On Target December 2014

Governor Joins Jefferson Lab in Celebrating 12 GeV Upgrade Milestone

upgraded linac

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe acknowledges Jerry Draayer (left), President and CEO of the Southeastern Universities Research Association and Vice Chair of the Board of Jefferson Science Associates, and Jefferson Lab Director, Hugh Montgomery, as he addresses the federal, state and local officials and members of the Jefferson Lab community. He spoke at the Sept. 26 event, which marked the lab achieving a major milestone in the completion of the 12 GeV Upgrade to the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility.

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe joined Jefferson Lab and federal, state and Newport News officials on Sept. 26 to celebrate a major milestone in completion of the 12 GeV Upgrade Project on the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility, or CEBAF.

The event marked the completion of accelerator and civil portions of the 12 GeV CEBAF Upgrade Project and continued commissioning of the accelerator and the newly constructed experimental area (Hall D). The milestone, dubbed Critical Decision 4A, or CD-4A, by the U.S. Department of Energy, was formally announced in August – and was reached five months ahead of schedule.

Along with observing this milestone in the $338 million upgrade, lab and 12 GeV Upgrade Project team leaders recognized several vendors who provided critical support to the construction and new equipment installation.

McAuliffe opened his remarks by highlighting his goal of growing and diversifying Virginia’s economy. He said Virginia is the No. 1 recipient of Department of Defense dollars and discussed impacts in Virginia due to DOD budget cuts over recent years, and additional cuts anticipated due to sequestration........ more


Protons Hog the Momentum in Neutron-Rich Nuclei

sci festLike dancers swirling on the dance floor with bystanders looking on, protons and neutrons that have briefly paired up in the nucleus have higher-average momentum, leaving less for non-paired nucleons... more

 

JSA Awards More Than $400K for FY15 Initiatives Fund Program

DOE logoJefferson Sciences Associates (JSA) announced on Oct. 28 the award of $401,020 for fiscal year 2015 to support projects related to education, outreach and career development....... more

 

Beyond Nuclear Physics Experiments: Detector Group’s Work is Helping to Save Lives

Ian B

Despite a lumpy, hard feeling in Sandra Dianna’s breasts, first one mammogram, then another, was clear........ more


Below the Fold:


Governor Joins Jefferson Lab in Celebrating 12 GeV Upgrade Milestone

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe was greeted at Jefferson Lab on Sept. 26 by Department of Energy, Jefferson Lab and City of Newport News officials. The governor received a standing ovation after speaking at the event which marked the completion of accelerator upgrade and the start of operations. Addressing the gathering after the governor was Tim Hallman, Associate Director for Nuclear Physics in DOE's Office of Science. The program concluded with 12 GeV Upgrade Project Manager Claus Rode (not pictured) and Deputy Project Manager Allison Lung, recognizing several vendors for their distinguished performance in providing services critical to the success of the project.

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe joined Jefferson Lab and federal, state and Newport News officials on Sept. 26 to celebrate a major milestone in completion of the 12 GeV Upgrade Project on the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility, or CEBAF.

The event marked the completion of accelerator and civil portions of the 12 GeV CEBAF Upgrade Project and continued commissioning of the accelerator and the newly constructed experimental area (Hall D). The milestone, dubbed Critical Decision 4A, or CD-4A, by the U.S. Department of Energy, was formally announced in August – and was reached five months ahead of schedule.

Along with observing this milestone in the $338 million upgrade, lab and 12 GeV Upgrade Project team leaders recognized several vendors who provided critical support to the construction and new equipment installation.

McAuliffe opened his remarks by highlighting his goal of growing and diversifying Virginia’s economy. He said Virginia is the No. 1 recipient of Department of Defense dollars and discussed impacts in Virginia due to DOD budget cuts over recent years, and additional cuts anticipated due to sequestration.

He described Jefferson Lab as an asset to the commonwealth and the nation, and said that scientific research and advancements can lead the way in helping to diversify the commonwealth. He commented on the importance of scientific research, high-tech jobs, commercializing scientific advancements and patents, the many scientists who travel to Jefferson Lab to use its facilities and the lab’s science education outreach in discussing the economic and societal impacts of having Jefferson Lab in Virginia.

Following the governor and speaking on behalf of the Department of Energy was Tim Hallman, Associate Director for Nuclear Physics of the Office of Science. “I feel very close to the Jefferson Lab family; we’ve traveled this journey for a long time,” he said. “This is a happy moment.”

He commented on the 12 GeV Upgrade project’s importance for scientific advancement in the U.S. After describing the upgrade as a “remarkable achievement,” he described the lengthy and detailed process through which scientists gain support and approval for the machines that will allow them to pursue the most compelling scientific research.

He commended the many dedicated people – from scientists and engineers to technicians and vendors and DOE and laboratory leadership – needed to plan, design and develop a project and bring it to fruition. Hallman thanked everyone for the work completed so far, and acknowledged the work yet to be carried out before the project is fully completed in 2017.

Following a slide show of construction and equipment installation and other project milestones, Project Manager Claus Rode and Deputy Project Manager Allison Lung recognized several vendors for their distinguished performance in providing components, systems or services critical to the success of the project. They were assisted in applauding the vendors by Jefferson Lab Director Hugh Montgomery and Jerry Draayer, President and CEO of the Southeastern Universities Research Association and Vice Chair of the Board of Jefferson Science Associates.

The Distinguished Project Vendors were:
- Advanced Design Consulting USA, Inc.
- Courthouse Construction, Inc.
- D.E. Kirby, Inc.
- Eden Cryogenics
- Honeywell Building Solutions
- L-3 Communications, Electron Devices
- Linde Cryogenics
- Meyer Tool & Manufacturing, Inc.
- NSC Technologies, Inc.
- PHPK Technologies
- Research Instruments (RI) GmbH

The 12 GeV Upgrade is the first major addition and upgrade to the CEBAF accelerator and its associated experimental areas (called halls) since construction began on the research facility in 1988.

The 7/8-mile racetrack-shaped accelerator and the three original experimental halls have provided a unique, world-class research facility for researchers, from across the United States and nearly 30 other countries, who used CEBAF to conduct approximately 200 basic nuclear physics experiments between 1995 and 2012.

The facility has also been used as a training ground for the next generation of researchers; over the years, more than 475 young people have earned their Ph.Ds. based on work conducted at the lab.

The upgraded accelerator and the addition of a new experimental hall are complete. Work on new equipment in two of the three original experimental halls and other supporting additions will continue through 2017. All upgrades are designed to expand the scientific capabilities and reach of the original machine. The upgraded machine will provide the U.S. and international nuclear and particle physics communities with a tool that will be used to carry out a scientific program of exploring some of the most perplexing questions humanity has about the building blocks of matter – particles which make up all the visible matter in our universe. More than 1,250 researchers are eagerly anticipating the opportunity to conduct experiments with the upgraded machine, according to Montgomery.

A recording of the event is on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbO17GOLVyE (forward to 49:48).

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Protons Hog the Momentum in Neutron-Rich Nuclei

Science Festival

Doug Higinbotham (left), a staff scientist at Jefferson Lab, and Lawrence Weinstein, eminent scholar and professor at Old Dominion University, are lead coauthors on a paper published in Science on Oct. 31. The new result was made possible by a data-mining initiative based on re-analyzing experimental data from previous experiments.

Like dancers swirling on the dance floor with bystanders looking on, protons and neutrons that have briefly paired up in the nucleus have higher-average momentum, leaving less for non-paired nucleons. Using data from nuclear physics experiments carried out using Jefferson Lab’s Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility, researchers have now shown for the first time that this phenomenon exists in nuclei heavier than carbon, including aluminum, iron and lead.

The phenomenon also surprisingly allows a greater fraction of the protons than neutrons to have high momentum in these relatively neutron-rich nuclei, which is contrary to long-accepted theories of the nucleus and has implications for ultra-cold atomic gas systems and neutron stars. The results were published in Science, on Oct. 31: http://www.sciencemag.org/content/early/2014/10/15/science.1256785.abstract

The research builds on earlier work featured in Science that found that protons and neutrons in light nuclei pair up briefly in the nucleus, a phenomenon called a short-range correlation. Nucleons prefer pairing up with nucleons of a different type (proton preferred neutrons to other protons) by 20 to 1, and nucleons involved in a short-range correlation carry higher momentum than unpaired ones.

Using data from an experiment conducted in 2004, the researchers were able to identify high-momentum nucleons involved in short-range correlations in heavier nuclei. In the experiment, the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility produced a 5.01 GeV beam of electrons to probe the nuclei of carbon, aluminum, iron and lead. The outgoing electrons and high-momentum protons were measured.

"We found this dominance of proton-neutron pairs in the nuclei we studied. What’s striking is this pair-dominance all the way to lead," says Doug Higinbotham, a staff scientist at Jefferson Lab and a lead coauthor on the paper.

Then the researchers compared the momenta of protons versus neutrons in these nuclei. According to the Pauli exclusion principle, certain like particles can't have the same momentum state. So, if you have a bunch of neutrons together, some will have low momentum, and others will have high momentum; the more neutrons you have, the more high-momentum neutrons you would see, as they fill up higher and higher momentum states.

But according to Higinbotham, that expected picture is not what the researchers found when they measured high-momentum protons in neutron-rich nuclei.

"What this paper is saying is the reverse, that the protons actually have the higher-average momentum. And it’s because they’ve all paired up with neutrons," Higinbotham says. "It’s like a dance with too many girls (neutrons) and only a few boys (protons). Those boys are dancing their little hearts out, because there aren’t very many of them. So the average proton momentum is going to be higher than the average neutron momentum, because it’s mostly the neutrons that are sitting there, doing nothing, with nothing to pair up with, except themselves."

Higinbotham notes that the neutrons may also pair up briefly with other neutrons in short-range correlations and protons with other protons. However, these like-particle brief pairings occur once for roughly every 20 unlike-particle brief pairings.

Now, the researchers hope to extend these new findings to other, similar systems, such as the quarks in nucleons and atoms in cold gases. According to Or Hen, a graduate student at Tel Aviv University in Israel and the paper's lead author, he and his colleagues are already reaching out to other researchers.

"We expect that this will also happen in ultra-cold atomic gas systems. And we're having meetings with those researchers. If they find the same phenomenon, then we can use the flexibility of their experimental systems to go to extreme cases of very hard-to-study nuclear systems, such as the large imbalances of protons and neutrons that you can find in neutron stars," Or said.

To further that goal, Misak Sargsian, a lead coauthor and professor at Florida International University, said he's extending this work into his own theoretical calculations of neutron stars.

"Think of a neutron star like it's a huge nucleus, where you have ten times more neutrons than protons. The effect should be very, very profound for neutron stars. So this opens up a new direction for research," Sargsian said.

According to Lawrence Weinstein, a lead coauthor and eminent scholar and professor at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va., the scientists would also like to continue their studies of the pairs.

"We'd like to measure more aspects of how protons and neutrons pair up in nuclei. So we know not just protons prefer neutrons, but how are the pairs behaving, in detail," he said.

This new result was made possible by an initiative funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy and led by Weinstein and Sargsian, as well as Mark Strikman, a distinguished professor at Penn State, and Sebastian Kuhn, a professor and eminent scholar at Old Dominion University. The data-mining initiative consisted of re-analyzing experimental data from completed experiments in an attempt to glean new information that previously had not been considered or was missed. A collaboration of more than 140 researchers from more than 40 institutions and nine countries contributed to the result. Researchers at two Department of Energy national labs, Jefferson Lab and Argonne National Lab, participated in the research.

This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science, the U.S. National Science Foundation, Israel Science Foundation, Chilean Comisión Nacional de Investigación Científica y Technológica, French Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique, French-American Cultural Exchange, Italian Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, National Research Foundation of Korea and the U.K.'s Science and Technology Facilities Council. CEBAF is a DOE Office of Science User Facility.

By Kandice Carter
Science writer

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JSA Awards More Than $400K for FY15 Initiatives Fund Program

JSA Awards

Jefferson Sciences Associates (JSA) announced on Oct. 28 the award of $401,020 for fiscal year 2015 to support projects related to education, outreach and career development to staff and users at Jefferson Lab.

Since 2006, JSA, which operates and manages Jefferson Lab for the Department of Energy, has provided $4.25 million to support more than 200 projects under its JSA Initiatives Fund Program. The fund supports programs, initiatives and activities that further the scientific outreach, and promote the science, education and technology missions of Jefferson Lab in ways that complement its basic and applied research focus. Program funds also support activities of the lab’s extended users community.

The program is managed and administered by the Southeastern Universities Research Association (SURA), a consortium of more than 60 leading universities, for the JSA Programs Committee. SURA and PAE Applied Technologies jointly own JSA.

“The JSA Initiatives Fund Program has enabled many diverse projects that have added value to the Lab’s programs and have helped to further cultivate the scientific endeavors of the user community,” said JSA President and Jefferson Lab Director, Hugh Montgomery.

The FY15 Initiatives Fund Program includes new awards for 31 projects. Half of the award funds support the education and outreach programs at Jefferson Lab. The remaining awards support postdoctoral career development, other lab programs, Jefferson Lab users initiatives and activities, and several topical science meetings.

The 2015 evaluation committee was chaired by Elizabeth Beise, University of Maryland. Committee members included: JSA Programs Committee members David Armstrong, College of William & Mary; Gerard Gilfoyle, University of Richmond; Sebastian Kuhn, Old Dominion University; and Daniel Sober, The Catholic University of America; Robert McKeown, Jefferson Lab; and Elizabeth Lawson, Initiatives Fund program manager.

“An important feature of the Initiatives Fund Program is the matching and contributing funds that have been committed with the awards. This year’s match of over $440K from other source funding enables us to stretch Initiatives Fund dollars to support more proposals,” said Beise, who also commended the JSA owners for their continued support of the program.

For more information about the JSA Initiatives Fund Program, visit http://www.jsallc.org/IF/IFIndex.html

The full text from this JSA press release is available online at: http://www.jsallc.org/news/JSAIF20141028.pdf

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Beyond Nuclear Physics Experiments:
Detector Group’s Work is Helping to Save Lives

Sandra Dianna’s breasts

Sandra Dianna, a Hampton school teacher, credits surviving breast cancer to early detection through breast specific gamma imaging. Key aspects of this diagnostic technology were developed by Jefferson Lab’s Radiation Detector and Imaging Group. Here Dianna talks with attendees at a breast cancer awareness event hosted by Dilon Technologies in the Applied Research Center.

Despite a lumpy, hard feeling in Sandra Dianna’s breasts, first one mammogram, then another, was clear.

Even a biopsy didn’t show anything – it was done in the wrong place.

Finally, Dianna ended up at Newport News’ Riverside Diagnostic and Breast Imaging Center on a BSGI machine – a cutting-edge camera that uses nuclear physics to detect tumors as small as 1 mm.

Her cancer lit up like a Christmas tree. Within a few days, Dianna had a bilateral mastectomy. Her cancer had not spread beyond the breasts, meaning she didn’t need further treatment.

That was three years ago. Today, at age 53, the Hampton schoolteacher is feeling lucky.

“I am a survivor because of the BSGI machine,” Dianna said on Oct. 28 at a breast cancer awareness event held at the Applied Research Center – and adjacent to Jefferson Lab where some of the key technology behind the machine was developed. “I am alive because this machine found the cancer before it had a chance to do more harm.”

After her testimonial Dianna applauded members of Jefferson Lab’s Radiation Detector and Imaging Group who were among those attending the event. She thanked them for their work and encouraged them to keep researching better ways to detect breast cancer.

BSGI stands for breast specific gamma imaging, and it’s put to work in a device made by Dilon Technologies, a Newport News medical imaging company that designs and manufactures equipment based on research and development done at the lab.

The story behind the BSGI machine, which currently exists in 200 hospitals worldwide – including two in Hampton Roads – goes back to the 1990s, when Dilon was looking for technology to commercialize.

Dilon found what they were looking for at Jefferson Lab, where scientists and engineers in the detector group have spent 15-plus years working on imaging systems based on positron emission tomography (PET) and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT).

“These testimonials by breast cancer survivors and how they feel the Dilon camera saved their lives is quite moving,” says Drew Weisenberger, leader of the detector group. “It is extremely gratifying to see our work being used to help society – by providing an alternative, effective method of detecting difficult-to-diagnose breast cancers.”

The Dilon camera hit the market in 2003, using technology that shows abnormal cell growth in a breast – something an X-ray can’t do. Basic X-rays – which is what’s used in a mammogram – aren’t able to go through very dense breast tissue. But when a gamma camera is used, a patient is injected with a radiopharmaceutical – a radioactive material that is picked up by cancer cells.

This “radiotracer” solution goes right to the tumors, then accumulates within the abnormal cells. As the radioactive material decays, it emits high-energy photons that give off gamma rays. The BSGI camera senses the gamma rays and displays them as computer-generated images. On a screen, the cancerous areas light up – which is exactly what happened in Dianna’s case.

“When you have this decay, it’s nuclear physics,” says Weisenberger. “In essence you’re staining the tissue with this radioactive isotope.”

Dilon’s BSGI camera uses SPECT technology – relying on detectors and light-measuring devices developed by the detector group lead at the time by Stan Majewski. As a diagnostic tool, the camera is saving lives.

“BSGI isn’t meant to replace mammograms,” Weisenberger says. “It’s another tool in the toolbox.”

More than 300,000 women in the United States are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. It’s the most common form of cancer that women get, and the second leading cause of cancer death in women, according to the American Cancer Society. But with early detection, breast cancer has about a 95 percent survival rate.

Mammograms are still considered the go-to tool for screening breast cancer, with diagnostic tests such as ultrasound, MRI and BSGI used in follow-ups. Dianna, who says she owes her life to the BSGI machine, would like to see it used more as a screening tool for women with dense tissue in their breasts.

Having dense breasts increases one’s likelihood of getting breast cancer to that of a woman who has a family history of breast cancer, says MaryBeth Gibson, president of Beyond Boobs, a Williamsburg-based breast cancer support, education and awareness group.

In 2012, Virginia was one of 19 states that began mandating that doctors inform women they have dense tissue after a mammogram.

The two BSGI machines in Hampton Roads are both in Newport News – one at the Riverside Diagnostic Center in Oyster Point and the other at Sentara’s Dorothy G. Hoefer Comprehensive Breast Center in Port Warwick.

Doctors are also finding the machine to be useful in monitoring the effectiveness of chemotherapy. Additionally, Dilon is working with the Jefferson Lab detector group on a hand-held gamma camera that could be taken into the operating room.

Experts believe that one day, the BSGI machine could be used more as a screening tool – scientists are working to lower the dose of radiative material a patient receives, according to Weisenberger.

The Radiation Detector and Imaging Group in 2009, was awarded an Excellence in Technology Transfer award, for “Breast Specific Gamma Imaging,” by the Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer. Additionally, the group obtained a grant through the Commonwealth Research Commercialization Fund in 2013 to research the development of a novel gamma camera technique – using a lower dose of radiative material – that could lead to the possibility of using BSGI as a screening technique similar to mammograms. The final report is due in December.

By Kim O'Brien Root
Feature writer

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William & Mary Physics Undergrad Receives Research Assistantship

Alice Perrin

Alice Perrin, a senior physics major at The College of William and Mary is the recipient of the 2014-15 Jefferson Science Associates Minority/Female Undergraduate Research Assistantship (JSA MFURA) at Jefferson Lab. Her assistantship project involves setting up a testing facility to measure the performance of 3D printed scintillators to be used in a particle detector.

A physics undergraduate at The College of William and Mary has been selected for a research assistantship at Jefferson Lab.

Alice Perrin, a senior physics major from Roanoke was named recipient of the 2014-15 Jefferson Science Associates Minority/Female Undergraduate Research Assistantship (JSA MFURA) at Jefferson Lab.

Perrin is conducting the year-long research assistantship under the supervision of her advisor, W&M physics professor, Wouter Deconinck. Her project involves setting up a testing facility to measure the performance of 3D printed scintillators to be used in a particle detector. The project includes learning how to mix scintillator compounds with photopolymer compounds, performing vacuum and cryogenics tests on sample materials, and using a 3D printer. Her first visit to Jefferson Lab was in September.

The JSA MFURA program at Jefferson Lab offers opportunities to minority and female students pursuing undergraduate degrees in physics. For the selected student, the MFURA program provides a unique opportunity to realize how his or her undergraduate studies translate into real-world research applications and experience. Through the project that the assistantship recipient conducts, the student demonstrates how their physics research is applicable to Jefferson Lab’s nuclear physics program.

This assistantship benefits the student and the lab, according to Elizabeth Lawson, JSA Board liaison and Initiatives Fund program manager. “It provides outstanding opportunities and critical experience for the recipient and provides Jefferson Lab and the broader field of nuclear physics with a source of technical students from underrepresented groups early in their professional careers,” she said.

“The lab provides the students with opportunities not available elsewhere. Being able to conduct research as part of an undergraduate education is a significant advantage for a student at a research university and the role these opportunities play in the overall learning experience is very important,” Lawson added.

Criteria for selection are based on the scientific quality of a candidate’s proposed project, its relevance to the Jefferson Lab scientific program, and the student's academic record. The assistantship is awarded to eligible undergraduate students who are attending Southeastern Universities Research Association-member universities.

"Miss Perrin's project description was well written," commented Jian-Ping Chen, selection committee chair. "The project was carefully planned and directly relevant to Jefferson Lab research. She has an excellent academic record and is qualified to carry out the project."

The assistantship is supported by the JSA Initiatives Fund Program, an annual commitment from the JSA owners, SURA and PAE Applied Technologies, to support programs, initiatives, and activities that further the scientific outreach, and promote the science, education and technology missions of Jefferson Lab and benefit the lab’s user community. The assistantship provides a stipend to support the student at their university during the academic year, as well as travel funds to visit Jefferson Lab.

Additional information about the assistantship is online at: https://www.jlab.org/div_dept/admin/HR/research/.

Information about the JSA Initiatives Fund program is available at:

http://www.jsallc.org/IF/IFIndex.html.

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Young Scientist Combines Physics, Engineering to Research Better Cavity Designs

Subashini De Silva

Subashini De Silva measures the cavity frequency on a network analyzer just before the high-power test of a “proof of principle” crab cavity for the Large Hadron Collider. The network analyzer is connected to the cavity inside a dewar at the Vertical Test Area in the Test Lab. Photo by HyeKyoung Park, JLab.

Subashini De Silva, a once-shy young woman who'd never left the city of her birth has become a world traveler, passionate researcher and award-winning presenter at conferences.

Through her work as a Ph.D. candidate, and support from outstanding mentors, she has seized upon and excelled at her work with the investigation and optimization of a new compact superconducting cavity for deflecting and crabbing applications.

Born in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Subashini or “Suba” as she’s known by her colleagues, did her primary schooling at Sujatha Vidyalaya and Sirimavo Bandaranaike Vidyalaya. Her parents were both professionals – her dad a mechanical engineer and her mom a banking officer – who encouraged her education at every turn.

As a youngster, her favorite subject was mathematics. “It seemed I’d found in math something I really liked” she recalled.

By the time she was completing high school, De Silva was granted access to one of the leading public universities in the country. Following a science major, her first year at the University of Colombo, she took applied and pure math and physics. She pursued her studies in physics in the last two years at the university, specializing in Engineering Physics.

And, in the meantime, she decided to pursue a second degree, Information Technology, which harkened back to her childhood dream of becoming a software engineer. The IT degree was offered outside of the university, and added to her already full workload.

In 2004, she received both a Bachelor’s of Science in Engineering Physics as well as a bachelor’s degree in information technology.

While she had begun to think about jobs outside the university, De Silva was awarded a position as a teaching assistant at the University of Colombo. For a year and a half, while she considered her next move, she managed labs in electronics and general physics for students, and served as a lab leader for the computational lab.

But she still was in a quandary: what to do with the next stage of her life?

Very few of her fellow students went on for higher degrees, but as she looked around at jobs that might be available to her, she found that none of them intrigued her. “During that year, I realized I could end up in some place doing work not at all related to what I’d learned or really wanted to be doing,” she noted. “But choosing to move on was very, very hard.”

She gathered herself together and began to apply to schools in the United States. She received several offers for master’s and Ph.D. programs. Old Dominion University in Norfolk offered her full tuition, a stipend and the opportunity to teach as a TA, and she accepted. I received a great opportunity and got the chance of learning from great professors at ODU, she said. She was supervised by Jean Delayen, Old Dominion University physics professor and Jefferson Lab senior staff scientist.

“He has been a fantastic advisor all throughout,” De Silva said of Delayen. “I was given every opportunity a graduate student could ever ask for. He guided all the graduate students at the Center for Accelerator Science at Old Dominion University to excel in everything we do. I look back now and realize how lucky I was to be part of his group.”

HyeKyoung Park, a Jefferson Lab engineer, has also been immensely helpful, De Silva added. “HyeKyoung is an exceptional person and mechanical engineer. I learned much more by working with her than if I’d been working by myself.”

In just the past year, De Silva presented a paper on “Superconducting RF-Dipole Deflecting and Crabbing Cavities” at the 16th International Conference on RF Superconductivity in Paris and one on “Compact Superconducting Crabbing and Deflecting Cavities” at the International Linear Accelerator Conference in Tel Aviv, Israel.

She has given talks on Cavity II test results at CERN, the ODU-SLAC RR Dipole Prototype at Fermilab, and gave the TOOHIG Fellowship Presentation at the Joint LARP CM20/HiLumi Meeting in California. She has also been published in journals with Delayen and others, and in conference materials.

De Silva recently finished her dissertation, titled: Investigation and Optimization of a New Compact Superconducting Cavity for Deflecting and Crabbing Applications, and since September 2013 has been working in a postdoctoral position at ODU.

She is grateful for the opportunities afforded to her at Jefferson Lab and ODU. “The environment and the people have helped me grow professionally and personally,” she said. “Coming to Jefferson Lab was an opportunity of a lifetime; this is the best place to be for SRF research. The scope of work conducted here offers many opportunities for graduate students; and everyone is so supportive. If I needed help, all I had to do was ask. Someone would take the time to go through a problem so that I could get to the answer.”

“I’ve had nothing but good experiences here,” De Silva said with a smile. “Everyone has been so supportive and helpful.”

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Role Model and Activity Volunteers Needed to Help with BEAMS - Lab's Science and Math Outreach Program for Students

BEAMS

BEAMS students learn about energy transfer, insulators and scientific procedure during the "Cold Stuff" activity (pictured). Jefferson Lab volunteers are needed to help the students with a range of classroom activities and as mentors for Role Model visits.

Becoming Enthusiastic About Math and Science – or BEAMS – Jefferson Lab's long-running math and science enrichment program for upper-elementary and middle-school students needs help. Lab staff members, users and students interested in assisting with educational activities conducted at the lab during normal business hours, are encouraged to contact Christine Wheeler, Science Education.

The largest need, between now and May 2015, is for volunteers to support Role Model Visits. An important part of the BEAMS experience is the Role Model Visit; and Science Education is seeking lab volunteers to provide these 15-minute interactions with the students, according to Wheeler.

For a Role Model Visit, a group of 12 –15 students is brought to the volunteer’s office or a conference room if the office isn’t feasible. Volunteers usually begin by introducing themselves and briefly talking about their job, their education or, how they came to Jefferson Lab, or aspects of their job that they most enjoy. Volunteers engage the students by asking them questions and answering the students’ questions. Students should be encouraged to ask questions. Many questions deal with education, careers and job training. An adult, either a teacher or a lab Education staff member, accompanies the students.

Role Model Visits usually take place from 11–11:15 a.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays from late November through May.

“These are fun and easy!” Wheeler says. “While they are short interactions, these visits have a positive impact on the students, and provide them with information about a variety of careers and jobs in STEM fields.”

Volunteers are also needed to lead or help with classroom activities. These volunteers spend about 75 minutes in a BEAMS classroom in the Support Service Center, Bldg. 28, either leading an educational activity or assisting students as they carry out an activity. A range of activities are presented in the BEAMS classroom. “Many times volunteers will select an activity that they enjoy and lead or help with it,” Wheeler points out.

BEAMS supports Newport News inner-city public school students as they progress from fifth through eighth grade. Nearly 1,500 students and their teachers visit Jefferson Lab between two and five days each school year to participate in BEAMS science and math activities conducted with the help of lab scientists, engineers, technicians and administrators.

BEAMS program goals include: motivating students to boost their learning; strengthening students' math and science skills with hands-on activities; and having students interact with individuals who use math and/or science in their daily work environment. BEAMS also provides teachers with classroom activities based on Jefferson Lab science and technology.

For the 2014-2015 academic year, BEAMS class visits began in late September and will run through May. Usually two classes visit the lab at a time and participate in two to four separate activities during each day-long visit.

"Lab staff, students and users are critical to the success of the lab's science education programs, especially BEAMS," Wheeler says. "Our BEAMS volunteers have been sharing their passion and excitement for math, science and technology with students for more than 20 years. Students gain knowledge and skills and volunteers have a chance to make a difference in the lives of students and have fun working with lots of smiling faces. Everybody wins!

"Want to help, but not sure how? That's what we're here for," Wheeler points out. "Science Education staff members are happy to provide the training you need whether you’ve assisted previously or you are volunteering for the first time. If you want to observe a classroom activity before signing up to volunteer, we can schedule that, too."

For additional information, class visit schedules and volunteer opportunities, contact Wheeler at ext. 7560 or email wheelerc@jlab.org.

You may view some of the BEAMS activities' work sheets at the following pdf links:
- Cold Stuff: http://education.jlab.org/cold_stuff.pdf
- Hot Stuff: http://education.jlab.org/hot_stuff.pdf
- Solar System: http://education.jlab.org/solar_system.pdf
- Thermometers: http://education.jlab.org/thermometers.pdf

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Sherwood-Randall Sworn In as New Department of Energy Deputy Secretary

Dr. Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall

Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall was confirmed by the Senate on Sept. 18, as the Department of Energy’s Deputy Secretary. She was sworn in by Vice President Joe Biden on Oct. 10.

Dr. Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall was confirmed by the Senate on Sept. 18, as the Department of Energy’s Deputy Secretary. She was sworn in by Vice President Joe Biden on Oct. 10.

“Liz… joins us with deep expertise in the Department’s nuclear security mission, including both nuclear weapons and countering proliferation,” said Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz. “Her extensive public service and recent responsibilities on the White House National Security team position her to contribute to the Department’s energy and security missions in a major way, both domestically and internationally. I thank the Senate for their attention to Liz’s nomination, and look forward to working closely with her as a key, trusted colleague.”

As deputy secretary, Sherwood-Randall will support Secretary Moniz in the management and operation of the Department of Energy. She will have responsibility for enhancing DOE’s delivery of results for the American people, including: strengthening project oversight and management; ensuring the safety, security and effectiveness of the nation’s nuclear weapons and advancing the Administration’s nonproliferation agenda; supporting the vital contributions of our unique national laboratory network; and promoting the administration’s “all-of-the-above” energy strategy for a low carbon future and a strong economy.

As a top advisor to President Obama for nearly six years, Sherwood-Randall served as the White House coordinator for Defense Policy, Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction, and Arms Control for the National Security Council, from April 2013 until her Senate confirmation. From 2009 to 2013, she served as the president’s principal advisor on Europe, including 49 countries and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the European Union, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Prior to her service in the current administration, Sherwood-Randall was a senior research scholar at Stanford University from 2000 to 2008, and a founding principal in the Harvard-Stanford Preventive Defense Project from 1997-2008. She was also an adjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations from 2004-2008.

Sherwood-Randall served in the Clinton Administration from 1994 through 1996 as the deputy assistant secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia. Previously, she co-founded and served as the associate director of Harvard University’s Strengthening Democratic Institutions Project. At the outset of her public service career, Sherwood-Randall was a chief Foreign Affairs and Defense Policy adviser to then-Senator Joseph Biden.

A native of California, she received her bachelor’s degree at Harvard University, and her doctorate as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University. She is married to Dr. Jeffrey B. Randall, and they have two sons.

Editor’s note: The full text of this DOE news release is online at: http://www.energy.gov/articles/dr-elizabeth-sherwood-randall-top-white-house-national-security-council-official-confirmed

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Orr Confirmed as Under Secretary for Science and Energy

Dr. Franklin (Lynn) Orr

Franklin (Lynn) Orr was confirmed by the Senate on Dec. 4, as the Under Secretary for Science and Energy at the Department of Energy. Photo courtesy of F. Orr.

Dr. Franklin (Lynn) Orr was confirmed by the Senate on Dec. 4, as the Under Secretary for Science and Energy at the Department of Energy.

“Lynn Orr is an outstanding scientist and has successfully led a major multidisciplinary program on energy sources, technology and analysis at one of the top research universities. This experience will serve him well as the DOE Under Secretary for Science and Energy,” said Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. “I look forward to working closely with Lynn to shape the nation’s clean energy agenda, and to sustain American leadership in science. I thank the Senate for approving his nomination.”

As Under Secretary for Science and Energy, Orr will oversee all of the Department of Energy’s science research programs, including a majority of the national labs. This position is part of the department’s s recent reorganization, which expanded the Under Secretary for Science role to encompass both science and energy. Orr’s role will include oversight of research in the Offices of Science, Fossil Energy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Nuclear Energy, Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, Indian Energy, and the Technology Transfer Coordinator.

For almost 30 years, Orr has been a member of the faculty at Stanford University. In 2009, he helped create the Stanford Precourt Institute for Energy, which he has led since its founding. Before that, he served as the dean of the Stanford School of Earth Sciences and later helped start the Global Climate and Energy project – a 10-year project to research technology options for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from energy use.

Orr has taken part in various studies conducted by the National Academies’ National Research Council. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment. He received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University and his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota.

Editor’s note: The full text of this DOE news release is online at: http://www.energy.gov/articles/dr-franklin-orr-confirmed-under-secretary-science-and-energy

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Milestones for August-September 2014

Hello

Dasuni Adikaram, Hall A Postdoctoral Fellow, Experimental Nuclear Physics Division
Jami Anthony, Procurement Administrator, Chief Financial Officer Division
Nathan Baltzell, Hall B Postdoctoral Fellow, Experimental Nuclear Physics Division
William Brinton, Electronic CAD Designer, Engineering Division
Joshua Caterbone, Electrical Coordinator, Facilities Management and Logistics
Timothy Davis, Radiofrequency (RF) Systems Technician, Engineering Division
Miranda Ellis, Staff Services Student Intern, Chief Financial Officer Division
Mustapha Ennajem, Facilities Mechanical Technician, Facilities Management and Logistics
Suzanne Fleming, Procurement Administrator, Chief Financial Officer Division
Mark Lester, Electronic Fabrication Technician, Engineering Division
Frank Marhauser, SRF Accelerator Scientist, Accelerator Operations, R&D Division
Rachel Olson, Staff Services Student, Chief Financial Officer Division
Vincent Pope, Senior Machinist, Engineering Division
Nobuo Sato Gonzalez, Postdoctoral Fellow, Theoretical and Computational Physics
Angela Stanley, Materials & Logistics Clerk, Facilities Management and Logistics
Baylee Thayer, Materials & Logistics Clerk, Facilities Management and Logistics
John Warren, Public Affairs Manager, Chief Operating Officer Division
Randy (Roy) Whitney, Sr. Sustainability/Tech. Transfer Specialist, Chief Financial Officer Division

Goodbye

Krishna Adhikari, Experimental Nuclear Physics Division
Lingyun Dai, Theoretical and Computational Physics
Joseph Guerra, Experimental Nuclear Physics Division
Virginia Hagen-Gates, Engineering Division
Percy Harrell, Engineering Division
Pedro Jimenez-Delgado, Theoretical and Computational Physics
Richard Kenney, 12 GeV Upgrade Project
Peter Kneisel, Accelerator Operations, R&D Division
Scott Madaras, Accelerator Operations, R&D Division
John Mammosser, Accelerator Operations, R&D Division
Chrysostomos Michaelides, Engineering Division
William Shelton, Chief Financial Officer Division
Patricia Tillery, Experimental Nuclear Physics Division
Randy (Roy) Whitney, Chief Information Officer/Chief Technology Officer, Information Technology Division
Brent Woodruff, Experimental Nuclear Physics Division

These Milestone entries are full-time, term, casual and student actions provided by Human Resources and listed alphabetically for August and September 2014.

Jefferson Lab is currently seeking qualified individuals for nearly 20 positions, including postdoctoral fellows, engineers, technicians, designer, system administrator, compensation consultant and engineering co-op student positions. All current employment opportunities are posted at: https://careers.peopleclick.com/careerscp/client_jeffersonlab/external/search.do

Information about career opportunities at Jefferson Lab is available at: https://www.jlab.org/job-openings

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In Memoriam:
Lab Community Mourns Death of Engineering Division’s Jonathan Joyce

Jonathan Henry Joyce

Jonathan Joyce

Jonathan Henry Joyce, 52, of Gloucester, died on Oct. 4. He had been a mechanical technician working in the Engineering Division’s Vacuum Group for the past six years.

He was a member of the Lighthouse Worship Center and the Christian Motorcycle Association, and was an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed hunting and fishing. Joyce was a graduate of The Apprentice School and had a bachelor’s degree in business.

He is survived by his wife, Sharon, and his sons Joshua (wife Kristina) of Ft. Sill, Okla., and Justin (wife Robin) of King George, and his brother Julian R. Joyce of Roanoke.

The visitation was held at Lighthouse Worship Center on Oct. 10. The funeral service and a reception for family, relatives and friends followed on Oct. 11. Burial was at the. Bellamy Memorial Cemetery in Gloucester.

Memorial donations may be made to the Gloucester Volunteer Fire and Rescue Squad, Inc., P.O. Box 1417, Gloucester, VA 23061.

The obituary published in the Daily Press is online at:

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/dailypress/obituary.aspx?n=jonathan-henry-joyce&pid=172730525&fhid=16556

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The On Target newsletter is published by the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (Jefferson Lab), a nuclear physics research laboratory in Newport News, Virginia, operated by Jefferson Science Associates, LLC, for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science. Possible news items and ideas for future stories may be emailed to jlabinfo@jlab.org, or sent to the Jefferson Lab Public Affairs Office, Suite 15, 12000 Jefferson Avenue, Newport News, VA 23606

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Jefferson Science Associates, LLC, manages and operates the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, or Jefferson Lab, for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science. JSA is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Southeastern Universities Research Association, Inc. (SURA).

DOE’s Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit https://energy.gov/science