Nuclear Science Division Staff

The Nuclear Science Division has administrative offices in Building 50, Room 4037. NSD, along with the Accelerator Technology and Applied Physics Division, the Physics Division, and the Engineering Division make up the Physical Sciences.

• Division Director
• Division Office Staff
• Scientific Administrative Staff
• Scientific Staff

Phone Number: (510) 486-5146
Fax: (510) 486-6003

Mailing Address:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Nuclear Science Division
1 Cyclotron Road
Mailstop 50R4049
Berkeley, CA 94720-8153

Please Note: The mail stop must be replaced by the mail stop of the intended recipient.

Division Director

 Volker Koch, NSD Director (Interim) 

Barbara Jacak Steps Down as NSD Director in Return to Research
Longtime nuclear theorist Volker Koch is acting director

Barbara Jacak, a faculty senior scientist who for the past six years led Berkeley Lab’s Nuclear Science Division (NSD), has left that role to devote more time to scientific research, and in particular to R&D for the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) project, which will be built at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Jacak is also maintaining her academic duties as a physics professor at UC Berkeley.

Volker Koch, a theorist and senior physicist in Berkeley Lab’s Nuclear Science Division (NSD) who has previously served as the division’s program head for Nuclear Theory and deputy director for Low Energy Nuclear Science, has stepped in to serve as its acting director, effective Feb. 1, 2021. A committee will be formed to hire a permanent replacement for the position.

“Under Barbara’s leadership NSD has prospered, and she will now be able to turn her full attention to the next generation Electron-Ion Collider project,” said Natalie Roe, Physical Sciences Area director. “I’m grateful that Volker has agreed to take over as interim division director, and know he will keep a steady hand on the tiller.”

Manager role offered variety
Jacak, who described her management approach as, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” said she was happy to find the director position to be very engaging. While her own research interests have revolved around heavy-ion collisions and studies of the so-called “subatomic soup” of the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) unleashed from atomic nuclei in these ultrahigh-temperature events, her time as director exposed her to the breadth of nuclear science research taking place at Berkeley Lab and in experiments involving Berkeley Lab around the globe.

A past role as a spokesperson for the international collaboration in a QGP experiment called PHENIX at Brookhaven Lab’s Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider also helped prepare her for the role in management at Berkeley Lab, she said.

“I thought being director was interesting and fun, and I really enjoyed learning a lot of other aspects of nuclear physics,” Jacak said. “What do people do to understand nuclear structure? Is the neutrino its own antiparticle? How does gamma-ray-tracking work? There are all of these other aspects of nuclear physics we do in NSD that I knew only a little bit about.” She added, “As a manager, it became the cool stuff that we do. That experience is very helpful when we go back to doing our own research in our own corner of the field.”

She said that she felt compelled not to serve too long in the division director role. “I think it’s really important for these (management) types of jobs to be rotated around to different people,” she said. “It brings a new energy and somewhat different focus. I think an institution is healthiest if they get that shot of change every now and then.”

Her excitement about the EIC project, and the fact that the project is already advancing – its first DOE milestone, known as CD-0, was in January 2020, and its construction will take about a decade – definitely prompted Jacak to consider a return to research at this time. “I expected it would be built,” she said, but not to be at this stage yet. Jacak will also spend some time on the ALICE Experiment at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC), and a successor experiment to PHENIX called sPHENIX that is expected to begin taking data in 2023 – Berkeley Lab will assemble a detector component for it called a silicon pixel vertex tracker.

Berkeley Lab researchers have been involved in a variety of R&D efforts to support the construction of the EIC, too. Jacak and collaborators from five other UC institutions had received a UC Multicampus Research Programs and Initiatives award in 2019 to develop a consortium working on EIC projects. That consortium was tasked with designing and building two detector systems for the EIC, with access to computing resources at Berkeley Lab’s National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC), and substantial contributions by students. The team just got notice that it will receive another four years of support from the UC Office of the President.

Academic aspect of job has its own rewards
Working with students as a UC professor and at Berkeley Lab has been a rewarding aspect of her work, she said. “We are the most academic of the national labs, with our close proximity to and connection with UC Berkeley. We have a lot of faculty senior scientists and a lot of postdocs, and undergrad and grad students. I have enjoyed working with students immensely.”

Prior to her time at Berkeley Lab, Jacak taught for 18 years at Stony Brook University in New York, and before that spent 12 years as a scientific staff member in Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Physics Division. A San Francisco Bay Area native, she received her bachelor’s degree in science at UC Berkeley and her doctorate at Michigan State University.

Jacak said she is encouraged by the diversity in the student population she sees coming through Berkeley Lab and campus these days. “I think it’s a real strength for us.”

A vision for the next science device
Koch should have a smooth transition into his role as acting division director, Jacak said, as he is well-known across NSD and knows Berkeley Lab well. “He’s ready to hit the ground running,” she said.

Past experience overseeing the science program at Berkeley Lab’s 88-Inch Cyclotron and running the division’s theory program gave Koch experience in management, and he said he doesn’t expect any surprises in his transition to the new role.

“I see my role in keeping things afloat and keeping things together,” Koch said, noting that Jacak’s hands-off management style was welcome to him. “She certainly didn’t micromanage us,” he said.

“I want to run this as a team,” Koch said, “and to try to get all the ideas on the table. I think that will create a productive and healthy environment for everyone.”

Koch arrived at Berkeley Lab in 1995 as a divisional fellow after obtaining undergraduate and doctoral degrees in physics from the University of Giessen in Germany, and after serving from 1990-94 as a visiting assistant professor at Stony Brook University. He was promoted to senior physicist at Berkeley Lab in 1999. Koch specializes in theories relating to heavy-ion collisions and strongly interacting matter.

He noted that Berkeley Lab has always been a breeding ground for “all kinds of accelerators” and “innovative instrumentation,” and he would like to see that legacy carried on within NSD. “Maybe we can invent the next ‘gadget’ – we can start and seed the next thing,” he said.

Getting back to face-to-face communication
Koch also said he looks forward to the time when person-to-person discussions can resume as a normal part of collaboration and brainstorming at Berkeley Lab. “People need to be together in the coffee breaks and actually talking to one another,” he said, noting that some researchers and staff are getting burnt out on Zoom-based web meetings.

These are exciting times for the nuclear science field, with the beginning stages of the EIC, he noted, and also with the realization of the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) at Michigan State University, which is a nuclear science facility and the U.S. Department of Energy’s newest user facility.

FRIB, which will launch next year, will incorporate GRETA, a 3D Gamma-Ray Detector that Berkeley Lab has a lead role in.

Also in the near future, there will be a decision to down-select the next-gen neutrinoless beta decay experiment, which the Lab will play a role in.

More

• “Barbara Jacak Receives 2019 Distinguished Scientist Fellow Award,” Oct. 16, 2019
• “Barbara Jacak Appointed as Director of Nuclear Science Division,” Jan. 5, 2015

Division Office Staff

Name	Position	Phone	Fax	Email	Mail Stop
Volker Koch	Division Director (Interim)	5323	6003	VKoch at lbl.gov	50R4049
Alan Poon	Division Deputy	2467	6003	AWPoon at lbl.gov	50R4049
Sandy Ritterbusch	Executive Assistant	5146	6003	SERitterbusch at lbl.gov	50R4049
Zuting Liu	Pr. Resource Analyst	6953	6003	TLiu at lbl.gov	50R4049
Laura Stine	Pr. Resource Analyst	495-2146	6003	LStine at lbl.gov	50R4049
Tom Gallant	Program Manager	7022	6003	TGGallant at lbl.gov	50R4049
Jeff Bramble	Safety Coordinator	6242	6003	JRBramble at lbl.gov	75R0123
Marcia Ocon Leimer	HR Center Manager	4904	2201	MOcon_Leimer at lbl.gov	59R3022B
LaTonja Wright	Sr. HR Division Partner	495-2772	6003	LSWright at lbl.gov	50R4049
Kelly Rushing	HR Division Partner	5683	6003	KRushing at lbl.gov	50R4049
Tasha Oliver	HR Assistant	495-2233	6003	LOliver at lbl.gov	50R4049

Scientific Administrative/Operations Staff

Name	Scientific Program	Phone	Fax	Email	Mail Stop
Lady Bonifacio	Relativistic Nuclear Collisions/Nuclear Theory	4974	4818	LBonifacio at lbl.gov	70R0319
Dorothy Kenlow	Applied Nuclear Physics/Neutrinos	7535	7983	DIKenlow at lbl.gov	88R0192
Kymba A’Hearn	88-Inch Cyclotron Users/Ops/Low Energy	6780	7983	KSAHearn at lbl.gov	88R0192

Scientific Staff

Name	Program	Phone	Email	Mail Stop
Nicolas Abgrall	Applied Nuclear Physics	510-599-9223	NAbgrall at lbl.gov	50C3396
Nicole Jean Apadula	Relativistic Nuclear Collisions	510-486-7264	NicoleApadula at lbl.gov	70R0319
John R Arrington	Relativistic Nuclear Collisions	510-486-6608	JArrington at lbl.gov	70R0319
Mark ShenYu Bandstra	Applied Nuclear Physics	510-495-8171	MSBandstra at lbl.gov	50C3396
Paul Joseph Barton	Applied Nuclear Physics	510-486-6644	PJBarton at lbl.gov	70A3363
M Shamsuzzoha Basunia	Low Energy Nuclear Physics	510-486-7648	SBasunia at lbl.gov	88R0192
Janilee Y Benitez	88-Inch Cyclotron	510-486-7843	JYBenitez at lbl.gov	88R0192
Lee Bernstein	Low Energy Nuclear Physics	510-486-4951	LABernstein at lbl.gov	88R0192
Christopher Michael Campbell	Low Energy Nuclear Physics	510-486-4877	CMCampbell at lbl.gov	88R0192
Chiara Capelli	Neutrinos	510-486-7850	CCapelli at lbl.gov	50R5032
Rebecca Michelle Dales Carney	Neutrinos	510-859-5615	RCarney at lbl.gov	50R5032
Joshua William Cates	Applied Nuclear Physics	510-486-4293	JCates at lbl.gov	50C3396
Irakli Chakaberia	Relativistic Nuclear Collisions	510-502-7231	iraklic at lbl.gov	70R0319
Chun Ho Chow	Applied Nuclear Physics		CHChow at lbl.gov	50C3396
Roderick M Clark	Low Energy Nuclear Physics	510-486-4243	RMClark at lbl.gov	88R0192
Alberto Collu	Relativistic Nuclear Collisions	510-486-7264	AlbertoCollu at lbl.gov	70R0319
Reynold J Cooper	Applied Nuclear Physics	510-486-7296	RJCooper at lbl.gov	50C3396
Heather Lynn Crawford	Low Energy Nuclear Physics	510-486-5702	HLCrawford at lbl.gov	88R0192
Mario Cromaz	Low Energy Nuclear Physics	510-486-4187	MCromaz at lbl.gov	88R0192
Reynier Cruz Torres	Relativistic Nuclear Collisions	510-486-6608	reynier at lbl.gov	70R0319
Joey Curtis	Applied Nuclear Physics	831-227-6231	JCCurtis at lbl.gov	50C3396
Xin Dong	Relativistic Nuclear Collisions	510-486-4121	XDong at lbl.gov	70R0319
Alexander Donoghue	88-Inch Cyclotron	510-486-6196	ADonoghue at lbl.gov	88R0192
Alexey Drobizhev	Applied Nuclear Physics	510-486-5657	ADrobizhev at lbl.gov	70A3363
Paul Fallon	Low Energy Nuclear Physics	510-486-7018	PFallon at lbl.gov	88R0192
Wenqing Fan	Relativistic Nuclear Collisions	510-486-6608	wenqing at lbl.gov	70R0319
Micah Folsom	Applied Nuclear Physics	510-486-7984	MFolsom at lbl.gov	50C3396
Brian K Fujikawa	Neutrinos	510-486-4398	BKFujikawa at lbl.gov	50R5008
Jacklyn M Gates	Low Energy Nuclear Physics	510-486-7847	JMGates at lbl.gov	88R0192
Bethany Goldblum	Low Energy Nuclear Physics	510-486-5235	bethany at lbl.gov	88R0192
Leo Greiner	Relativistic Nuclear Collisions	510-486-7274	LCGreiner at lbl.gov	70R0319
Abdennacer Hamdi	Relativistic Nuclear Collisions	510-486-7561	AHamdi at lbl.gov	70R0319
Wick C Haxton	Nuclear Theory	510-486-6539	WCHaxton at lbl.gov	70R0319
Daniel Hellfeld	Applied Nuclear Physics	510-495-8184	DHellfeld at lbl.gov	50C3396
Erik Ben Hoerz	Nuclear Theory	510-486-4053	hoerz at lbl.gov	70R0319
Barbara V Jacak	Relativistic Nuclear Collisions	510-486-6608	BVJacak at lbl.gov	50R4049
Peter M Jacobs	Relativistic Nuclear Collisions	510-486-5413	PMJacobs at lbl.gov	70R0319
Yuanjing Ji	Relativistic Nuclear Collisions	510-944-6548	YuanjingJi at lbl.gov	70R0319
Michael B Johnson	88-Inch Cyclotron	510-486-4389	MBJohnson at lbl.gov	88R0192
Tenzing Henry Yatish Joshi	Applied Nuclear Physics	510-486-4789	THJoshi at lbl.gov	50C3396
Daniel Kasen	Nuclear Theory	510-495-2683	DKasen at lbl.gov	70R0319
Spencer Klein	Relativistic Nuclear Collisions	510-486-5470	SRKlein at lbl.gov	50R5008
Ho San Ko	Relativistic Nuclear Collisions	510-495-2951	H-S.Ko at lbl.gov	70R0319
Yury Kolomensky	Neutrinos	510-486-7811	YGKolomensky at lbl.gov	50R5008
Yue Shi Lai	Relativistic Nuclear Collisions	408-702-5147	ylai at lbl.gov	70R0319
Bjoern Lehnert	Neutrinos	510-486-6989	BjoernLehnert at lbl.gov	50R5008
Yue-Hang Leung	Relativistic Nuclear Collisions	510-486-4121	YHLeung at lbl.gov	70R0319
Shujie Li	Relativistic Nuclear Collisions	510-486-5401	ShujieLi at lbl.gov	70R0319
Augusto O Macchiavelli	Low Energy Nuclear Physics	510-486-4428	AOMacchiavelli at lbl.gov	88R0192
Yuan Mei	Relativistic Nuclear Collisions	510-486-7781	YMei at lbl.gov	88R0192
Alex Moran	Applied Nuclear Physics	510-486-7296	AlexMoran at lbl.gov	50C3396
Luciano G Moretto	Low Energy Nuclear Physics	510-486-5510	LGMoretto at lbl.gov	88R0192
Victor Negut	Applied Nuclear Physics	714-552-7257	VNegut at lbl.gov	50C3396
Grazyna Odyniec	Relativistic Nuclear Collisions	510-486-7128	G_Odyniec at lbl.gov	70R0319
Saehanseul Oh	Relativistic Nuclear Collisions	510-486-7128	saehanseul.oh at lbl.gov	70R0319
Gabriel Orebi Gann	Neutrinos	510-495-8235	GOrebiGann at lbl.gov	50R5008
Rodney Orford	Low Energy Nuclear Physics	510-486-7860	ROrford at lbl.gov	88R0192
Ryan Pavlovsky	Applied Nuclear Physics	731-377-1469	RTPavlovsky at lbl.gov	50C3396
Larry W Phair	88-Inch Cyclotron	510-486-7958	LWPhair at lbl.gov	88R0192
Mateusz Andrzej Ploskon	Relativistic Nuclear Collisions	510-486-7561	MPloskon at lbl.gov	70R0319
Alan Poon	Neutrinos	510-495-2467	AWPoon at lbl.gov	50R5008
Jennifer Louise Pore	Low Energy Nuclear Physics	510-486-7402	JPore at lbl.gov	88R0192
Brian J Quiter	Applied Nuclear Physics	510-486-6776	BJQuiter at lbl.gov	50C3396
Felix Maximilian Ringer	Relativistic Nuclear Collisions	510-486-4474	FMRinger at lbl.gov	70R0319
Marco Salathe	Applied Nuclear Physics	510-486-7570	MSalathe at lbl.gov	50C3396
Ann-Kathrin Schuetz	Neutrinos	510-486-7845	ASchuetz at lbl.gov	50R5008
Ernst P Sichtermann	Relativistic Nuclear Collisions	510-486-5401	EPSichtermann at lbl.gov	70R0319
Timothy James Symons	Relativistic Nuclear Collisions	510-486-5670	TJSymons at lbl.gov	88R0192
Joanna Szornel	Applied Nuclear Physics		JSzornel at lbl.gov	50R4049
James H Thomas	Relativistic Nuclear Collisions	510-759-4936	JHThomas at lbl.gov	70R0319
Damon S Todd	88-Inch Cyclotron	510-486-5707	DSTodd at lbl.gov	88R0192
Karl A Van Bibber	Low Energy Nuclear Physics		KAvanBibber at lbl.gov	50R4049
Jayson Robert Vavrek	Applied Nuclear Physics	510-486-4789	jvavrek at lbl.gov	50C3396
Kai Vetter	Applied Nuclear Physics	510-486-4293	KVetter at lbl.gov	50C3396
Volodymyr Vovchenko	Nuclear Theory	510-486-5323	vovchenko at lbl.gov	70R0319
Andre Walker-Loud	Nuclear Theory	510-486-5652	AWalker-Loud at lbl.gov	70R0319
Xin-Nian Wang	Nuclear Theory	510-486-5239	XNWang at lbl.gov	70R0319
Bradford C Welliver	Neutrinos	510-486-5058	BCWelliver at lbl.gov	50R5008
Jennifer Rittenhouse West	Nuclear Theory	510-486-5626	jennifer at lbl.gov	70R0319
Daniel Zuqi Xie	88-Inch Cyclotron	510-486-4201	ZQXie at lbl.gov	88R0192
Guannan Xie	Relativistic Nuclear Collisions	510-965-8919	GuannanXie at lbl.gov	70R0319
Nu Xu	Relativistic Nuclear Collisions	510-495-2951	NXu at lbl.gov	70R0319
Feng Yuan	Nuclear Theory	510-486-5626	FYuan at lbl.gov	70R0319