New Jobs: Jefferson Labs
Newport News

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Hundreds of new jobs are coming to Hampton Roads.  A nuclear physics research lab in Newport News will create a wide range of jobs over the next few years.

This all hinges on a one of a kind testing project that's under construction at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility on Jefferson Avenue.

Jefferson Lab Officials tell WAVY.com the new project will create hundreds of new jobs in the area over the course of the multi-year project.  That includes a variety of construction jobs that'll be created once they award a $10-million construction bid next month. Eventually, 40-50 permanent jobs will be created at Jefferson Lab by the time the project is completed in 2015.

The Jefferson Lab is a world-leading nuclear physics research laboratory tucked into the woods near the Oyster Point area of Newport News.  Deputy Project Manager Allison Lung explained to WAVY.com the goal of the new, $310-million project.

That goal is to solve one of the greatest mysteries of modern physics.

"The mystery of why one quark is never found alone," says Lung.

What's a quark you ask?  Lung says a Quark is smaller than a proton and neutron and you can't see it with the naked eye, so they need to magnify it.  The new project helps scientists do that.

First they inject electrons into an accelerator.  It's all done in an unground lab that sort of looks like a race-track.  The project will double the current testing speed from 6GeV to 12GeV which Lung says is nearly the speed of light.

This will help scientists figure out, "Those fundamental properties of why we all are here and the matter that we're made of."

This research is huge not only for the future of science, but for your life as well.  One example of how past Jefferson Lab experiments help you?

"That exact technology is now being built into imaging cameras that are being used at hospitals to do back up screening testing for mammographies for example."

Now, simply the creation of this new 12 GeV project will help you by creating jobs.  Officials are looking for skills across the board, from secretary work to a PhD and more.

"This project will call on the technical strengths of the entire community for sure. From electrical to mechanical, plumbing, cryogenics and so on," says Lung.

While the project is expected to bring about 400 new jobs to the area, Jefferson Lab officials warn that those jobs will not be created until the project gets underway. Additionally, the majority of those jobs will be provided by contractors. The Jefferson Lab will possibly add another 40-50 people to its staff once the project is up and running in 2015. 

Click here to visit Jefferson Lab's website.