Thomas Jefferson National Laboratory (TJNL), located in Newport News, Virginia, is a US Department of Energy national laboratory that performs research in nuclear physics and other disciplines. The laboratory was founded in 1952 as the Atomic Energy Commission’s Newport News Field Office to support the development of the world’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the USS Enterprise. In 1955, it was renamed the Naval Reactors Branch of the AEC’s Office of Naval Reactors. In 1971, following the decommissioning of the Enterprise, it became known as ERDA-Naval Weapons Laboratory (NWL). In 1977, it was given its current name by congressional action.
The TJNL site consists of three campuses: Main Campus, South Campus, and West Campus. The Main Campus is home to most of TJNL’s scientific laboratories and offices; South Campus houses facilities for neutron scattering experiments; and West Campus contains land used for administrative purposes and various research projects. TJNL employs approximately 2,500 people—scientists, engineers, technicians, support staff—and has an annual budget of over $600 million dollars.
TJNL’s primary mission is to conduct basic and applied research in nuclear physics to increase our understanding of matter at its most fundamental level—the level of individual atoms and nuclei—and to develop new technologies based on this knowledge. This mission also includes developing innovative approaches for solving problems in national security and energy production. To carry out these missions successfully requires a highly skilled workforce with expertise across many disciplines including accelerator science and engineering; computer science; materials science; optics; plasma physics; theoretical physics; etc.
In addition to its own employees TNNL partners with scientists from universities and other laboratories around the world who come here to use our unique experimental facilities or collaborate on research projects