The first goal of this proposal is to promote the inclusion of under-represented minorities in the field of Nuclear Physics, through the participation of Norfolk State University students in the experimental program at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (Jefferson Lab). Most matter is made of various combinations of quarks, of which there are six kinds. This research will focus on the properties of combinations of so called 'strange' quarks and their anti-matter equivalent (called 'strangonia'), up to a mass of twice the mass of the proton (hydrogen nucleus). Measurements of their properties are of great importance for the understanding of how quarks interact with each other through the strong force, the basic interaction of nuclear physics. Strangonia decay to several more common final state particles (pions and kaons) before they can be detected. The CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer at Jefferson Lab offers an unique large acceptance detector and a high intensity beam to study these rare multi-particle final states. ***
