Physics
RET:
The Notre Dame Physics RET program has been in operation
for the past 10 years. It uses the QuarkNet infrastructure
already in place at Notre Dame to recruit teachers and
provide meaningful research projects for RET participants.
Educational outreach at the QuarkNet Center at the University
of Notre Dame, introduces high school teachers to current
research in the areas of particle physics, nuclear physics,
and astrophysics through hands-on research guided by
Notre Dame physicists.
Teachers’ research activities are supplemented
by weekly lunch-time physics seminars. Additionally, teachers meet weekly during the
academic year, although this is optional.
For summer, 2009, research opportunities are available
in the following areas:
• Linear Collider R&D – working on the
newly developed muon detector
• Scintillator R&D – working with newly
formulated scintillating materials to determine their
light output for future high energy physics applications
• Cosmic Ray Detectors – continuing work
on classroom cosmic ray detectors
• CMS Grid Data Analysis – using Grid computing
techniques to allow high school teachers and their students
to analyze real high energy particle physics data on-line.
Further information. The application deadline for the
Physics RET program is March 15. The program runs for
an eight week period from the middle of June to the middle
of August as agreed upon by the teacher and program director.
Teachers can choose to do research for anywhere from
4 to 8 weeks. Teacher stipends are $6300 per 8 weeks
and pro-rated for shorter periods. Graduate credit is available at no charge. There is housing available
for teachers in the dorms at Notre Dame. For further
information please contact QuarkNet Program Director,
Beth Marchant at marchant.2@nd.edu.
The Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics.The objective of the project isto provide summer research experience opportunities for HS teachers & students, in which they will complete a simple experiment. Participants will be introduced to a wide range of experimental nuclear physics techniques with a broad range of applications through classroom presentations. The techniques learned will then be applied to perform an experiment from start to finish including setup, data collection and analysis. Participants will gain experience in a modern physics lab. This provides the participants the opportunity to experience the process of doing nuclear astrophysics research. The program runs from June 20 to July 29. Each of the two HS teachers accepted into the program are expected to bring up to two of their own HS students to participate. HS students will receive college course credits for their participation. At the beginning of the program the two HS teacher participants will be introduced to the laboratory environment and receive specialized training in preparation for the experiments. The second week brings in their HS student researchers and begins with Radiation Safety Training course. After further classroom instruction regarding background information and the theory behind the experiment, these participants will perform the experiment from start to finish, including the set-up, data collection and analysis. The results will then be presented to the physics community at ND.
Further Information: The application deadline is April 15th, 2007. Apply by filling out the application form available on the program website www.JINAweb.org. The two teachers are to receive a stipend of $4,500 upon completion of the entire 6 week program as well as 3 Graduate Course Credits. Housing and travel are not provided. A few partial and need based scholarships for HS students may be available.
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