U.S. Department of Energy Under Secretary for Science Paul Dabbar, leaders
from DOE’s Brookhaven National Laboratory and Thomas Jefferson National
Accelerator Facility, and elected officials from New York State and Virginia
commemorated the start of the
Electron-Ion Collider project.
The event was an opportunity for in-person and virtual speakers to voice
their support for a one-of-a-kind nuclear physics research facility, which will
be built at Brookhaven Lab over the next decade.
The 2.4-mile-circumference particle collider will act as a high-precision
sub-atomic “microscope” for exploring the innermost three-dimensional
structures of protons and larger atomic nuclei.
Experiments at the EIC will reveal how those particles’ fundamental building
blocks are arranged, how their interactions build up the mass of most of the
visible matter in the universe and uncover the secrets of the strongest force
in nature.
“DOE scientists have been at the forefront of so many discoveries in nuclear
physics,” said DOE Under Secretary for Science Paul Dabbar. “Thanks to the
support of President Trump’s leadership, Congress, our Office of Science, and
the State of New York, we’ve come together to create a one-of-a-kind research
facility that is strengthened by collaboration with partners at Jefferson Lab
and other national labs and institutions around the world. From the most basic
components of matter to the farthest reaches of the cosmos to the next
technologies that will drive the economy of the United States and the world,
the DOE will continue this mission right here at Brookhaven and at our labs
across the country.”
With a proposed budget in the range of $1.6 to 2.6 billion from DOE’s Office
of Science and $100 million from New York State, the project will draw on
expertise from throughout the DOE complex and at universities and laboratories
around the world.