The University of Regina's physics department will host a public presentation by Dr. Hugh Montgomery, director of the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (known as the Jefferson Lab) in Newport News, Virginia.

Montgomery's presentation is entitled "Jefferson Lab - Science to Society" and will look at how scientific developments at the lab impact society as a whole. He will speak on Thursday, Dec. 9, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. in room 112 of the Classroom building at the University of Regina.

An internationally-recognized particle physicist, Montgomery began his career in 1972 as a research associate at the Daresbury Laboratory and Rutherford High Energy Laboratory in Great Britain. During his career he also worked in Switzerland and the United States and joined the Jefferson Lab in 2008. His research focuses on expanding the understanding of the fundamental components of our universe and how they interact.

The Jefferson Lab, a premier nuclear physics laboratory, has unique facilities that attract users from around the world. The University of Regina is part of a $310 million project at Jefferson Lab researching how matter is held together. Physicists theorize about how matter binds but it's hoped new research - called the GlueX experiment - will be able to test the theories. There are 16 international research teams involved in the project. The University of Regina, Indiana University and Carnegie Mellon University have leading roles.

Part of the project - a barrel calorimeter, which measures energy - is being constructed at the University of Regina. The calorimeter measures the energy and timing of particles that pass through it, which may help physicists learn more about protons and neutrons and how they are bound together. Dr. George Lolos is deputy spokesman of the experiment and Dr. Zisis Papandreou of the Department of Physics is chair of the Collaboration Board.

For more information contact Dr. Zisis Papandreou, Department of Physics, 585-4149 (office), or 596-7775 (cell) or http://web.me.com/zisis/professional/