REU Site: Undergraduate and teacher research in physics at Northern Illinois University

Northern Illinois University, Dekalb IL

Investigators

Abstract

This award funds a new Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) and Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) site at the Department of Physics of Northern Illinois University (NIU). Research topics will focus on particle physics, beams and accelerator physics, and condensed matter physics. Students will work on cutting-edge research and will receive lectures on numerous topics, including how to get started on their research, the usefulness of a degree in physics, the long path towards attending graduate school, and other options for fruitful careers after graduation. The program will take advantage of the proximity of the NIU to nearby national labs, with several students working a few days a week at Fermilab, and all students taking tours and trips to visit both Fermilab as well as Argonne. Building on NIU's strong physics and science teacher certification program, the RET component will allow local teachers to experience real physics research and participate in lectures and programs that aim to disrupt and disperse the roadblocks that women and minorities face in the pipeline towards careers in STEM fields. The research topics for this proposal fall into three broad categories: 1) particle physics,2) accelerator and beams physics, and 3) materials and condensed matter physics. The particle and beams and accelerator physics research topics for this proposal will be based in NIU's Northern Illinois Center for Accelerator and Detector Development (NICADD), which hosts the University's accelerator, detector and particle physics research programs. Students will be housed on campus, and their work will be based primarily at the department, though some participants working in beams physics or particle physics may work a few days a week at Fermilab, depending on their research topics. Teachers in the program, who are more likely to have their own transportation and families to attend to, will have the option of working on campus or at Fermilab. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.