About SURA
The Science of Collaborative Research
SURA’s main purpose is to foster collaboration among member universities to enhance their capabilities of undertaking significant, transformative scientific research projects that no single institution or small consortium can handle independently. We are driven to promote and support scientific discovery that pushes the frontiers of knowledge and impacts lives and communities, while supporting a public service model that keeps our nation’s best interests in mind and contributes to the greater good.
History
The Southeastern Universities Research Association (SURA) was established in 1980 by a small group of research universities to bid on the construction and operation of a national Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF). SURA and its 23 member universities were subsequently selected by a joint Department of Energy-National Science Foundation committee to design, build, and operate what the Washington Post described in 1983 as “the most advanced experimental nuclear physics facility in the world.”
Today, SURA consists of 57 member universities and CEBAF is now known as the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (Jefferson Lab). SURA continues to operate the Jefferson Lab for the U.S. Department of Energy through Jefferson Science Associates, LLC. SURA also operates the SURA Residence Facility, guest house to accommodate national and international researchers who come to use Jefferson Lab’s unique facilities. SURA’s intramural research activities are collaborations with its member institutions, government agencies, and other researchers working to advance and exploit the transformative nature of information technology on the regional, national, and international fronts, and facilitating a better understanding of coastal, ocean and environmental phenomena that plays a prominent role in our lives.