Inside The Innovations

Elisa Gillespie

Elisa Gillespie

Control Room Shift Supervisor

Spallation Neutron Source

Elisa Gillespie is a Control Room Shift Supervisor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Neutron Sciences Directorate. She enjoys fly fishing, training for her private pilot’s license, and singing in the cover band “Uptown Moonlighting.” Elisa has been at the lab since 2007.

My primary responsibility is to make sure the beamline is up and running for users. If there is a problem, I coordinate with different groups to address the problem quickly. We don’t want to lose beamtime, but more importantly we don’t want any of our researchers or staff to get hurt. I carefully look at the situation to make sure there aren’t any potential hazards for people trying to fix a problem with the beam.”

“Doing this job well means being a jack of all trades. You have to know how to read trends, respond to events very fast, and be familiar with numerous safety protocols and procedures. But I’m not alone. I work with an outstanding crew, and together we help give the world unparalleled access to neutron scattering.”

–Elisa Gillespie