Eliane Schnirman Lessner

(630) 252-4911 (office)
(773) 935-9094 (home)
esl (at) phy.anl.gov

Dr. Lessner is a physicist with extensive experience in the physics and technology of particle acceleration systems. For the past fifteen years she has worked in the design and maintenance of electron and heavy-ion linear accelerators, proton synchrotrons, and X-ray sources. She did her thesis in General Relativity at the University of Chicago and complete coursework for the Doctor of Philosophy degree at Syracuse University. Her research focuses on particle beam dynamics, in particular on single- and multiple-particle-beam effects, derivation of analytical models and algorithms, optimization of design parameters for future accelerators, and solutions to design-performance deviations in existing accelerators. She also conducted fault analysis, and leaded the Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and Reliability, Availability, and Maintainability (RAM) project for the Rare Isotope Accelerator (RIA) facility.

Experience

Physicist October 2002 – September 2005
Physics Division, Argonne National Laboratory

Conducted RAMI & FMEA studies for the RIA facility, using both hardware and functional approaches to identify the most probable failure modes and investigate effects of failure on performance. Demonstrated that, with appropriate design redundancy and superconducting properties of the machine elements, RIA can achieve a high availability of ~ 95%. Results will be used as part of an iterative process to optimize the driver linac design for cost and technical performance.

Designed an algorithm for multiple-charge-state-beam steering in heavy-ion linacs that obeys lattice restrictions imposed by multiple-charge-state acceleration, and is suitable for experimental implementation. The algorithm is fully four-dimensional, corrects position and slope, takes into consideration the strong coupling introduced by steering solenoids, and is fully implemented into Argonne’s TRACK simulation code.

Accelerator Physicist February 1990 – October 2002
Accelerator Systems Division, Argonne National Laboratory

Contributed extensively to the design of the Intense Pulsed Neutron Source Upgrade. Designed a minimum-loss capture and acceleration program for high-current proton beams that includes space-charge effects. Wrote code to simulate tracking of high-intensity beams. Code is used in the Intense Pulsed Neutron Source at Argonne and was used as a benchmark code at the Spallation Neutron Source facility.

Modeled single-particle and collective effects in electron beams. Analyzed and developed corrective methods for high-current-field effects in the Low Energy Undulator Test Line (LEUTL). Following a dynamic-aperture-reduction criterion established a tolerance budget for component misalignments and construction errors in the Advanced Photon Source (APS).
Principal Co-Investigator of a Laboratory Director Research and Development (LDRD) three-year project for the design of a high-yield slow-positron source. Optimized design of a multi-component target achieving maximum positron yield.

Scientific Programmer November 1984 - February1990
Physics Software Projects Group, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory

Responsible for developing software useful to the high-energy-physics community, and consulting on mathematical and statistical problems. Implemented interface of the minimization code MINUIT to PAW, an interactive graphical data analysis program developed at CERN. Developed a back-propagation neural-network program for particle tracking in straw-chambers trigger system. Designed and implemented a utility to dump, analyze, and map magnetic field data.

Previous Experience

Investigated effects of long-wavelength electromagnetic fields. Devised method to simulate very-short-wavelength fields with computationally economic grids. Applied inverse-scattering methods and signal processing techniques to geophysical data.

Education

Ph. D. in Physics
University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois. Work on the doctoral thesis “Conserved Quantities Associated with the Bel-Robinson Tensor”.
Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York. Coursework for doctorate in physics.

MSc. in Physics
Brazilian Center for Physics Research (CBPF), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

BSc.
Parana University, Parana, Brazil.

Professional Activities, Honors, and Awards

Strong advocate of networking and support of diversity at Argonne National Laboratory.
Member elect of Argonne’s Women and Science and Technology (WIST) Steering Committee. Facilitate communication among women within the Laboratory and between women and management. Serve on professional and career development, communications, and outreach subcommittees and activities.
Initiator of First Friday Forum meetings. Planned, organized, and led monthly Laboratory-wide meetings addressing scientific and technical issues of particular interests to the scientific & technical (S&T) women.

Brazilian National Research Council Scholarship for Advanced Studies.
Gold Medal for Academic Excellence, Parana University, Brazil.

Selected Publications

E. S. Lessner “Development and Application of Steering Algorithms for Multiple-Charge State Beams in Linear Accelerators,” to be submitted to Physics Review Special Topics.
E. S. Lessner and P. N. Ostroumov, “Availability and Reliability in a High-Intensity Linear Accelerator,” 34th International. Comm. Future Accel. Advanced Beam Dynamics Proceedings (2005).
S. V. Milton et al, “Observation of Self-Amplified Spontaneous Emission and Exponential Growth at 530nm,” Physical Review Letters, Vol. 85, No 5, pp. 988 (2000).
Marion M. White and Eliane S. Lessner, “A Low-Neutron Background Slow-Positron Source,” Applied Surface Science 149, pp. 20-23 (1999).
E. Lessner, Y. Cho, K. Harkay, and K. Symon, “Longitudinal Tracking Studies for a High Intensity Proton Synchrotron,” AIP Conference Proceedings 377, pp. 375-390 (1996).
E. Lessner, “Weighted Fit of Parametric Functions to Distributions. The New Interface of HBOOK and MINUIT,” Computer Physics Communications 57, pp. 385-389 (1989).