Accelerator-based neutrino physics will be a major component of the U.S. particle physics program in the coming decade and provides the intellectual merit for the research outlined in this award. The technique of Liquid Argon Time Projection Chambers (LArTPCs) is a very attractive option for studying neutrino physics due to its extraordinary imaging and calorimetry capabilities. This new award provides initial support for a program of research by Professor M. Soderberg of Syracuse University which will allow his significant participation in an LArTPC development program for long-baseline neutrino oscillation physics at Fermilab. This will include involvement on both the ArgoNeut and MicroBooNE experiments and span hardware development and physics analyses. The broader impacts of the proposed activities are multiple and diverse spanning outreach efforts at Syracuse devoted to involvement in the ongoing "Ask-A-Physicist" webpage and meeting with local high school teachers and students, developing a Physics Olympiad, and involving and mentoring students and postdoctoral researchers in hardware and physics analyses as well as preparation of presentations at conferences.
