Los Alamos Summer School in Physics 2009
As in previous years, the School employed a dual track of lectures on a wide variety of topics as well as student research projects to give the students their first taste of real research. All the lecturers and mentors who participated in LASS were volunteers. The lecturers were distinguished scientists from LANL and from University of New Mexico and New Mexico Tech, and discussed topics as diverse as fault mechanics, the Standard Model, nuclear astrophysics, and collective particle dynamics.
This year marked the nineteenth session of the Los Alamos Summer School in Physics, a joint educational project between the University of New Mexico and the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The National Science Foundation provides funding to the University side through its Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) site, and this year the LANL Institute for Advanced Studies supports the Laboratory component. In addition, this year we were grateful to receive support from the Los Alamos National Laboratory's Quantum Institute and the DOE ASC program. The School recruits nationwide and the majority of students were junior or senior undergraduates. Twelve students, from a variety of backgrounds and locations, participated in this year's program. Once again the exceptional enthusiasm and vitality of the participating students was a hallmark of the summer school. The research projects, each individually mentored by a LANL scientist, concentrated on a specific problem and allowed the student to experience how research is undertaken at a National Laboratory. Research projects were in many areas of science including complex networks, computational neuroscience, turbulence, and quantum dynamics. Many of the students presented their research at the annual Los Alamos Student Symposium, which was held at UNM-LA on August 4-5, 2009. This year the students were also excited to tour the LANL RAVE facilities. A report has been prepared which collates the research findings of the LASS students in their ten-week research experience. Although the short ten-week span of the school usually only allows the students to contribute to a project in progress, or to make a start on a new research project, this year several of the projects are expected to lead to journal publications, leading to advances in the field. More importantly, this summer's experiences have allowed these students to participate in a working research environment,which will be of immense help in deciding their future career paths as they complete their undergraduate education within the coming year. This report book is currently in preparation.
Contact: James Colgan, JColgan@lanl.gov
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