Neutrinos possibly hold the key to some of the most fundamental questions still to be answered: why is universe dominated only by matter and what role did neutrinos play in the evolution of the universe. To seek an answer to these questions, we are about to embark in perhaps the largest enterprise that the neutrino community has known: the Long Baseline Neutrino Experiment (LBNE). It implies sending a powerful beam of neutrinos 800-miles through the earth from Fermilab (Illinois) to two detectors underground in the Homestake mine (South Dakota). The goal of this proposal is to replace the current standard of photodetection technology, photomultiplier tubes (PMTs), with a more modern option. Advances in material science and nano-technology provide the opportunity to extend the concept of microchannel plates to large-area, economical photodetectors with inherently good space and time resolution.
This award provides funding for the simulation, characterization and calibration design for these devices with the goal of demonstrating their superiority with respect to standard PMTs in the next generation of Water Cherenkov detectors for neutrino physics.
Broader impacts: The award will also fund an outreach program that will focus on augmenting recruiting and retention of female undergraduates in STEM majors at Iowa State University, with an emphasis on the Physics & Astronomy Department. The PI will establish a Women in Physics group to get undergraduate and graduate students together for interaction and mentorship. In addition, the PI in collaboration with undergraduate students will develop hands-on activities to be presented in the K-12 outreach programs sponsored by the Program for Women in Science and Engineering at Iowa State.
