Laying the Groundwork: Inside the EIC's Infrastructure Team with Dirul Nassar
December 17, 2025
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Dirul Nassar leads the infrastructure team that oversees civil construction for the future Electron-Ion Collider. (Timothy Kuhn/Brookhaven National Laboratory).
Editor’s note: This story is a part of a series of profiles highlighting the scientists, engineers, and other professionals who are helping to design the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC), a next-generation nuclear physics research facility being built at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory in partnership with DOE’s Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (Jefferson Lab) and collaborators around the world.
What is your role, and what do you do in this role?
I am the deputy division director and group leader for infrastructure engineering for the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) project. I’m responsible for providing technical direction to the engineering staff and engineering subcontractors who are responsible for planning and designing the EIC’s conventional facilities. These include the new buildings, roads, tunnel modifications, electrical distribution equipment, and mechanical cooling systems. My responsibilities include reviewing the designs developed by engineering subcontractors to ensure designs align with the needs of the project or facility. I am also responsible for all work associated with the civil construction of the EIC’s conventional facilities. These responsibilities encompass planning, managing costs, and managing subcontracts — and, as the project shifts to the construction phase, coordinating and monitoring construction activities.
Why is this important to the EIC?
The EIC conventional facilities construction will set the pace for the EIC project and will be critical for the overall project success. Successfully executing our scope will demonstrate that the EIC project is moving forward and that we have the right people and processes in place to deliver on the mission of building this facility.
What is the most exciting aspect of your job?
I consider myself a lifelong learner. I’m motivated by the challenges of absorbing new skills and knowledge. Working on the EIC project forces you to adapt every day from the challenges of learning the fundamentals of accelerator hardware to the intricacies of federal contracting. Each day presents a new challenge, which motivates me to come to the Lab and make a difference in the outcomes of the project.
What is challenging for you and your group right now?
The EIC infrastructure staff are required to wear multiple hats to support the EIC project, often all in the same day. We provide technical oversight of engineering teams that are developing infrastructure design documents. We perform contract administration for the various engineering and construction services. In the near future, we will be in the field every day, managing and providing oversight of building construction activities. Managing these diverse tasks and competing priorities requires us to stay organized and to manage our time effectively.
Tell us about your career journey.
After I earned a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from Ohio Northern University, I spent most of my career as a design engineer in the commercial nuclear power industry. Working in nuclear power, I learned the importance of technical rigor, conservative decision making, and industrial and nuclear safety principles, all of which guide me to this day. I later transitioned to an engineering management position where I felt could have a greater impact on delivering outcomes by coordinating the work of others, rather than just working as an individual contributor. Working in management taught me how to empathize, how to develop young professionals, and how to knock down barriers to achieve outcomes. I joined Brookhaven Lab in 2021 to serve in this role. I earned a Master of Science in engineering management from Eastern Michigan University and hold a professional engineering license from the state of Ohio.
Do you have advice for early career folks or those in your field?
There are three principles that engineers must exhibit to excel in a technical field. First, understand the technical issues. That requires doing your homework, conducting a deep dive on technical issues, and consulting subject matter experts. Second, make sound technical decisions. Technical decisions should always be based on engineering fundamentals and should be grounded in conservatism. Third, communicate technical decisions and recommendations succinctly.
What are some non-work facts about you?
My hobbies include sailing, reading, exercising, home renovations, and building radio-controlled models. My happy place is a hot yoga class or on my treadmill with the music volume on high.
What excites you about the EIC?
It excites me that we are building a “discovery machine” and part of a unique engineering and physics endeavor. Producing collisions with this machine will be an historical event. I will be proud to state that I contributed to, or had an impact on, its success.
Brookhaven National Laboratory is supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy. The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit science.energy.gov.
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