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.
The software computing round table meetings - we had one on Jupyter on Tuesday, December 3, 2019
More information about the status of an electron-ion collider can be found in the documents linked below. In 2018, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine issued a report, “An Assessment of U.S.-Based Electron-Ion Collider Science.” Following the report, the directors of Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility and Brookhaven National Laboratory issued a joint statement of support. More information about the impetus for building an electron-ion collider can be found in the 2015 Long-Range Plan, issued by the Nuclear Science Advisory Committee..
Beyond sparking scientific discoveries in a new frontier of fundamental physics, an Electron-Ion Collider will trigger technological breakthroughs that have broad-ranging impacts on human health and national challenges. Research on the technologies needed to make this machine a reality is already pushing the evolution of magnets and other particle accelerator components.
Some of these advances could lead to energy-efficient accelerators, thereby dramatically shrinking the size and operating costs of accelerators used across science and industry for example, to make and test computer chips; to deliver energetic particle beams to zap cancer cells; to study and design improved sustainable energy technologies such as solar cells, batteries, and catalysts; and to develop new kinds of drugs and other medical treatments. New methods of particle detection developed for an EIC could also lead to advances in medical imaging and national security.
In truth, it’s nearly impossible to predict what will come from the knowledge gained from an EIC. History shows that applications springing from a deeper understanding of matter and fundamental forces things like GPS, microelectronics, and radiological techniques for diagnosing and treating disease often emerge many years after the foundational physics discoveries that make them possible.
But one thing is certain: Building the experiments that inspire and train the next generation of scientific explorers is essential for maintaining U.S. leadership in nuclear science and for developing the high-tech workforce needed to address some of our nation’s deepest challenges.
The Electron-Ion Collider would consist of two intersecting accelerators, one producing an intense beam of electrons, the other a beam of either protons or heavier atomic nuclei, which are then steered into head-on collisions.
The accelerators will be designed so that both beams can be polarized to around 70 percent for electrons, protons and light nuclei. Electrons will be able to probe particles from protons to the heaviest stable nuclei at a very wide range of energies, starting from 20–100 billion electron-volts (GeV), upgradable to approximately 140 GeV, to produce images of the particles’ interiors at higher and higher resolution. At least one detector and possibly more would analyze thousands of particle collisions per second, amassing the data required to tease out the smallest effects required for significant discoveries.
Building the EIC will require the same core expertise that led to the versatility of the polarized proton and heavy ion beams at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory, and the unique polarized electron beam properties of the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) at Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. These two Department of Energy laboratories have been collaborating on initial studies and developing designs that make use of key existing infrastructure and capitalize on investments in science and technology. Each design approach would require the development of innovative accelerator and detector technologies to answer the questions described in this brochure.
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.
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.
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.
A family history in art
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.
Her 7 childhood homes throughout Sweden, Germany, Belgium, and Panama, provided Griffin’s mother with endless images of nature to capture with her oils on canvas. “We would put music on and paint together,” Griffin recalls, remembering the nurturing guidance of her mother as she taught her daughter different techniques. “We would pick different things to paint… she’s a beautiful person.”
Inspired and encouraged by her mother, Joanna began a lifelong journey that has combined a love of art with an appreciation of diverse cultures, and a genuine caring for people in need.
Growing up in a traveling family, Griffin developed a deep love for history, the arts, culinary innovations and experiencing different cultures. She attended English-speaking schools throughout Europe, until she entered high school in York County, the place where she first met her future husband.
After graduating high school, Griffin who loves classical music, studied at William & Mary and art schools in Sweden. Then, one day, she received a handwritten letter from an old high school friend, who was now a U.S. Marine. “The letter said he didn’t know if I was still thinking about him, but he thought about me every day,” Griffin said. “I still have the letter.”
Soon, they married and formed a life together dedicated to the things most important to both of them – family, work, and service to others.
The art of science
The Griffins lived in North Carolina until her husband, Michael, had finished his time as a Marine. A move back to Newport News ended up being a life-changing moment for Griffin, when her mother-in-law told her about a class in Photoshop at Thomas Nelson Community College. “I didn’t know that there was a field in graphic arts,” Griffin said. “After taking that class, I felt it was the direction I wanted to go.”
Griffin finished her associate’s degree in graphic arts, and started an internship with Jefferson Lab that eventually turned into a full-time position. Griffin has served as a Staff Graphic Artist at Jefferson Lab for 10 years now. “I’m depicting the science,” Griffin said. “My job is to translate ideas that people have into something that is more concrete and relatable to the public.”
This is not always easy. Often times, Griffin finds herself sitting in a room of physicists who may not agree on how the science should be depicted. An example is quarks, “We’re trying to illustrate something that nobody has ever seen,” Griffin said. “They’ll argue on which way I should portray it. It never gets boring.”
Many hours of brainstorming, research, drafts and edits go into creating images of unseen science. It is a learning curve that Griffin has had to overcome. “The physicists take the time to explain what it is,” Griffin said, mentioning they will draw out a bare-bone skeleton and “I just try to make it prettier.”
Using Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and a tablet for drawing, Griffin creates images as scientifically correct as imaginable and makes them understandable and accessible to the general public. “I love the traditional arts and being able to incorporate that into a career is really ideal for me,” Griffin said. “I love the creative process.”
Bringing science to the public
As a Graphic Designer, Griffin works to make intricate sciences more accessible to the public through detailed visuals. “I love the creative process,” Griffin said. “We’re customer based, so anyone from the lab can come to us to request a poster, an illustration. They present to us what they’re looking for, and we brainstorm ideas. We gather what it is they’re looking for. We present a couple of drafts, and there’s a little back and forth to finalize it.”
She feels her work at Jefferson Lab is aligned with her desire to help people. Griffin's sticky notes of detailed to-do lists are all detailed requests from physicists working on research, patents, papers or conferences who all need images from her. During role-model visits through Jefferson Lab’s Education Department, students from local schools have observed her work. “We’re able to show kids a world of possibilities,” Griffin said. “The kind of careers that are out there and what they can get interested in.”
Griffin also occasionally appears as the co-host on Frostbite Theater, the brain child of Steve Gagnon in the Education Department, where you can find her freezing balloons with liquid nitrogen. Griffin feels she found the ideal situation for her that combines her desire to help people, her passion for the arts, and her general curiosity in everything. “As corny as it sounds, I like helping people,” Griffin said. “What I do, does that. Helping the scientists get images, helping their patents be more relatable. I’m support for the physicists.”
A passion for volunteering
Griffin’s office is peppered with vibrant posters of her travels and photographs of her family. Reminders of the journeys she’s traveled, and the people she loves. Every morning, before coming into work, she sees a Bible verse that she hand wrote on a chalkboard in her home. “It’s Galatians 6:9,” She said. “It says ‘Don’t grow weary of doing good.’ I take that very seriously.”
When she isn’t working, Griffin enjoys spending time with her husband, Michael, and two young boys, Jonathan and Joshua. She is also a hospice volunteer with Bon Secours, a role she embraced after experiencing the death of her young son’s teacher.
Griffin strives to live a life full of art, love and giving. Ask her how she’d like to be remembered, and with confidence she’ll say: “I hope that I make an impact within my sphere of influence,” Griffin said. “And that I loved people well.”
December 2017
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.”
"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!"
"Not every day is the same day. Working in research and development, it’s not a one person job."
"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."
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.
