Undergraduate research in Particle, Nuclear and Accelerator Physics

Wayne State University, Detroit MI

Investigators

Abstract

Wayne State University has an REU program to bring disadvantaged students from the Detroit Metro Area to national laboratories over the summer. In this proposal we will bring six students to the LNS laboratory at Cornell University and four students to the BNL laboratory in Long Island, NY. WSU provides a uniquely diverse group of students, largely from underrepresented segments of society. The recruiting and preparation phase provides the students with intensive faculty interaction, encouragement, and an effort to make sure that the student needs are met. The program consists of a preparation phase involving a one-hour course given over the winter to students and prospective teacher participants (14 hours total). The course introduces the students and teachers to the physical and mathematical concepts relevant for the summer experience. The course also provides an introduction to the computing environment of a large experiment, and a computer homework, which requires the students to write and understand simple programs, produce some graphic output, and write their own web page within a Unix environment. Faculties travel with the students to Cornell and Brookhaven in early June to help them get settled and started. They merge with existing REU programs at Brookhaven and Cornell for social activities, and lectures on various scientific topics.