Supervisors: Dr. Taro Konomi and Prof. Ting Xu

The superconducting RF electron gun (SRF gun) is a next-generation device designed for high-quality electron beams. It consists of a laser system, a photocathode, a superconducting RF accelerating cavity, and a cryomodule. This project focuses on evaluating the performance of the SRF gun and photocathode, with an emphasis on experimental operation, data acquisition, and analysis techniques. The work involves SRF cavity assembly, photocathode coating, laser tuning and beam line experiments. This project provides a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience with cutting-edge accelerator technology, working alongside experts in the field to contribute to the development of next-generation electron sources.

Supervisors: Dr. Sang-hoon Kim and Prof. Ting Xu

A student will perform finite-element-method (FEM) simulations on the FRIB400 energy upgrade cavity, a 644 MHz beta=0.65 5-cell elliptical superconducting niobium cavity. The first mission is solving a mechanical problem: find a solution of stiffening structures which allows the cavity not to be plastically deformed upon vacuum force, while providing reasonable flexibility for mechanical tuning. The second mission is solving a combined electromagnetic and mechanical problem to characterize Lorentz transfer function. Lorentz force detuning effect in a superconducting niobium cavity refers to resonant frequency shifts caused by radiation forces from electromagnetic fields excited in the cavity. When coupled with cavity mechanical modes, it can lead to instability unless suppressed by methods such as feedback control. The sensitivity of a cavity to potential instability can be characterized by Lorentz transfer function. The student will use commercial FEM simulation programs such as ANSYS and HFSS.

Supervisors: Prof. Peter Ostroumov and Dr. Qiang Zhao

FRIB is operating a world class heavy-ion superconducting linac. It is important to efficiently set up and monitor the status of accelerator devices and beam parameters during beam study and operation. FRIB uses Control System Studio called Phoebus which provides a variety of tools and applications and is easy to learn and use. You will use Phoebus and develop graphical user interfaces to control devices and display data to facilitate beam tuning. For example, change magnet field, insert/withdraw a Faraday cup, plot/export live and archived data. Through the project, you will also get control room experience on a modern accelerator facility.

Supervisors: Dr. Takuji Kanemura, Dr. Yoichi Momozaki and Dr. Ryoto Iwai

The lithium stripper is an essential component of the FRIB linear accelerator, enabling efficient acceleration and manipulation of heavy ion beams. To improve the versatility, we are trying to develop a new scheme to form a similar fluid structure using a new nozzle design. In addition, we have observed instabilities affecting the beam quality and investigating the instabilities is a part of this project. We have a water setup to do simulant experiments. The student will support the exploratory investigation of the water experiments. The work involves assembling mechanical components to support the water nozzles, PVC piping assembly, performing experiments, data analysis, etc.

Supervisor: Dr. Tong Zhang  

With the proliferation of AI ecosystems, it’s promising to integrate AI principles into application software that develops intelligent apps to enhance the physics application domain on accelerator systems. In this project, we’ll delve into the industrial resources of the AI agentic system, comprehend and construct agentic tools on a virtual accelerator system. Participants should be proficient in Python programming and familiar with Linux software development environments. Familiarity with large language models (LLMs) is a plus.

Supervisors: Dr. Yoonhyuck Choi and Dr. Xiaoji Du

This project focuses on using a pick-up coil to measure the high harmonics and misalignment of quadrupole and multipole coils used in accelerators. Currently, two main methods are used for quadrupole and multipole magnets field measurements: Hall probes and pick-up coils. Hall probes can also provide point-by-point field data for beam dynamics analysis but are limited by probe accuracy and mapper positioning. In contrast, pick-up coils enable more precise axial integration of magnetic field components. This project will involve theoretical analysis and pick-up coil design, with the potential for prototype development for future quadrupole magnet testing.

Supervisor: Dr. Kilean Hwang

Accurate beam dynamics modeling is essential for optimizing particle accelerators. However, setting up simulations and analysis of the results involves a multi-step workflow. This project aims to streamline this pipeline by developing an intelligent AI agent capable of translating natural language prompts into executable simulation tasks for the FLAME (Fast Linear Accelerator Modeling Engine) framework.  By building specialized agentic tools, the assistant will autonomously translate user prompts to configure lattice parameters, execute simulations, and generate data visualizations.

Supervisor: Dr. M. Portillo

Beam line elements, such as dipoles and quadrupoles, are used extensively as beam line elements at FRIB and other beam facilities. Simulating beam transport with them requires a minimal set of parameters or field data to best emulate their electromagnetic fields in 3D space. The goal is often to minimize input parameters while keeping the accuracy of the field emulation at a high level. Analysis of magnetic field data is needed to optimize such parameters, along with verification that the emulated fields are within tolerance. The parameters are then applied to the beam simulation codes and used for improving beam performance of  beam lines. Although approximate methods can be used for many applications, it is useful to improve the accuracy of beam simulations to avoid use of correction factors and expensive machine learning computations. This project uses a set of tools that require some programming skills to process the field data to extract the necessary parameters. Both measured and simulated fields of existing magnets used in the FRIB Laboratory will be considered.