The undergraduate research participation project in the UNLV Physics Department will be continued during the summers of 1996-1998. The research efforts are in the areas of atomic, molecular and optical physics, astronomy/astrophysics, and condensed matter physics. Students will have the opportunity to obtain hands-on laboratory experience using lasers, to analyze astronomical data on workstations using image analysis software, and to perform numerical computation and simulation using the UNLV computer facilities. This proposal builds upon the successful experience of the past four years as a REU site, in which undergraduates have engaged in research in the department. Students will be recruited from UNLV undergraduates and from other colleges and universities, with special attention paid to selected schools in the West and Mid-West. Applicants from institutions where research opportunities are limited will be given higher priority over those from major research universities.
