This award will support the continuation of the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) and Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) site in Physics at Purdue University. The REU site will provide 12 undergraduate physics majors from across the country with a ten week long research project emphasizing one-to-one mentoring with faculty from a wide range of disciplines within the Purdue University Department of Physics. Interactions with the community of scientists is emphasized with a interdisciplinary science seminar series, two required public talks on their research, tours of Purdue scientific facilities including the unique Brick nanotechnology center, field trips to national facilities at Fermilab and Argonne, REU Olympics at Notre Dame University, plus social activities. The participants in this REU program will collaborate with their mentors and other researchers to advance the diverse state-of-the-art areas of physics, such as: nanophysics of electrons in reduced dimensional conductors, the dynamical behavior in proteins, the quantum mechanisms of photosynthesis, single molecule/protein dynamic imaging, the use of cosmogenic nuclei as chronometers in geoscience, detection of multiple proteins in a sample using revolutionary BioCD approach, particle detectors with improved hardness and resolution, detectors for TeV radiation, investigation of dark energy using supernovae, novel application of nuclear detectors for sensing hazardous materials, hydrogen storage properties of graphene, application of biofilms in seismic measurements, the fundamental nature of nuclear decay, enhanced long-baseline imaging for radio astronomy, seismic propagation in structures of geologic interest, analysis of data collected by Compact Muon Solenoid detector for Large Hadron Collider at CERN, and other current topics of importance. Similar opportunities will be available for two RET participants, whose research activities will be reflected in their subsequent classroom teaching, inspiring their own students about careers in research.
