RUI: Fundamental and Applied Nuclear Physics with Undergraduates

美国国家科学基金会(National Science Foundation)向希望学院核能集团(由Paul DeYoung博士和Graham Peaslee博士领导)颁发了本科院校研究(RUI)补助金，以支持未来三年的各种本科生研究项目。研究活动将集中在理解远离稳定性的不稳定核的性质，这对于理解基本核力、模拟超新星中重元素的形成以及检验各种核理论和模型都是必不可少的。此外，我们将开发核物理技术在其他科学领域问题上的新应用，这可能会在这些领域产生有价值的新科学信息。让本科生参与所有这些努力会引导他们，让他们兴奋，并为研究生工作做好巨大的准备。具体地说，希望学院核集团目前正计划表征几个放射性原子核的结构，包括16Be、13Li、5H和9C。这些研究将在国家超导回旋加速器的模块化中子阵列(MONA)和诺特雷登大学的ND中子壁上进行。在霍普大学离子束分析实验室，核小组将使用核散射和x射线光谱以及加速器和探测器技术来确定金属蛋白质的化学计量，表征玻璃的微量元素成分，并确定沙粒的地质来源。卢瑟福背散射还将用于表征电聚合物，并对凝胶中的蛋白质碎片进行现场测量。本科生将参与实验的各个方面：计划、探测器开发、实验设置、数据获取、分析和传播。这笔赠款还将为博士后助理提供支持，作为培养未来研究人员的试验努力的一部分，这些研究人员可以有效地让本科生参与到初级本科院校的设置中来。**

A Research in Undergraduate Institutions (RUI) grant has been awarded to theHope College Nuclear Group (under the direction of Dr. Paul DeYoung and Dr.Graham Peaslee) by the National Science Foundation to support a variety ofundergraduate research projects for the next three years. The researchactivities will center on understanding the properties of unstable nuclei farfrom stability, which are essential for understanding the fundamental nuclearforce, modeling the formation of heavy elements in supernovae, and testing awide variety of nuclear theories and models. In addition, we will bedeveloping novel applications of nuclear physics techniques to questions inother scientific fields, which can lead to valuable new scientific informationin these areas. Involving undergraduate students in all of these effortseducates them, excites them, and gives them tremendous preparation forgraduate work.Specifically the Hope College Nuclear Group currently is planning tocharacterize the structure of several radioactive nuclei, including 16Be,13Li, 5H, and 9C. These studies will be done at the National SuperconductingCyclotron with the Modular Neutron Array (MoNA) and the University of NotreDame with the ND neutron wall. At the Hope College Ion Beam AnalysisLaboratory, the nuclear group will use nuclear scattering and x-rayspectrometry along with accelerator and detector technology to determinemetalloprotein stoichiometry, to characterize the trace-element constituentsof glass, and to determine the geological provenance of sand grains.Rutherford backscattering will also be used to characterize electropolymersand conduct in-situ measurements of protein fragments in gels.Undergraduate students will participate in all aspects of the experiments:planning, detector development, experiment setup, data taking, analysis, anddissemination. This grant will also provide support for a postdoctoralassociate as part of a trial effort to train future researchers that caneffectively involve undergraduate students in the setting of a primarilyundergraduate institution.**