REU Site: Physics Research in the Nation's Capital

该奖项支持美国天主教大学（CUA）物理学本科生研究经验（REU）网站。REU网站每年将接待8名本科生，他们将在夏季花10周的时间从事物理，数学和工程方面的研究课题。我们计划的主要目标是接触并吸引年轻的本科生-否则他们将没有机会-在核和粒子物理基础研究与利用尖端算法进步的应用科学之间令人兴奋的界面进行尖端研究。通过教师的指导和与其他本科生、研究生和博士后的互动，本科生将通过参与现实生活中的物理研究，获得动手实验室经验和在科学研究背景下实际解决问题的技能。该计划提供各种主题的研讨会，例如技能发展，学习强化，以及成为研究人员的途径，包括研究生院和学术界的职业生涯，并旨在招募，教育和留住下一代科学家和工程师。使用核物理原理的复杂探测器和仪器在我们周围随处可见，并在日常生活中使用，包括医疗应用中的核磁共振成像（质子自旋）和油井测井中的伽马射线探测器。因此，仪器仪表计划为吸引本科生进入该领域提供了独特的教育和培训环境。这个REU项目包括先进的核物理探测器的设计和建造，为本科生提供有意义的参与最先进的研究项目，这些项目可以在短时间内接近和探索。研究课题包括核物理和粒子物理实验、数据分析、探测器设计的人工智能、粒子识别和新型粒子探测器聚焦透镜的研究，以及校园内进行的探测器建设项目。CUA拥有独特的地位，因为它接近并与旗舰国家实验室合作，并在材料方面拥有强大的专业知识。REU计划将建立在CUA在前沿研究项目中展示的本科生互利参与的经验基础上，包括一些导致探测器成功构建的项目。学生将有机会在项目的最后一天进行口头报告和参加海报会议，并将为所有学生提供资金，以便随后在相关的国家或地区会议上展示他们的作品。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

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.