The Center for Accelerator Science in the Physics Department at Old Dominion University is an interdisciplinary research center, involving faculty from four departments. The Center operates in close partnership with the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. The Center is unique in Virginia and one of only a handful of such programs in the country. The goal of the Center is to meet the nation's need for scientists and engineers who will advance the next generation of accelerators and light-sources - tools that enable an ever-widening range of basic and applied research, numerous medical applications, as well as industrial and Homeland Security functions. The Center offers both researchers and students access to state-of-the-art facilities at ODU and Jefferson Laboratory.
Research Fields
- Superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) accelerating structures
- Novel materials for future superconducting cavities
- Theoretical and experimental investigations of the rf properties of superconductors
- Novel fabrication and processing techniques for superconducting structures
- Novel accelerator designs such as energy-recovery linacs (ERLs), Muon colliders and Electron Ion Colliders (ELICs)
- High-current (hundreds of mA), high-polarization (>90%) electron guns
- Light sources, including free-electron lasers (FELs) and synchrotrons
- Simulation and visualization tools for the design and operation of accelerators
- Diagnostic techniques for studying beam properties
- Accelerator related mechanical, electrical and control systems engineering
