Christoph W. Leemann, an internationally recognized particle-accelerator physicist as well as a University faculty member, has been selected by the Southeastern Universities Research Association to serve as the new director of the U.S. Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (Jefferson Lab) in Newport News.
For the past year, Leemann has been serving as interim director of the nuclear physics laboratory, a world center for study of the atom's nucleus.
Prior to that, he served as the Jefferson Lab's deputy director as well as its associate director for accelerators. He also was a leader of the management team responsible for the design and construction of the facility.
"As the new Jefferson Lab director, Chistoph Leemann will help maintain the tradition of excellence that characterizes the Department of Energy's science programs," U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham said in a statement Friday.
University officials also are happy about Leemann's appointment to the new position.
"The University of Virginia is very pleased that one of its distinguished faculty members will be guiding the future of the Jefferson Lab," University President John T. Casteen III said in a statement Friday.
SURA originally was formed to build and manage the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility, which is now the Jefferson Lab.
The consortium, which stretches across the southern region from Delaware to Texas, serves an entity through which its members can work with other organizations and government to strengthen the scientific, research and technological capacity of the SURA region and nation.
-Compiled by Sara Jeanblanc
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