REU Site: Nevis Laboratories Columbia University for Summers 2024-2026

This award supports the renewal of the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) site in experimental high energy physics and astrophysics at Nevis Labs, Columbia University. The site supports ten undergraduate students each summer to train and engage in original, cutting-edge physics research, each working as part of a team and under the direct guidance of a dedicated cohort of faculty mentors. The students are involved in research projects that include current and future particle physics and astrophysics experiments, seeking to address scientific questions of fundamental importance, including the origin of mass, neutrino oscillations, and dark matter. Answers to these questions will have profound implications for our understanding of the universe. The program provides immersive research opportunities for undergraduate students to join the excitement of these pursuits, and participate in the development of the technological and computational tools required to achieve them. The strength of the ongoing experimental research program at Nevis Labs, coupled with the Nevis infrastructure of world class electronics design, forms a unique environment for training students. Opportunities exist for students to gain experience in all experiment aspects, from detector R&D and hardware development, to software development and data analysis. Over the course of the ten-week summer program, the students also participate in personal and professional development programs that encompass hands-on computational tutorials, training in scientific ethics, career path options in STEM, research and communication skills, and scientific writing. Through an extensive series of lectures and lab visits, as well as a field trip to nearby Brookhaven U.S. National Laboratory, the students are also exposed to exciting research problems in many other physics fields. In addition to providing an immersive scientific research experience, key goals of the program include increasing the knowledge and interest of students in physics research, increasing participation of historically-excluded populations in STEM, and motivating students to pursue graduate studies in STEM fields. Achieving these goals is critical for providing the future well-trained and diverse workforce required to continue to lead an increasingly technological world.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.