This award provides funds for conference support for approximately 43 undergraduate students (out of a total of 133) attending the fall meeting of the Division of Nuclear Physics of the American Physical Society, in Newport Beach, CA (October 24-27, 2012). It is the 15th annual Conference Experience for Undergraduates (CEU). The CEU is a natural venue for students who have had an undergraduate research experience to present the results of their work and interact with other students as well as faculty and senior researchers. CEU has been immensely successful in fostering this interaction, which helps students to have a broad introduction and exposure to research across nuclear physics, and to enable senior researchers to get to know some of the junior future leaders.
The purpose of this grant was to provide travel and lodging assistance to approximately 39 of the total of 160 undergraduate students from around the nation that participated in the Conference Experience for Undergraduates. The CEU13 was held in October 2013 in conjunction with the fall meeting of the Division of Nuclear Physics of the American Physical Society in Newport News, VA. A total of 160 undergraduate students participated in CEU13, and events specifically arranged for them included a research poster session, two nuclear physics seminars, a graduate school fair, and a social gathering. Travel award decisions were made on the basis of project merit, and students submitted a research abstract and a personal contribution statement in order to be considered. A team of 7 DNP members served on the review committee, and their recommendations were used to determine the awards distribution. A survey was administered to participants after the conference was over. Students benefited from interacting with professionals in the field of nuclear physics, and several reported on being favorably motivated to consider pursuing an advanced degree in nuclear physics more so than before they attended the conference. Members of the DNP were very supportive of the undergraduates' presence at the meeting, and several spent time recruiting students for their graduate programs.
