Jefferson Science Associates, LLC was selected as the contractor for management and operation of the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. The U.S. Department of Energy contract begins on April 17, 2006.
The contract consists of a five-year base period with a value of $500 million. Jefferson Science Associates could earn up to 15 more years based on performance, bringing the total contract value to $2 billion over 20 years.
Jefferson Science Associates, LLC is a joint venture between
Southeastern Universities Research Association, Inc., and CSC Applied Technologies, LLC are joint-venturing as Jefferson Science Associates, LLC.
Both companies have expertise in management and scientific operations. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., Southeastern Universities Research Association, Inc., has extensive scientific expertise in nuclear physics and accelerator technology. Texas- based CSC Applied Technologies LLC has a strong background in operations and business management systems. Dr. Christoph Leemann will serve as the laboratory director. CSC Applied Technologies is based in Fort Worth, Texas.
“We have selected the team that we believe is best equipped to lead this important Office of Science laboratory for the department, and we look forward to working with them as they manage Jefferson Lab in support of the scientific community,” – Dr. Raymond Orbach, Director of the Office of Science.
One of the stated goals for the Office of Science stated by Dr. Orbach is to continue to raise the prominence of the accelerator laboratory.
A release issues by the Office of Science says the main focus of the National Accelerator Facility is to understand how quarks build up the matter around us.
“Jefferson Lab is the Office of Science’s primary laboratory devoted to the study of nuclear physics. Its main focus is to understand how quarks – the basic building blocks of the nucleus of every atom – build up the matter around us. The research program consists of investigation of the fundamental structure of matter and is home to United States’ expertise in superconducting accelerator technologies. User facilities include the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility and the Free Electron Laser. Over 2,000 researchers from around the world use these facilities every year.”
Jefferson Lab employs around 700 people on their 206 acre site in Newport News, Virginia. Its current annual budget is around $100 million.
More information about the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility is available on the website http://www.jlab.org/External link.
The Office of Science funds more than 40% of the total funding in the US for basic research in the physical sciences, especially in high-energy physics, nuclear physics, and fusion energy sciences research programs.
