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Electron-Ion Collider

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Women of Brookhaven Lab

At Brookhaven Lab, we understand that innovation is not possible without a diversity of thought and perspective, so we promote equal opportunity and advancement of women in support of world-class science. We also encourage young women towards careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to seed the next generation of discovery.

Meet some of our Lab’s inspiring women who are a driving force for many of our scientific breakthroughs.

JoAnne Hewett

JoAnne Hewett is the director of Brookhaven National Laboratory and president of Brookhaven Science Associates. She oversees more than 2,800 scientists, engineers, technicians, and professionals responsible for the Lab’s game-changing discoveries and innovative breakthroughs. As a theoretical physicist, JoAnne is best known for her work on physics beyond the Standard Model of particle physics. More about JoAnne.

Kayla Hernandez

Kayla Hernandez is an electrical engineer in the collider-accelerator department at Brookhaven. She works on the controllers for the radiofrequency cavities that accelerate particle beams throughout the Lab’s particle accelerator complex, which includes the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). Working remotely is not a foreign concept for Kayla—she is on call whenever RHIC is running and is always prepared to troubleshoot on a moment’s notice. More about Kayla

Lijuan Ruan

Lijuan Ruan is a heavy ion experimental physicist and group leader of the STAR experiment at Brookhaven’s Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). Her leadership enabled the STAR experiment to exceed the expectations of its original design and make state-of-the-art measurements. Her research focuses on the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) formed by heavy ion collisions, which provide insight into the conditions of the universe just after the Big Bang. More about Lijuan

Valentina Bisogni

Valentina Bisogni is a scientist at the Soft Inelastic X-ray Scattering (SIX) beamline at Brookhaven’s National Synchrotron Light Source II, where she studies the electronic properties of materials using ultrabright x-rays. She is currently researching ways to enhance the energy efficiency of novel electronic devices. More about Valentina

Prerana Kankiya

Prerana Kankiya is a member of Brookhaven’s collider-accelerator department, where she writes software packages for particle physics experiments. These experiments help scientists understand what the universe was like just moments after the Big Bang, as well as how matter was formed. More about Prerana

Wei Xu

Wei Xu is a computer scientist at Brookhaven’s Computational Science Initiative, where she develops visualization tools that help researchers analyze large datasets from their experiments. She is also helping to build a virtual reality lab where scientists could have interactive data visualization experiences.
More about Wei

Jasmine Hatcher

Jasmine Hatcher is a radiochemist in Brookhaven’s medical isotope research and production program. She works on separating chemical elements to extract Actinium 225, a rare radioactive element that has been shown to eliminate late-stage cancer after just three treatments.

Kahille Dorsinvil

Kahille Dorsinvil first joined the Lab as an educator at the science learning center, where she taught local students about Brookhaven’s research and led teacher-training workshops. Now, she coordinates the Lab’s Summer Sundays program, which allows community members to spend four consecutive Sundays in the summer at Brookhaven. More about Kahille

Iradwikanari Waluyo

Iradwikanari (Ira) Waluyo is the lead beamline scientist at the In situ and Operando Soft X-ray Spectroscopy (IOS) beamline at Brookhaven’s National Synchrotron Light Source II. She leads the development of IOS and its scientific program, and works with visiting scientists to conduct research using the beamline’s advanced equipment, which is capable of tracking the chemical changes of many materials in real time.

Vanessa Sanders

Vanessa Sanders became the first African American woman in the U.S. to earn a radiochemistry Ph.D. Now at Brookhaven Lab, she works in a cutting-edge area of radiochemistry known as theragnostics—designing drugs to be both therapeutic and diagnostic. She’s also developing “generators” that make it easier to deliver medical isotopes to hospitals. More about Vanessa.

Simerjeet Gill

Simerjeet Gill is a scientist in Brookhaven’s nuclear science and technology department. Her research is focused on studying the behavior of materials in extreme environments for applications in advanced energy technologies, such as nuclear and geothermal systems. More about Simerjeet

Karen Chen-Wiegart

Karen Chen-Wiegart is a scientist at Brookhaven’s National Synchrotron Light Source II and an assistant professor in the department of materials science and chemical engineering at Stony Brook University. Her research is focused on using x-ray characterization techniques to understand the structural and chemical evolution of materials for applications in energy storage, 3-D printing, and more. More about Karen

Triveni Rao

Triveni Rao is a senior physicist in Brookhaven’s Instrumentation Department, where scientists and engineers develop the advanced equipment used in the Lab’s experiments. Her research focuses on electron injectors and lasers, and she holds a number of patents and invention disclosures. More about Triveni

Haiyan Gao

Haiyan Gao is the associate laboratory director for nuclear and particle physics at Brookhaven. Among her responsibilities is the development of the Lab’s collective long-term vision for nuclear physics research and experiments over the next 10 years—including working together with many at the Lab to realize the Electron-Ion Collider. She also aims to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion at Brookhaven. More about Haiyan

Kimberly McGuire

Kimberly McGuire is the chief operations officer for the Co-design Center for Quantum Advantage (C²QA), a Brookhaven Lab-led national quantum information science research center sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science. She coordinates between the center’s partners—nearly 30 universities, labs, and private companies—to lead, strategize, and optimize C²QA’s operations. More about Kimberly

Priscilla Antunez

Priscilla Antunez is the assistant director for strategic partnerships at the Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN). Her goal is to form and deepen partnerships with universities, businesses, and other research centers to maximize CFN’s impact on society. More about Priscilla

Joyce Moore

Since Joyce Moore joined Brookhaven Lab in 1973, she has worn quite a few different hats, but she has always been focused on the safety of the Lab’s workforce. In 1974, she became one of the Lab’s first female security officers. Now, she’s a valued senior member of the personnel monitoring group, which protects staff and visitors from any possible exposure to radiation. More about Joyce

Ashley Head

Ashley Head is a chemist at the Center for Functional Nanomaterials, where scientists study tiny materials that are only a billionth of a meter in size. Her research is focused on the interesting chemical processes that take place on surfaces, helping to design better fuel cells for renewable energy and more sophisticated gas masks to protect soldiers. More about Ashley

Nathalie Bouet

Nathalie Bouet is a scientist in the optics and metrology group at Brookhaven’s National Synchrotron Light Source II. There, she develops advanced x-ray optics called multilayer Laue lenses, which give NSLS-II’s Hard X-ray Nanoprobe (HXN) its world-leading imaging resolution. HXN can observe materials down to 10 nanometers—about one ten-thousandth the diameter of a human hair. More about Nathalie

Meifeng Lin

Meifeng Lin is a theoretical particle physicist and a computational scientist at Brookhaven’s Computational Science Initiative. Her research focuses on solving scientific problems using advanced computing techniques. She is also the acting group lead of the Lab’s newly formed quantum computing group. More about Meifeng

Etsuko Fujita

Etsuko Fujita is a chemist and the leader of the artificial photosynthesis group at Brookhaven Lab. She develops systems that use solar energy to create renewable fuels—artificial analogues of the way plants take in sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water to create sugars. She is also working on methods of making hydrogen gas, which can be used in fuel cells as a clean alternative to fossil fuels. More about Etsuko

Danielle Golden and Aubrie Andenmatten

As firefighters for Brookhaven, Danielle Golden and Aubrie Andenmatten work rotating 24-hour shifts to protect the Lab. Beyond responding rapidly and safely to fires and hazardous events on-site, they treat sick or injured employees and visitors, inspect utilities and safety equipment around the Lab, and provide assistance to local fire departments for fire and medical emergencies. More about Danielle and Aubrie

Rebecca Trojanowski

Rebecca Trojanowski is an engineer in Brookhaven’s Interdisciplinary Science Department, where she researches the performance and emissions of residential heating appliances, such as stoves and boilers, using various types of biofuels, including biodiesel, renewable diesel fuels, and biomass. More about Rebecca

Esther Tsai

Esther Tsai is a scientist in the electronic nanomaterials group at Brookhaven’s Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN). She works with two of CFN’s partnership x-ray beamlines at the National Synchrotron Light Source II, where she helps researchers run experiments that reveal the structural details of novel materials at the nanoscale. More about Esther

Christine Ali

Christine Ali is a system expert for gas-handling systems at the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II). By designing new gas-handling capabilities, she’s helping pioneer new sample environments for studies on catalysts and battery materials. Christine is also a U.S. Army veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom. More about Christine