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During the 10 week REU program, each undergraduate student participant will join one of our ongoing experimental efforts in high energy particle physics (HEP) and astroparticle physics research. These areas of research seek to identify the most fundamental constituents of the universe around us, and to probe how these constituents interact. The experimental groups participating in the Summer REU program at Nevis are involved in efforts to investigate the most pressing issues in HEP and astroparticle physics. These include studies of the recently discovered new particle that could be the Higgs Boson, believed according to the "Standard Model" (SM) to be the source of mass, searches for new physics beyond the SM, searches for neutrino oscillations, and searches for the mysterious dark matter that pervades the Universe. In addition, there are groups working on state-of-the-art electronics and detector development. There is also the possibility to work in the area of radiation physics at RARAF.
During the first week of the REU program, a series of lectures and tutorials will be given by the Nevis faculty and scientific staff. The goal of these lectures will be to discuss with the students some of the concepts and topics of high energy physics, and to introduce some of the tools (detectors, software analysis techniques, etc.) used to perform experiments in HEP. In addition, during this first week, students will join a particular experimental group, with whom they will work the rest of the summer.
After the introductory week, students will begin working with the experimental group in question on the research they are performing. The student's work will be under the direct supervision of a faculty member. The supervisor will discuss with the student to identify a well-defined research project for the student, one that can be successfully accomplished during the time of the REU program by a sufficiently well-motivated undergraduate.
Time will be reserved during the final week for the students to write a scientific report summarizing their research project, and the progress they have made. In addition, each student will make a 30-minute oral presentation of their work to the other students and the Nevis scientific staff.