This award supports the development of a facility at Black Hills State University that would be utilized by various experiments going into the Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory. As an above-ground screening facility, collaborations would have easy access to the proposed equipment for training and for pre-screening of materials so that time underground could be used more efficiently. This award will support the development of a trace gas analyzer that exceeds the limits of commercially available systems by a factor of ten improvement in sensitivity, allowing one to detect impurities down to the sub-ppb level as required. This instrument will be vital to the success of the next generation of large noble-liquid-based detectors.
Among the Broader Impacts, this proposal will provide opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students from Idaho and South Dakota and surrounding areas, including under-represented Native American students, to participate in world-class international experiments in the exciting setting of underground particle physics. Students will acquire skills such as the use of background monitoring systems and detector calibration techniques, and will learn computer skills involving data analysis methods.
