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  • News

    News

  • Status

    Status

    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..

     

  • Benefits

    Benefits

    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.

     

  • Design

    Design

    "Design"

    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.

     

  • 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.

     

  • 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
    Business IT Portfolio Manager 13374 Computer
    SRF Production Chemistry Supervisor 13386 Technology
    ES&H Department Head 13338 Engineering
    Deputy CNI Manager 13378 Computer
    Master HVAC Technician 13367 Misc./Trades
    Storage Solutions Architect 13238 Computer
    RadCon Manager 13337 Environmental Safety
    Magnet Group Staff Engineer 13370 Engineering
    Magnet Group Mechanical/Electrical Designer 13388 Misc./Trades
    Project Controls Analyst 13302 Clerical/Admin
    Project Services and Support Office Manager 13330 Management
    Vacuum Engineer 13396 Engineering
    Mechanical Engineer III 13140 Engineering
    Lead Magnet Engineer 13366 Engineering
    ES&H Inspection Program Lead 13323 Environmental Safety
    CIS Postdoctoral Fellow 13102 Science
    Multimedia Intern 13215 Public Relations
    Electrical Engineer (Sustainability) 13364 Engineering
    High Throughput Computing (HTC) Hardware Engineer 13197 Computer
    Geant4 Developer 13214 Computer
    Survey and Alignment Technician (Metrology) 13385 Misc./Trades
    Data Center Operations Manager 13327 Engineering
    Finance Business Manager 13365 Accounting
    DC Power Group Leader 13380 Engineering
    MPGD Development Physicist 13381 Science
    Hall A Technologist/Design Drafter 13285 Engineering
    Radiation Control Technician 13391 Technology
    Accounts Payable Assistant 13397 Accounting
    Software Administrator - Facilities Management/Integration 13395 Computer
    Communications Office Student Intern 13310 Public Relations
    HPDF Project Director 13373 Computer
    IT Project Manager 13340 Clerical/Admin
    Scientific Data and Computing Department Head 13383 Computer
    DC Power Systems Electrical Engineer 13371 Engineering
    SRF Accelerator Physicist 13359 Science
    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
    • Aldaisia "Daisy" Donald at Jefferson Lab (left) and in the Navy.

      Salute to Veterans with Aldaisia "Daisy" Donald, U.S. Navy

      As a child, Aldaisia “Daisy” Donald didn’t need to look far to find her inspiration. 

      “My dad is a retired lieutenant colonel in the Army, and I’ve always been a daddy’s girl,” said Donald, a radiation control technologist at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility and nine-year U.S. Navy veteran. “Growing up, he would always be gone on deployments, and when he came home, I remembered thinking, ‘He’s a hero.’ I always wanted to be like him.” 

      With her sights set on following in her dad’s military footsteps at a young age, Donald also cultivated a passion for math and science. She exceled at both, and when she reached 10th grade, she left her hometown of Jackson, Alabama, to attend the Alabama School of Math and Science in Mobile for the remainder of high school.  

      “I had to learn early on how to be away from my parents and build a family away from my family,” Donald said. “So, as a teenager, I made friends, formed study groups, and we helped support each other and carry each other through.” 

      She added that the experience of living away from her family throughout high school and her focus on math and science prepared her for her Navy career. After graduating, Donald enlisted and enrolled in the Naval Nuclear Power Training Command’s Nuclear Power School in Goose Creek, South Carolina. 

      Again, many miles separated Donald from her family and friends, but bringing people together is a value that she holds dear. 

      “The most important thing for me, similar to high school, was to build a family out of people I didn’t know,” Donald said. “Now, I was far away from home and in ‘Nuke School,’ which was very rigorous. Those of us who started out together became brothers and sisters, and even to this day, I’m still close with a lot of them. Some of them are godparents to my kids; I met my best friend in Nuke School. We’re still like a family, even though we are all over the world now.  

      “I feel like being forced to be in that rigorous study environment – there were sleepless nights when we were up studying and helping each other out so we could get through – just taught me a lot about friendship and family.” 

      After graduating from Nuclear Power School, Donald served as a machinist’s mate before becoming an engineering laboratory technician aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt, a Nimitz-class, nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, then stationed in Norfolk, Virginia.  

      For the remainder of her Navy career, the Theodore Roosevelt’s only deployment was to Newport News Shipbuilding for extensive maintenance and repairs. It was there that she learned about Jefferson Lab and its Radiation Control (RadCon) team.  

      According to Donald, her duties in the Navy closely resembled her current work. At the lab, she performs radiation and contamination surveys to ensure that levels do not exceed their limits nor spread to unwanted areas, keeping people, facilities and the environment safe. 

      After her son was born in 2014, Donald knew that her time in the Navy was nearing its end, as the eventuality of deployments lasting up to a year steered her to reenter the private sector. She returned to school at Excelsior College (now Excelsior University) and graduated in 2017 before eventually finding her way back to the familiar setting of Newport News Shipbuilding as a contract administrator in 2019. 

      After two years, Donald wanted to get back into radiation control, so she sought out a position on the lab’s RadCon team. She applied and was hired, starting in April 2021. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she took a brief hiatus to provide care for her children as schools went to remote instruction. When in-person classes resumed, she returned to the lab in the same role. 

      As she did at her previous posts, Donald strives to create a familial atmosphere among her teammates. She is often the driving force behind special events celebrating holidays, her colleagues’ birthdays and their bonds as a team. Beyond the positive atmosphere these occasions create, Donald said that camaraderie is crucial to high-performing teams.   

      “The biggest thing I learned in the Navy was working as a team and making sure we had each other's backs,” she added. “When I first started here after being away [from radiation control work] for so many years, I never once felt like I was thrown to the wolves or had anyone expect me to know something because I was in the Navy, and I should know it. Everybody was like a family; it’s a good environment, and if you have a question, just ask.” 

      Thank you for your service, Daisy!

      By John Streit

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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)
    • Scott Conley
      Scott Conley
      Environmental Management Team

      "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.”

      /people/sconley
    • Welding Program Manager
      Jenord Alston
      Welding Program Manager

      "Everybody in the chain is working towards the same goal: to ensure that everything is built safe and to the code specifications"

      Jenord Alston
    • 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
    • Ashley Mitchell
      Ashley Mitchell
      SRF Chemistry Technician

      “Chemistry is the art of science and art; you’re manipulating and creating things. We have lots of different recipes to work with.”

      /people/Ashley_Mitchell_SRF_Chemistry_Technician
    • 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

    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.