IRES: U.S.-European International Research Experience-Particle Astrophysics for Undergraduates

University Of Wisconsin-River Falls, River Falls WI

Investigators

Abstract

Over three summers, this International Research Experience for Students (IRES) effort, led by the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, will provide a total of 18 ten-week research experiences for U.S. undergraduates in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields at partner universities in Belgium, Sweden, and Germany. The European host universities are members of the IceCube Collaboration, which consists of 42 institutions and organizations that work together on the scientific aspects of the IceCube Neutrino Observatory located in Antarctica the South Pole. This observatory is a cubic kilometer of instrumented ice between 1450 and 2450 meters below the surface of the ice sheet. Together, students' guided research experiences will contribute to the broader study of particle astrophysics. At the same time, each participant will gain a beneficial professional introduction to leveraged, large scale, virtual and direct international cooperative research and instrumentation. The U.S. students selected by the University of Wisconsin-River Falls to participate in this IRES will have access to significant European experimental and theoretical expertise and be able to utilize hardware and software resources located at designated IceCube Collaboration member universities in Brussels, Stockholm, Bonn or Bochum. Prior to research abroad, students first participate in a science and software boot camp at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to ensure appropriate knowledge of IceCube Neutrino Observatory topics and data protocols. Identified topics for further exploration at the European labs include multimessenger astronomy, high-energy cosmic-ray composition and energy spectrum, neutrino oscillations, cosmic-ray anisotropy, point source searches, and indirect searches for dark matter, among others. For broader impact, targeted recruiting efforts and existing institutional networks will ensure that at least one third of the students (six) come from two-year colleges or are participants in the well-established McNair program, which prepares low-income, first-generation and/or underrepresented U.S. undergraduate students for success in doctoral STEM programs. Complementing their early career international research experience, participants will receive mentoring on effective public presentations, including understanding and explaining the interdependence of science and technology and how fundamental research results can lead to innovations while opening new avenues of scientific discovery.