Tengming Shen joined Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) in 2015. He is a staff scientist in the Superconducting Magnet Program in Berkeley Lab’s Accelerator Technology & Applied Physics Division, focusing on high-field superconductors and superconducting magnets. Tengming holds a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Florida State University and conducted his experimental work at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory. In 2012, he received a Department of Energy Early Career Research Program award for his work on high-field superconducting materials for frontier accelerator facilities and a Roger W. Boom Award from the Cryogenic Society of America in 2020.

What fueled your interest in particle accelerators and their applications?

Since high school, I have been fascinated by the physical sciences and engineering. After completing my doctoral studies in superconductivity, I accepted a Peoples Fellowship and an Associated Scientist position at Fermilab, where I focused on advancing particle accelerator and superconducting magnet technologies.

Tengming Shen and Laura Laura Garcia Fajardo work on a new high-temperature magnet design at the Superconducting magnet fabrication facility at Berkeley Lab. (Credit: Thor Swift/Berkeley Lab)

While at Fermilab, my three-month-old son needed a laparoscopic procedure, which was made possible by advanced medical imaging, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MRI scanners operate using radio-frequency coil technology and superconducting magnets that emerged from the development of Fermilab’s Tevatron, the first large-scale application of superconductivity. Without these advances in medical treatment, my son could have died.

I have become increasingly fascinated by the profound changes that particle accelerators can bring to other fields, such as medical technologies, to enhance the quality of human life.

What attracted you to join ATAP’s Superconducting Magnet Program (SMP)?

The SMP boasts a strong team culture, talented individuals, and world-class scientists engaged in cutting-edge research at state-of-the-art facilities. I also like that the SMP has a strong R&D program in superconductor and magnet development for high-energy physics programs and balances it with a portfolio of projects supporting DOE’s missions in basic energy science, fusion energy science, nuclear physics, and medical applications. Additionally, the Bay Area offers a beautiful living environment with an excellent climate.

How have you found working at the Lab, and what research are you working on?

Working at the Lab is very rewarding. Currently, I am the principal investigator in a national collaboration involving national labs, Florida State University, and industry to enhance the industrial production of Bi-2212, a high-temperature and high-field superconducting wire, and the coordinator of the Bi-2212 working group for the U.S. Magnet Development Program.

I have also broadened my focus on high-temperature superconductors and magnets to include designing and constructing unique low-temperature superconducting magnets utilizing niobium-titanium (Nb-Ti) and niobium-tin (Nb₃Sn) technologies. I lead a project to develop a Nb₃Sn-based electron cyclotron resonance ion source for Michigan State University’s Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB), the world’s most powerful heavy-ion accelerator. Working alongside the FRIB team, we are designing two large-aperture quadrupole Nb-Ti superconducting magnets for a high-rigidity spectrometer project to upgrade the FRIB.

These projects have allowed me to collaborate with many talented colleagues, including scientists, engineers, technicians, early-career scientists, postdocs, and students, which I find very enjoyable.

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