This award is in support of the Michigan State University Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) site in Physics. The REU program at Michigan State offers undergraduate students the opportunity to do forefront research in a field of physics---nuclear, condensed matter, high-energy, astrophysics, or biophysics. Each student in the program will work on a well-defined research project under the direction of a faculty mentor. Students choose their projects from a list suggested by the faculty. A wide variety of projects, both experimental and theoretical, are available. In nuclear physics, MSU is the site of the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory, a major center for the study of the atomic nucleus; student projects may involve detector development, data analysis, or theory. Condensed-matter physics includes research on basic solid-state physics and properties of new materials. High-energy experiments are based at Fermilab and CERN, but REU projects will be done on the MSU campus; examples are data analysis, detector design and simulation, and theory. In astrophysics there is a 24-inch reflecting telescope at MSU, and some REU projects use this telescope while others analyze data from other observatories. At the end of the program each student will write a research report and give an oral presentation on her or his individual project. Throughout the summer the program provides seminars by MSU faculty, field trips, sports and social activities.
