A user mode research program will be carried out in nuclear structure studies using light and heavy ions. The interaction mechanisms and formation (in heavy ion reactions) of complex fragments will be explored. Data will provide the basis for phenomenological models of complex light ion scattering and fragmentation in heavy ion central collisions. Also, research will be conducted on alpha-particle clustering and knockout reactions. This data will be used to extract spectroscopic information, and to test early hypotheses regarding alpha clustering in the low-density nuclear surface region. Undergraduate student involvement is a very important element of this research. Some detector and data acquisition development, data analysis, interpretation, and other related activities will be carried out at the University of Michigan Dearborn Campus.
