[Moller] Transitioning from MOLLER to EIC

[James Fast]

Dear MOLLER collaborators,
Many of you may have seen the recent announcement from Stuart that I will be transitioning from MOLLER to lead the JLab EIC effort. The date is TBD when I officially start as EIC PM and when I step down as MOLLER PM and there may be an overlapping period where I wear both hats.

I want to share that this was not an easy decision for me. When Stuart first reached out to me asking that I consider this new role I was both honored and reluctant. At this point in my career I am not looking for “the next big thing” to take on and was happily looking forward to leading MOLLER through construction to CD-4.  But I do feel a sense of service and responsibility to the lab and the community and ultimately was convinced to apply for the EIC job. From my first conversation with Stuart, I made it clear that my priority was ensuring MOLLER is successful and that the EIC PM role was a non-starter if we could not ensure a smooth and successful transition. Obviously given the situation today, I am convinced that will be the case.

In the near term I will be starting to attend various EIC meetings and will of necessity ramp down some of my engagement in MOLLER technical meetings.  I will continue to lead the MOLLER management, including getting the project over the finish line with CD-3A at the end of March and our preparations for CD-2/3.  I do anticipate that the new PM will be at the helm and up to speed to guide the project through the CD-2/3 Director’s Review in August and IPR in October.

On a more personal note, it has been a great pleasure working with the entire MOLLER team – project and collaboration.  It is unusual to have the close working relationship between the scientific and engineering sides that MOLLER has. There is a great team of scientists, engineers, postdocs and students all working together.  There has been a tremendous amount of progress made these past 2 years. Funding is secure. Three new CAMs have been hired and are coming up to speed. The division is supporting an aggressive hiring strategy for technical labor to ensure MOLLER can be assembled and put on the floor in Hall A in a timely manner. And funding continues to be put in to project dependencies to ensure everything is in place to deliver parity quality beam and beam diagnostics for MOLLER – notably this year a large infusion to support the diamond sensor readout development for the Compton polarimeters in both Hall A and C. For all intents and purposes the project and the experiment are ballistic now.

Finally, I want to assure everyone that I am not disappearing with the flip of a switch.  I will still be here at JLab, just down the hall or at the other end of Teams or Zoom when any questions come up, much like I have been these past two years for the project I left at PNNL.  You may even see me on the other side of the table at a Director’s Review or doing practice CAM drill downs or some other prep for reviews!  I also hope to remain engaged as a collaborator so I can in some part see MOLLER through to a successful physics outcome.

Regards,
Jim


James Fast
MOLLER Project Manager
Jefferson Lab
757-230-6833 (cell)
757-269-5324 (office)

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