Cynthia E. Keppel is the Hall A and C Leader at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility and a Fellow of the

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of k ...

. Her research focuses on the quark-gluon structure of the nucleon, while also considering applications of nuclear physics in medicine. Previously, she was a founding member of the Hampton University Proton Therapy Institute.

Early life and education

Keppel earned her Bachelor of Arts degree at St. John's College in 1984. She spent a year teaching science at the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in

Fairfax County, Virginia Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria and Arlington County and forms part of the suburban ring of Washington, D.C. ...

. Keppel worked at the United States Naval Research Laboratory where she created an early computer generated film. She considered becoming a professional race car driver, and participated in

Sports Car Club of America The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) is a non-profit American automobile club and sanctioning body supporting road racing, rallying, and autocross in the United States. Formed in 1944, it runs many programs for both amateur and professional r ...

activities. She completed her graduate training at the

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in 1995. Her advisor was Ray Arnold at the

Stanford Linear Accelerator Center SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, originally named the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, is a United States Department of Energy National Laboratory operated by Stanford University under the programmatic direction of the U.S. Departme ...

. She then joined the

Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (TJNAF), commonly called Jefferson Lab or JLab, is a US National Laboratory located in Newport News, Virginia. Its stated mission is "to provide forefront scientific facilities, opportunities an ...

(CEBAF) to work in a joint position as a Staff Scientist and faculty member at

Hampton University Hampton University is a private, historically black, research university in Hampton, Virginia. Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missionary Association af ...

Research and career

Keppel has been with the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (Jefferson Lab, formerly CEBAF) in various capacities since 1995. Keppel performed electron scattering experiments to investigate the structure of protons and neutrons. In 2001 she founded the

Center for Advanced Medical Instrumentation, where scientists at Hampton and Jefferson Lab collaborated to bring technology developed for nuclear and particle physics to nuclear medicine applications. She was pivotal in launching the world's largest independent proton therapy facility, the Hampton University Proton Therapy Institute. She was awarded numerous grants, including a $1.3 million grant to improve breast cancer imaging and therapy. Shielded accelerated partial breast irradiation, a technology developed by Keppel and colleagues, makes post-surgical radiation more feasible for patients. Another of her patents was used in the OARtrac system, a machine which helps radiation oncologists monitor dose in therapy for cancer patients, which was awarded a Medical Device Breakthrough Award in 2018. In 2012 Keppel was named Leader of Experimental Hall A at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility., and soon after Leader of both Halls A and C. Keppel is Co-Spokesperson of the Coordinated Theoretical-Experimental Project on

Quantum Chromodynamics In theoretical physics, quantum chromodynamics (QCD) is the theory of the strong interaction between quarks mediated by gluons. Quarks are fundamental particles that make up composite hadrons such as the proton, neutron and pion. QCD is a type ...

(CTEQ). She has served on the National Nuclear Science Advisory Committee. Keppel was elected a Fellow of the

in 2018, "For leadership on novel experimental techniques to study strong interactions, her contributions to CTEQ from the perspective of Nuclear Physics, and her instrumental role in founding the Hampton University Proton Therapy Center and other work applying Nuclear Physics to Medicine." Keppel delivered the 2019

Distinguished Lectureship on the Applications of Physics. She was awarded the honour for "pioneering work in proton therapy and for the promotion of the applications of physics to both experts and non-experts". Alongside her academic work, Keppel has mentored high school teachers about Nuclear physics, and campaigned to bring recognition to African-American and Hispanic physicists. In 2019 Keppel gave a

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x talk in

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Awards and honours

Her awards and honours include; * 2000 VA Outstanding Faculty Award * 2010 Innovate Hampton Roads High Tech Leadership Award * 2011 Virginia Outstanding Scientist Award * 2016

Francis G. Slack Award * 2019

Forum on Industrial and Applied Physics Distinguished Lectureship Award * 2019 Alumni Association Award of Merit St. John's College Keppel holds several patents for radiation therapy and diagnostic imaging.

Personal life

Keppel is married with two sons and one daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keppel, Cynthia Living people Year of birth missing (living people) American nuclear physicists Women nuclear physicists Hampton University faculty American University alumni St. John's College (Annapolis/Santa Fe) alumni Fellows of the American Physical Society