goals

    Goals

    There are many scientific questions that researchers expect an Electron-Ion Collider will allow them to answer. Among them are four main topics of study. 

     

    3D Structure of Protons and Nuclei
    3D Structure of Protons and Nuclei
    Scientists would use the Electron-Ion Collider to take three-dimensional precision snapshots of the internal structure of protons and atomic nuclei. As they pierce through the larger particles, the high-energy electrons will interact with the internal microcosm to reveal unprecedented details—zooming in beyond the simplistic structure of three valence quarks bound by a mysterious force. Recent experiments indicate that gluons—the glue-like carriers of the strong nuclear force that binds quarks together—multiply and appear to linger within particles accelerated close to the speed of light, and play a significant role in establishing key properties of protons and nuclear matter. By taking images at a range of energies, an EIC will reveal features of this “ocean” of gluons and the “sea” of quark-antiquark pairs that form when gluons split—allowing scientists to map out the particles’ distribution and movement within protons and nuclei, similar to the way medical imaging technologies construct 3D dynamic images of the brain. These studies may help reveal how the energy of the massless gluons is transformed through Einstein’s famous equation, E=mc2, to generate most of the mass of visible matter.
    Solving the Mystery of Proton Spin
    Solving the Mystery of Proton Spin
    The Electron-Ion Collider would be the world’s first polarized electron-proton collider where both the electron and proton beams have their spins aligned in a controllable way. This polarization makes it possible to make precision measurements of how a proton’s constituent quarks and gluons and their interactions contribute to the proton’s intrinsic angular momentum, or spin. Spin influences the proton’s optical, electrical, and magnetic characteristics and makes technologies such as MRI scanning work, but its origin has eluded physicists ever since experiments in the 1980s revealed that quarks can account for only about a third of the total spin. More recent experiments show that gluons make a significant contribution, perhaps even more than the quarks. An Electron-Ion Collider would produce definitive measurements of the gluons’ contributions, including how their movements within the proton microcosm affect its overall spin structure—thus providing the final pieces needed to solve this longstanding puzzle.
    Search for Saturation
    Search for Saturation
    Capturing the dynamic action of gluons within protons and nuclei will give scientists a way to test their understanding of these particles’ ephemeral properties. As gluons flit in and out of the vacuum, multiplying and recombining, scientists suspect they may reach a steady state of saturation called a “color glass condensate.” This unique form of nuclear matter gets its name from the “color” charges that mediate the interactions of the strong nuclear force, and the dense, glasslike walls these particles are thought to form in nuclei accelerated to nearly the speed of light, seemingly suspended by the effects of time dilation. Scientists will use the Electron-Ion Collider to search for definitive proof of whether this form of matter exists, and test the limits of gluons’ ability to expand beyond the bounds of a single proton/ neutron inside a nucleus. They’ll also explore the mechanism that keeps gluon growth in check, like a lid clamping down on an overflowing popcorn pot. Precisely measuring the strength of the gluon fields, which constitute the strongest fields found in nature, will tell us how gluons interact with each other and how they contribute to building the bulk of visible matter in the universe today.
    Quark and Gluon Confinement
    Quark and Gluon Confinement
    Experiments at an EIC would offer novel insight into why quarks or gluons can never be observed in isolation, but must transform into and remain confined within protons and nuclei. The EIC—with its unique combinations of high beam energies and intensities—would cast fresh light into quark and gluon confinement, a key puzzle in the Standard Model of physics.
  • About

    About

    The Electron-Ion Collider is a proposed machine for delving deeper than ever before into the building blocks of matter, so that we may better understand the matter within us and its role in the universe around us.

    Learn more about this first-of-its-kind machine in the documents linked below.

     

  • Jefferson Lab Tri Fold
    Attachment Size
    Jefferson Lab Tri Fold (6.64 MB) 6.64 MB
    Brochures

  • Creative Energy. Supercharged with Science.

    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.

     

    Title Job ID Category Date Posted
    CIS Postdoctoral Fellow 13102 Science
    High Throughput Computing (HTC) Hardware Engineer 13197 Computer
    Data Center Operations Manager 13327 Engineering
    DC Power Group Leader 13380 Engineering
    Hall A Technologist/Design Drafter 13285 Engineering
    ES&H Department Head 13338 Engineering
    Scientific Data and Computing Department Head 13383 Computer
    Magnet Group Mechanical/Electrical Designer 13388 Misc./Trades
    HPDF Project Director 13373 Computer
    Project Controls Analyst 13302 Clerical/Admin
    MPGD Development Physicist 13381 Science
    Administrative Assistant - Electron Ion Collider Project 13375 Clerical/Admin
    IT Project Manager 13340 Clerical/Admin
    RadCon Manager 13337 Environmental Safety
    MIS Application Server Administrator 13394 Computer
    Lead Magnet Engineer 13366 Engineering
    Storage Solutions Architect 13238 Computer
    Accelerator Operator 13291 Technology
    RF Group Leader 13261 Engineering
    Network Engineer I 13345 Computer
    Vacuum Engineer 13396 Engineering
    Multimedia Intern 13215 Public Relations
    Master HVAC Technician 13367 Misc./Trades
    DC Power Systems Electrical Engineer 13371 Engineering
    ES&H Inspection Program Lead 13323 Environmental Safety
    Mechanical Engineer III 13140 Engineering
    Geant4 Developer 13214 Computer
    SRF Accelerator Physicist 13359 Science
    Fusion Project Technician 13389 Misc./Trades
    Radiation Control Technician 13391 Technology
    Project Services and Support Office Manager 13330 Management
    Magnet Group Staff Engineer 13370 Engineering
    Electrical Engineer (Sustainability) 13364 Engineering
    Communications Office Student Intern 13310 Public Relations
    Survey & Alignment Technician (Metrology) 13385 Misc./Trades
    Deputy CNI Manager 13378 Computer
    Why choose us

    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.

    Welcome from Stuart Henderson, Lab Director
    Why choose Jefferson Lab
    Groundbreaking Science
    Groundbreaking Science /research/science
    Innovative Technology
    Innovative Technology /AI
    Diverse Workforce
    Diverse Workforce /human_resources/diversity
    PASSION AND PURPOSE
    • PASSION AND PURPOSE
      Middle School Science Bowl competitors huddle together to brainstorm the answer.
    • PASSION AND PURPOSE
      Local teachers share ideas for a classroom activity with other teachers during Teacher Night.
    • PASSION AND PURPOSE
      Two young learners hold up a model of the atom during Deaf Science Camp.
    • PASSION AND PURPOSE
      Staff Scientist Douglas Higinbotham snaps a selfie with some of the postdoc students he is mentoring.

    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.

       

    Facebook posts
    Meet our people
    • Kevin Jordan, outside in woods

      Kevin Jordan - Electrical Engineer

      Creativity and engineering make possible new art and cutting-edge nanotube technology

      If you attended the famous Burning Man festival in 2018, you may have seen a giant, kinetic art installation co-built by Kevin Jordan, a Jefferson Lab electrical engineer. Jordan and George Neil, his former supervisor at the lab, have been traveling North America showcasing their namesake Double Helix Art installations, which feature a double helix light apparatus held high in the air.

      Jordan and Neil’s mesmerizing work is a kinetic sculpture that is comprised of two parallel steel cables that are attached to a pair of steel pipes rigged up to 75 feet apart and suspended 32 feet in the air. Long poles are attached perpendicularly to the two steel cables in intervals resembling ribs. Those long poles stretch for several feet and at the end of each pole is a colorful lightbulb. When the artwork is still, it slightly resembles an elevated train track.

      “Basically, this is a scaled-up version of a wave machine from a STEM educator in Malaysia,” explains Jordan. “Their jelly babies and kabob sticks are equivalent to our steel pipes and LEDs. The disturbance goes from one end of the machine to the other. Visitors can experiment by pulling on two ropes, which puts energy into the cables on one end of the machine and seeing how that energy propagates the waves all the way down the machine and reflects back.”

      The wave “frequency” speeds or slows and changes the height of the wave crest in response to the way a visitor interacts with the ropes. However, the system does not have to be interactive and can run off of a motor instead of human power.

      Jordan and Neil call their work and corresponding partnership “Double Helix Art.” In addition to Burning Man, they have thus far showcased it at the Toronto Distillery District, at the Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison, Wisconsin, and at the Virginia Living Museum and at Brooks Crossing in Newport News.

      Through their art, Jordan and Neil have connected with other institutions to make public art possible. Read more about Jordan’s work to make an installation possible at Christopher Newport University.

      Creativity also leads to scientific advancements

      Jordan’s creativity extends far beyond his interest in kinetic art. He also applies creative approaches to his work at Jefferson Lab as lead for the Diagnostics Development group in the lab’s Center for Advanced Studies of Accelerators.

      “We are responsible for improving the diagnostics for the CEBAF electron accelerator. We have been focusing on non-invasive instruments that can both serve as an early warning of a problem and to better resolve issues with a goal of reducing accelerator downtime,” he says.

      He’s also working on a project to adapt commercial microwave transmitters for use at the lab. Currently, the lab uses specially designed klystrons to inject power into the components that accelerate the electron beams in CEBAF. Using commercially available transmitters instead can reduce the cost of building or upgrading particle accelerators in the future.

      “I have also been coordinating the testing of new LCLS-II cryomodules at the LERF facility, supporting the Gun Test Stand, and have done the control system for bunched electron cooling of carbon ion beam at the Institute of Modern Physics in Lanzhou China,” he says.

      Jordan rounds out his work duties with service-oriented tasks. He currently serves on the Machine Advisory Committee for the Canadian Light Source in Saskatoon, Canada, the Scientific Program Committee for the International Beam Instrument Conference, and is the chair of the Accelerator Division seminar committee.

      And applied technologies, too

      Jordan also has helped to invent a brand new, cutting-edge material that is stronger than Kevlar, electrically insulating, and thermally conductive. This new material, boron nitride nanotubes, is the focus of Jordan’s Jefferson Lab spin-off business: BNNT Materials.

      “We make a volatile mix of super corrosive gasses and vapors, and when they condense out with the right conditions, they make these beautiful crystalline structures,” explains Jordan.  

      The structures can be treated as a fiber, similar to a cotton ball.

      “We stretch it into long fibers and then spin those lengths of fibers together,” explains Jordan. “On a molecular level, the Van der Waals forces will hold the fibers together in an extremely strong bond.”

      What exactly will the BNNT technology be used for outside of the lab?

      “We are a solution looking for a problem,” says Jordan, who has his name on 39 total patents. “We can solve all kinds of problems.”

      For instance, the material can be used in thermal applications to manage heat in computer chips and electric vehicles or even high-flying electric aircraft engines. It can enhance the mechanical properties of metals, ceramics and polymer composites. Another application for the technology is as a photocatalyst for water treatment facilities.

      “Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is in the news more and more for being in household products like Scotchguard,” says Jordan. “PFOA is a long chain that doesn’t break down for 10,000 years, and in trace levels, it could cause ill effects. It’s also used in firefighter foam, and many military training sites are PFOA contamination sites. We have researchers at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake and Rice University that have found that our nanotubes, along with the presence of ultraviolet light, will break these chemicals down.”

      BNNT is also hydrophobic, which has proven to be an attractive quality in the use of self-cleaning materials and coatings.

      While Jordan awaits the next phase of BNNT and the next art installation project, he stays busy managing the hardscaping, landscaping and aqua scaping at his home, keeps three bee boxes, engineers yard decorations to delight the neighborhood children, gardens and grows various strains of fungi.

      Learn More About Kevin Jordan
      Double Helix Art YouTube channel
      Jefferson Lab Engineer Partners with CNU for Kinetic Art Installation
      Jefferson Lab Engineer Honored with NASA Invention Award
      Daily Press: Jefferson Lab to Hold Another Rare Open House
      FEL Work Earns State Environmental Award
      Experiment Generates THz Radiation 20,000 Times Brighter Than Anyone Else

      By Carrie Rogers

    Youtube videos
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    LIFE AT JEFFERSON LAB

    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.

    SRF Cavities
    SRF Cavities (45.04 KB)
    Circuit Modules
    Circuit Modules (56.81 KB)
    Neutron Detectors
    Neutron Detectors (49.23 KB)
    3D Imaging
    3D Imaging (61.81 KB)
    • Katherine Wilson
      Katherine Wilson
      Staff Engineer

      “Generally, the mechanical engineers at the lab support the physicists. The physicists have the big ideas about how to support new science, and the engineers figure out how to make that happen.”

      /people/Katherine_Wilson_Staff_Engineer
    • Holly Szumila-Vance
      Holly Szumila-Vance
      Staff Scientist

      "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!"

      Holly Szumila-Vance
    • Kim Edwards
      Kim Edwards
      IT Division/Information Resource

      "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."

      Kim Edwards
    • Pashupati Dhakal
      Pashupati Dhakal
      Accelerator Operations

      "Not every day is the same day. Working in research and development, it’s not a one person job."

      Pashupati Dhakal
    • Ron Lassiter
      Ron Lassiter
      Mechanical Designer

      “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.”

      /people/Ron_Lassiter_Mechanical_Designer

    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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    "Proud V3-Certified Company"

    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.

  • Nuclear Physics
    Attachment Size
    Nuclear Physics One Sheet (3.71 MB) 3.71 MB
    Fact Sheets
  • Making an Impact
    Attachment Size
    Making an Impact one sheet (2.68 MB) 2.68 MB
    Fact Sheets
  • Facility Factsheet
    Attachment Size
    Facility Factsheet (7.1 MB) 7.1 MB
    Fact Sheets
  • STEM Opportunities one sheet image
    Attachment Size
    STEM Opportunities (3.17 MB) 3.17 MB
    Fact Sheets
  • R&D Technologies one sheet image
    Attachment Size
    R&D Technologies (2.91 MB) 2.91 MB
    Fact Sheets
  • General Factsheet one sheet image
    Attachment Size
    General Factsheet (7.09 MB) 7.09 MB
    Fact Sheets