REU Site: Physics Research in the Nation's Capital

Catholic University Of America, Washington DC

Investigators

Abstract

This award supports the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site in Physics at the Catholic University of America (CUA). The REU site will host eight undergraduate students per year, who will spend ten weeks during the summer engaged in research topics in physics, mathematics, and engineering. The main goal of our program is to reach out to and engage young undergraduate students - who would otherwise not have the opportunity - in cutting-edge research at the exciting interface between basic research in nuclear and particle physics and applied science leveraging cutting-edge algorithmic advancements. Through guided mentorship by faculty members and interactions with other undergraduates, graduate students, and postdocs, undergraduates will gain hands-on laboratory experience and practical problem-solving skills in the context of scientific research by participating in real-life physics research. The program offers seminars on a wide variety of subjects, e.g., skill development, learning reinforcement, and the path to becoming a researcher including graduate school and careers in academia and beyond, and aims to recruit educate, and retain the next generation of scientists and engineers. Sophisticated detectors and instruments using nuclear physics principles are all around us and used in everyday life including MRIs (proton spin) in medical applications and gamma ray detectors in oil well logging. Instrumentation initiatives thus provide a unique education and training environment for attracting undergraduate students into the field. This REU program includes advanced nuclear physics detector design and construction that offer undergraduates meaningful engagement in state-of-the-art research projects that can be approached and explored in a short period. Research topics include nuclear and particle physics experiments, data analyses, artificial intelligence for detector design, investigating particle identification and novel focusing lenses for particle detectors, and detector construction projects that are carried out on campus. CUA has a unique position because of its proximity to and collaborations with flagship national laboratories and strong expertise in materials. The REU program will build on CUA's demonstrated experience of the mutually beneficial involvement of undergraduate students in cutting edge research projects, including some that have led to the successful construction of detectors. Students will have the opportunity to give oral presentations and participate in a poster session on the final day of the program, and funding will be provided to all students to subsequently present their work at a relevant national or regional conference. 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.