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.
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.
The software computing round table meetings - we had one on Jupyter on Tuesday, December 3, 2019
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.
One of the U.S. Marine Corps’ 11 leadership principles stands out the most to Davis Wright, a user-support technician II at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility.
“Know yourself and seek self-improvement.”
As a high-school senior in 2011, he knew he wanted to find that wisdom.
“To be honest, I didn’t know what to do with my life,” Wright said. “I looked at colleges; I looked at universities, trades and other paths I could take, and none of them fit what I wanted to do. I said, ‘Hey, I’m not mature enough right now to plan the rest of my life. So, I could join the military, and make a contribution and an impact there, serve the country, and be set up to go to school when I get out.’”
He would go on to do just that.
Not only did Wright enlist in the military, but he also chose the branch that he felt would present the toughest test. He sought out the nearest Marine Corps recruiter, and two months after graduating high school, Wright found himself in Parris Island, South Carolina, for boot camp.
“I wanted the biggest challenge,” Wright said. “It looked like it would be the hardest one – and they look the best in uniform! I said, ‘This is it.’”
Though he was undecided about his future at 18 years old, he was undeniably drawn toward working on and with technology. After completing combat training at Camp Geiger, North Carolina, Wright was stationed at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, California, where he attended military occupational specialty (MOS) school for the next 11 months. There, he earned MOSs as a ground radio and tactical remote sensor systems repairman.
While working with computers was Wright’s preference, the opportunity to work with ground radios, telephones, small computers and printers opened doors for the remainder of his five-year military career.
During Wright’s time at his next station at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, he said that employing technology in the field helped him better understand his part of the Marines’ overall mission.
He also continued his work in ground radio maintenance before moving to tactical remote sensor system maintenance and becoming the floor chief of a maintenance shop. Wright moved up the ranks from private to sergeant. It was during this time that he tapped into his intrinsic aptitude for building relationships and teams.
“I was overseeing about 12 Marines and really helping them not only navigate their jobs but also their personal lives; it’s a very close family,” Wright said. “Being able to help people and mentor them, that was my favorite part, being able to touch peoples’ lives in a way.”
Through his experiences and service, Wright knew he found the direction and life lessons he had been looking for back in high school. Yet, in 2016, he faced a challenging decision: continue his Marine Corps career or reenter the civilian sector.
Wright chose the latter. He moved back home to Hampton, where he utilized the G.I. Bill and enrolled in the Information Technology program at Virginia Peninsula Community College, then known as Thomas Nelson Community College. After earning his associate’s degree, he began his pursuit of a bachelor’s degree from Old Dominion University. Soon after his return, Wright reconnected with a friend from middle school, Aubrie Davie, and they began dating and eventually married. Today, Wright and Davie are raising their 3-year-old daughter, Ophelia.
Before joining Jefferson Lab, Wright found himself working in a position that left him feeling professionally unfulfilled. But when a user support technician II position became open in late 2022, Wright applied, interviewed and was hired for the job in November 2022.
Today, he’s putting his skills and experience learned in the Marine Corps to work every day.
“We have leadership traits and principles, and the one principle that still sticks with me today is, ‘Know yourself and seek self-improvement,’” Wright said. “That translates so well in both the civilian and military worlds. That’s something that I’ve really taken away. You have to look inside yourself and say, “I can do this better,’ then get better at it.”
Thank you for your service, Davis Wright!
By John Streit
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.”
"There is world-class research going on here. Any given day you can be in the room with genius physicists and that’s just amazing.”
"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!"
"My own research enables me to better lead the Theory Center, to lead our collaboration, to provide good guidance to our junior researchers on the team, and to provide valuable input to the advisory and review committees that I serve"
“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.”
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.
