Either way, if you're finished in half a year, it's exceptional. Some people believe that, as the millennium draws to an end, most major scientific discoveries have been made. What science remains is therefore simply a matter of filling in details. Most physicists, however, dispute this view. JLab chief scientist and Theory Group head Nathan Isgur believes many gaps remain in researchers' understanding of Nature's fundamental workings.
Nuclear physics is still a black box.
What we're doing at JLab is opening up the black box and figuring out what's inside and how what's inside works. A deeper understanding of the physical makeup of the world usually brings practical benefits. When we find them the equations for electromagnetism, for example understanding starts pouring out. That which is unconnected is connected. There is no guarantee that every experiment will lead to satisfying results.