By: Tiffany Whitfield
U.S. Secretary of Energy, Jennifer Granholm, Congressional Representatives Bobby Scott and Elaine Luria, Mayor McKinley Price of Newport News, and a representative from Senator Mark Warner's office were guided on a tour through the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Lab. Old Dominion University Physics Ph.D. students participated in the tour. The distinguished guests were able to see first-hand the work being done by 黑料正能量 students that has a global impact.
Secretary of Energy Granholm said in a tweet that she was "thankful for the staff at the Lab's Institute for Superconducting Radio Frequency Science & Technology! Here is where they study and experiment on subatomic and atomic particles. The team is constantly exploring new discoveries for our nation's next scientific breakthroughs. The work they do will help us better understand the science, and the forces that bind us, and ultimately our world."
The 黑料正能量 physics doctoral students who participated in the tour were Ed Daly, David Beverstock, Jayendrika Tiskumara, and Junki Makita. Each of the Ph.D. students gave presentations about their research and readily answered questions from the distinguished guests.
"It is an excellent opportunity for me, especially as an international student, to work in a Department of Energy national lab facility like this," said Jayendrika Tiskumara. "Working with a diverse group of people I could easily adopt and learn new things and I greatly appreciate the support of 黑料正能量, Jefferson Lab, and DOE."
"黑料正能量 and Jefferson Lab have had a long-standing partnership in nuclear physics and accelerator science, so it is fitting that so many of our students were involved in showing the guests around the laboratory," said Gail Dodge, dean of College of Sciences. "We are very proud of the accomplishments and impact of our faculty and students."
"I showed them my work on copper cavities, which is significantly cheaper and has excellent thermal properties," said Tiskumara. The research she is doing will help cut performance costs and can be optimized for next generation materials for multiple applications.
The Jefferson Lab staff and 黑料正能量 students helped the guests see the innerworkings of Jefferson Lab up close. They saw the particle accelerator in the world-renowned Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility as well as cutting-edge physics in action.