Kellen McGee, a former graduate research assistant at FRIB, has earned the 2024 Particle Accelerator Science and Technology (PAST) Doctoral Student Award. This is the first time a Michigan State University (MSU) student has received this award.
Presenting the PAST Doctoral Student Award is the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society. An individual receives this award if their doctoral thesis demonstrates significant technical contributions to the particle accelerator science and technology field. McGee earned the award for her experimental work with novel medium-velocity sub-gigahertz superconducting resonators. These resonators are crucial for continuous-wave operation in hadron linear accelerators (linacs).
While at FRIB, McGee’s focus was on optimizing 644 MHz 5-cell elliptical superconducting radio frequency (SRF) cavities for the FRIB400 upgrade.
“Her thesis work was to improve the performance of superconducting cavities for FRIB400 and similar applications and eventually reduce the cost of such facilities,” said Peter Ostroumov, professor of physics at FRIB and in MSU’s Department of Physics and Astronomy and associate director of the FRIB Accelerator Systems Division.
McGee’s research explored nitrogen N-doping properties in a sub-GHz frequency cavity required for heavy-ion acceleration. Ostroumov said it is intriguing both from a fundamental physics perspective and from the standpoint of maturing the technology for use in an entire production run for a real-world machine.
“Her highly creative and hard work resulted in setting a world-record quality factor for a cavity at the FRIB400 operating gradient,” Ostroumov said.
McGee is now an engineering physicist II at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab), where she spent time during her graduate studies. She is continuing her work in SRF cavity development. McGee credits MSU and FRIB for preparing her to be a leader in machine construction and commissioning.
“I chose MSU/FRIB for the very unique opportunity to not only study accelerator physics, but to do so in the midst of a facility that was building and commissioning a world-leading superconducting linear accelerator from the ground up,” she said. “Since MSU/FRIB developed the infrastructure to undertake nearly all parts of the construction process, from radio-frequency cavity chemical processing and testing, to full cryomodule assembly and ultimately linac commissioning, I had the rare but incredible opportunity to witness and learn from each of these steps firsthand.”
FRIB provides students with a valuable perspective on machine design, construction, and commissioning. This prepares them to lead upcoming major construction projects, like CERN's Future Circular Collider (FCC-ee). Other projects include the Proton Improvement Plan II (PIP-II) and subsequent accelerator complex upgrades at Fermilab. Students may also be involved in potential future upgrades to FRIB.
McGee will receive the award at the 2024 International Particle Accelerator Conference, 19-24 May, in Nashville, Tennessee.
Michigan State University (MSU) operates the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) as a user facility for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science (DOE-SC), supporting the mission of the DOE-SC Office of Nuclear Physics. User facility operation is supported by the DOE-SC Office of Nuclear Physics as one of 28 DOE-SC user facilities.
The U.S. Department of Energy 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 today’s most pressing challenges. For more information, visit energy.gov/science.