REU@ND A template for ARUNA Labs Umesh Garg University of Notre Dame

1. REU@ND A template for ARUNA Labs Umesh Garg University of Notre Dame Supported by the National Science Foundation ARUNA, June 12, 2014

2. REU@ND • Since 1985 (NSF funded since 1987) • ~500 students so far • grown from 10 to ~25 students/year • [34 in 2014!]

3. During 2006-2010 • (the last proposal period) • 104 participants • 40% women • 20% under-represented minorities • 70% from “non-research” colleges • >80% to graduate school • >40 publications/presentations at • scientific meetings

4. Philosophy • Integrated/holistic approach to • development of students as researchers • Provide awareness and understanding • of “hands-on” research • Provide “realistic” perspective of what a • graduate career might entail • Make it “fun” • Working in a research community • REU, RET, REHS, Grad Stu., Postdocs, Faculty • How does one “do” research?

5. Features of the ND Program • “Real” research projects with active • research groups • >30 faculty involved • Variety of projects in different areas • Astronomy and Astrophysics, Biophysics, • Condensed Matter Physics, Cosmology. • High Energy Physics, Nuclear Physics, • Physics Education

6. “Match” between student interest/skills • and project requirements • - setting up and participating in • experiments • - equipment design/construction/testing • - simulations/computer applications • - data analysis

7. Research Logbook • Weekly lunch seminars • Ethics Workshops • Graduate School Admission Workshop • Field Trips– Fermi Lab and NSCL • Research Report • REU Symposium

8. International experience • Japan, France, Switzerland • Obesrvatories (VATT and LBT) • National Labs. • (Argonne, Berkeley, NIST, Oak Ridge) • “Optional” • Machine Shop Course • Advanced Computer Programming

9. Other activities • “Weekly” suppers • Lunch with Director in small groups • Group outings, sports, movies, karaoke, • cookouts, putt-putt, whitewater rafting • Lake Michigan and Indiana Dunes • Grand Indian Dinner!

10. NSL has been a major attraction and contributor to the success of our program typically 6-7 students in the lab. [this year 15!] variety of “hands on” projects available in the lab. (students like the idea of being involved in different aspects of “experimental nuclear physics”)

11. Valarie Gray (St. Norbert College) worked on a project to integrate a cosmic ray veto detector into an existing setup in the Nuclear Science Laboratory.  This project involved the design and construction of the support structure for the 3m x 3m detector, Monte Carlo simulations of the setup using GEANT4, and testing of the setup. This new setup helped to reduce the high-energy background seen in gamma detectors due to cosmic rays. Being used with GEORGINA.  [Prof. M. Wiescher] Omar Mangaña (St. Mary’s Univ. of Texas) worked on re-building the low-level background g-activity counter at the Nuclear Science Laboratory. This was motivated by the re-measurement of the half-life of the astrophysically important 60Fe isotope that is currently being performed. In order to allow for a high sensitivity measurement of the 60Fe, a reduction of the background level was deemed necessary. Using high purity copper in combination with “old” lead bricks, and careful reconstruction of the counting station in combination with constant monitoring of the background activity in all construction phases, we hope to reduce the background by at least a factor of 2. [Prof. P. Collon]

12. Patrick Copp (Univ. of Wisconsin, La Crosse) participated in a series of nuclear physics experiments aimed at the study of a-cluster levels in 12C, 16O, and 20Ne. His major contribution was on the setup of the experiments. This included mounting and aligning of the target chamber and collimating system, testing the vacuum, making small mechanical parts, and setting up a neutron-detector array. As another part of his tasks, he measured the thickness of the targets used in the experiments by use of an a source. [Prof. A. Aprahamian] Alex Moncion (Florida Int. Univ.) worked on the 12C+12C fusion cross-section measurement by gamma detection technique. In this project, he has learned the principles of the working of a Ge detector. He also calibrated the energy and efficiency of the Ge detector. As a next step, he determined the cross section for the 12C+12C fusion reaction that has been measured using the Notre Dame FN tandem accelerator. [Prof. X. Tang]

13. Nathan Smith (Indiana Univ. South Bend) developed a GEANT4 simulation of a time-of-flight mass spectrometer to be used with the St. George recoil mass separator. The simulation allowed for evaluation of the advantages of using a position sensitive transmission detector (thin foil plus microchannel plate detector) and stopping detector (a silicon detector). Nathan also commissioned a dedicated NSCL data acquisition system for use with the St. George detectors, preparing configuration files for a two-parameter measurement of a energy and time-of-flight with the existing prototype detector. [Prof. J. Hinnefeld, IUSB] Ke Cai (Bard College) worked on the generalized seniority truncation scheme for the nuclear shell model, which provides a bridge between the shell model and the phenomenologically-successful interacting boson model. She has developed, from scratch, an extensive library of C++ routines which will make possible systematic use of a new set of recurrence relations for the matrix elements and overlaps of the nonorthonormal generalized seniority basis states. [Prof. M. Caprio]

14. “After my (REU) experience at Notre Dame I fell in love with nuclear physics….I felt the size of the research groups, the detection systems used, and the hands-on environment were exactly what I was looking for.” -Rhiannon Meharchand (FSU) REU@ND2005 Luise Meyer-Schutzmeister Memorial Award 2010