Excellence in Research: Subatomic Physics at VUU

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The goal of the proposed research is to understand the microscopic structure of the neutron using modern nuclear accelerator techniques; and to train the next generation of STEM workers in this advanced field of research. Virginia Union University is a Historically Black College with several oustanding assets. They have a diverse student body and so are able to recruit from an undergraduate population of traditionally under-represented groups. In addition, the University is only about an hour's drive from the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (JLAB) and so it is neither difficult, nor expensive, for the faculty and students to travel to JLAB to do their experimental work. Through this research, graduates of the VUU program will receive hands-on experience and emerge as well-trained nuclear scientists who are capable of important contributions to national energy, medical, and security needs.The proposal describes contributions to the BONuS12 experiment at JLAB. The BONuS12 experiment is designed to measure the structure function of the neutron. In general, there is a lack of neutron structure function data in the literature because a pure neutron target does not exist and thus the data must be inferred from neutron rich targets (such as deuterium). This project will contribute to the BONuS12 experiment by significantly improving the systematic errors associated with knowing the density of the target by building a slow controls system to monitor the flow of gas into the target region. This is an ideal undergraduate project when mentored by an experienced faculty member. The PI will also participate in the analysis of the F2 structure function data. The structure function analysis project is not a task that undergraduates can complete, alone, but elements of the analysis are approachable by undergraduates and the analyses will serve as a excellent tutorial for the students in modern data handling and analysis techniques.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.