ODU economists suggest opportunities abound in future of Jefferson Lab

Jefferson Lab in Newport News is on the leading edge of nuclear physics while also providing educational resources and opportunities for schools and university researchers. The facility also is an important employer and has a major economic impact in the region.

Beyond physics, local economists see lots of potential.

Those economists from Old Dominion University’s Dragas Center for Economic Analysis and Policy released their annual State of the Region report Tuesday, which contains a section focused on Jefferson Lab’s future. It is at a crossroads, they concluded, and must decide between continuing focusing largely on nuclear physics or expanding into other fields, a move the economists think will benefit more than just the work at the lab.

Lauren Hansen, chief communications officer of Jefferson Lab, said in statement that some leaders at the facility spoke with ODU economists to provide basic information for the report, but they weren’t “involved in the analysis, considerations or conclusions that may have been drawn in the report.”

The report’s authors state that Jefferson Lab officials believe the facility can expand into high-performance computing, big-data manipulation and cryogenics. The framework to expand is somewhat in place, according to the report.

Other national labs contain some of the most powerful computers on earth, and the United States has prioritized that level of computing. Jefferson Lab produces immense amounts of data, and the computing used to extract meaning from that data could have other applications. Cryogenics — production and use of materials at extremely low temperatures — are factor in electron beam acceleration and may have uses related to energy and defense technology.

In the medical field, Jefferson Lab contributed to Hampton University’s Proton Therapy Institute, which fights prostate and other cancers with proton beams. The report suggests the lab can expand research in medical imaging and other applications.

The report points out that nuclear physics accounts for only 3% of the Department of Energy’s Office of Science budget and expanding focus at Jefferson Lab lines up with initiatives and research already underway at other labs, government agencies and private businesses.

Pursuing new focuses at Jefferson Lab has the potential for a ripple effect with benefits beyond the lab’s space in central Newport News, the report’s authors said.

“Knowledge typically knows no boundaries, and productive commercial applications frequently draw from multiple academic disciplines,” the report states. “The notion of nuclear physicists working side by side with computer scientists, biologists, physicians and even a stray social scientist from time to time not only is more interesting, but also potentially more productive.”

The report mentions a study by College of William & Mary researchers estimated that estimated the laboratory’s 2018 fiscal year regional economic impact was $269.2 million, resulting in $149.2 million in labor income and 2,015 jobs — among the 50 largest economic profiles in the region.

To support Jefferson Lab, the authors of the report advise the region to help state and federal legislators understand importance and potential of the lab, help make connections between commercial opportunities and the lab’s potential expansion in other fields and support funding for federal labs.

Hansen said staff would read and consider the opinions expressed in the report, “using it as a resource of objective analysis in our scientific program as we move forward with our research mission.”