Pick a link to jump to more information:

• A bit about me
• Leidos (formally SAIC) – where I work
• The CNA Corporation (where I used work)
• Particle physics and my Ph.D. research
• Physics and Star Trek (one of my pastimes).
• Take a quick poll about the purpose of government in the U.S.

You can also search my sight or the web:

Academic/Professional:  

In the summer of 2001 I finished my Ph.D. in particle physics from Purdue University; though I performed my research stationed at Cornell University's particle accelerator facility (see below).  After a temporary postdoc position, I accepted a job as a Research Analyst at The CNA Corporation in November of 2001, moving to the Washington, D.C. area.

In June of 2004, CNA sent me on a much-desired field assignment (typically two to three years in duration) at Eglin Air Force Base. The family and I moved to Fort Walton Beach, Florida, putting us much closer to "home" (Mobile, AL).

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At Eglin, I worked for a United States Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM) organization known as the Joint Combat Identification Evaluation Team (JCIET). In 2005, that organization merged with another to form the Joint Fires Integration and Interoperability Team (JFIIT--pronounced "Jay-Fit"). With the disestablishment of USJFCOM in 2011, JFIIT transitioned to become a new, leaner organization called the Joint Deployable Analysis Team (JDAT), a division now under the Joint Staff J6's Deputy Director, Command, Control, Communications, and Computers (DD C4),

While I thoroughly enjoyed working for CNAC, my family and I wanted to stay in the Fort Walton Beach area on a more permanent basis. Scientific Applications International Corporation (SAIC) made me a generous offer that allowed me to keep working at JFIIT doing the same kind of work, sitting at the same desk, but in a long-term position. In October of 2005, I accepted their offer and became a Senior Systems Integration Analyst for SAIC. In 2013, SAIC split into two companies with its national security, health, and engineering expertise forming a new company named Leidos, for whom I currently work as a Lead Analyst with JDAT.

To find out more about the place I work and what I do, see the Leidos section and the JDAT information provided below. In case anyone is interested in CNAC, I left in a section about it. More information concerning my thesis research can also be found below, and if you like, you can read my (old) curriculum vita.

On a Personal Note:  

Wife and Kids:  

On November 4, 2002 we were blessed with the birth of our second child, William Lee Hinson, who is named after grandfathers on both sides of our family. My apologies for not even having a web page set up for him yet, but you know how it goes.

Contact info:  

Work:       Joint Deployable Analysis Team (JDAT)    Phone: (850)882-6700x7517
            104 Biscayne Rd., Bldg. 637              Fax: (850)882-8467
            Eglin AFB, FL 32542-5310

E-mail:     jason.w.hinson7.ctr[at]mail.mil (work)
            hinson[at]physicsguy.com (personal)
            (Convert [at] to the @ symbol before sending)
            

What is Leidos:  

In 2013, Scientific Applications International Corporation (SAIC) split into two companies with its national security, health, and engineering expertise forming a new company named Leidos. As stated on our website:

For more than 40 years we have been tackling some of the biggest problems that face our nation and our world.

A FORTUNE 500® company, we bring a mix of innovative technology and sector expertise to customers in national security, engineering, and health.

Our approach is holistic, looking at all the interconnected complexities of a problem. Our brand of science is collaborative, with knowledge shared across disciplines. And our focus is always on making the real world better.

For me, Leidos (as SAIC) was the right company at the right place and at the right time. They offered me just the position I needed when I needed it, for which I am very grateful. My fellow Leidos colleagues working at JDAT (see below) are a dedicated, hard-working bunch and a pleasure to work with. Specificallly, we work for Leidos's Technology Services company, which provides JDAT with the majority of its contract work.

For more information about Leidos, check out our website.

What is JDAT:  

For more specific information about the Joint Deployable Analysis Team (JDAT), check out this JDAT information page.

What About Physics:  

You may be asking why I'm working outside of the field of particle physics (in which I received my Ph.D). First, let me note that I'm very happy I chose to study in the field of High Energy Physics. I wouldn't have had it any other way, and I'll always be a physicist at heart! There are still some interesting uncovered pieces to research in particle physics; however, for reasons I won't get into here, the day-to-day study of the field has lost a little something for me. I can't help but think that the field is ripe for some major unrealized discovery or some totally new way of looking at things, but I can't hang my hat on wishful thinking. In the end, I wanted to move on to something more part of the "real" world.

SO, while I was offered a position that would have let me work at both Fermi National Lab and CERN, I instead decided to accept a position outside of the field where I felt I could have some actual impact on the real world (not to mention providing a better standard of living for my growing family).

Just to let you know, many people in particle physics do end up leaving the field to work in a wide variety of jobs, from medical imaging to financial analysis. The research you do in physics provides you with a lot of skills and basic know-how, and many companies have come to realize that physics Ph.D.'s have a lot to offer.

Why a CNAC Section:  

As I noted above, I enjoyed my time with CNAC, and since I noticed a few people coming to my sight after specifically searching for CNAC information, I thought I'd leave in a section about it for anyone who is interested. So, here ya go...

What is CNAC:  

The CNA Corporation (CNAC) is basically a government sponsored think-tank named for the larger of its two divisions, the Center for Naval Analysis (its other division being the Institute for Public Research). The Center for Naval Analysis is, specifically, a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) that's been providing the US Navy and Marine Corp with vital, independent, full-service research and analysis since its creation in 1942. Through the Institute for Public Research, CNAC provides services for civil and international clients outside of the corporation's military contracts.

For more specific information about what they do, check out CNAC's website.

Why work at CNAC:  

CNAC offers a wide range of research opportunities and a stimulating work environment. In 2001 it was chosen as one of the top 50 places to work in the Washington, D.C. region. Almost all the analysts CNAC hires have advanced degrees, and two-thirds hold Ph.D.'s. Basically, they value people who can think and reason through complicated research and analysis problems, and they provide a place where your work can actually make a difference.

CNAC also believes strongly in the importance of field work. Most analysts at CNAC eventually take a field billet where they are usually stationed at a Navy or Marine base four two to three years (or some deploy with a carrier strike group for 6 months). CNAC's people are on Navy ships and with US Marines during many operations they undertake.

I worked for CNAC for nearly four years. During that time I did interesting analytical work for the FAA, the (then) INS, the Navy, and Joint Forces Command. In one exercise I spent several thrilling days on the U.S.S. Nimitz nuclear aircraft carrier, and in another I took a flight in a Huey helicopter to survey parts of the south-west border. The work itself was interesting and analytically challenging.

In short, I really loved my time at CNAC and recommend it for anyone qualified and interested in that line of work.

General:  

An Adventure:  

CESR/CLEO:  

My Thesis:  

One of the most interesting aspects of the work was that it allowed me to place a measured limit on the average mass of the up and down quarks (those are the quarks that make up protons and neutrons). These are the least-well measured of the quark masses, and the measurement produced some interesting and somewhat controversial results.

If you would like to reading over my thesis, I've made it available in two different formats.  Just click on a link below (but be warned, it's somewhat long with about 275 pages in total):

• PDF (11.8 MB): Read with the free Adobe Acrobat Reader (for Mac, Windows, UNIX, etc) on PC and with Adobe Reader's Android & iOS apps on mobile devices.
• Postscript (8.9 MB): Ready to be printed on most PostScript-ready printers (laser printers).

Publications:  

Treknobabble or what?  

No, this isn't a link to everything you wanted to know about the technobabble on Star Trek. What I have done is taken bits of what we know about physics today and applied it to some concepts used in science fiction (mainly Star Trek). This is simply a pastime that I delved into a few years back, and I provide a link here for anyone interested.

The link and info:  

I'll let you jump to

What do you think?  

I decided to try out a free service that lets you design a poll for the web. I put this poll together concerning what people think the proper roll of government should be in the U.S.--just to see what sort of responses I might get from people visiting my web page. Feel free to take the poll and/or make comments on the results page.