A Jefferson Lab EIC would accelerate two beams of sub-atomic particles to nearly the speed of light before slamming the beams together. A stream of electrons and a stream of protons or ions would collide at two interaction points. These interaction points will be surrounded by large detectors, which will record the results of these interactions for scientists to interpret.
Building an Electron-Ion Collider at Jefferson Lab would capitalize on the lab’s existing Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility and on the lab’s expertise in designing and building particle accelerators. The essential new elements of an EIC facility at Jefferson Lab would include an electron storage ring and an entirely new, modern ion acceleration and storage complex that would be constructed in a large-scale civil engineering project.
The Electron-Ion Collider is considered to be essential to the United States’ ability to contribute to world-leading scientific research. Researchers hope such a machine can help answer fundamental questions about ordinary matter, revealing for the first time and in detail how matter’s smallest building blocks and nature’s universal forces combine to build our visible universe.
We are a world-leading nuclear physics research facility where great ideas and great people can thrive. At Jefferson Lab, you can work with exceptional people, grow your skills and advance your career. Our team consists of more than 700 people, ranging from nuclear physicists, engineers and computer programmers to graphic artists, procurement specialists and accountants.
Joanna Griffin, a Graphic Designer for Jefferson Lab, smiles when recalling sweet memories of her first exposure to art: painting alongside her mother.
The daughter of a Swedish artist and a Ukrainian civil engineer for the United States government, Griffin spent most of her childhood traveling. Her father, who speaks seven languages, took full advantage of international work opportunities.
Scott Conley, an environmental engineer for Jefferson Lab, grew up the son of an outdoorsman, and the grandson of a half-Cherokee grandmother. Stories of nature - listening to nature, and readings its signs - filled his childhood. “I can see the bottom of the leaves on the trees,” Conley said, re-enacting the first time he heard this lesson from his father. “That means the pressure is changing and it’s probably going to storm.”
