Fall DNP Meeting Features Third Annual Outreach Program for Undergrads

The fall 2000 meeting of the APS Division of Nuclear Physics (DNP), held in Williamsburg, Virginia, featured a program of events designed specifically for undergraduate students. The purpose of this (third annual) "Conference Experience for Undergraduates" (CEU) is to provide a capstone conference experience for undergraduates who have conducted research in nuclear physics, by providing them the opportunity to join the larger professional community, present their research, and participate in the conference activities. The CEU also enables the students to converse with faculty and senior scientists from doctoral institutions about graduate school opportunities.

The CEU was conceived and organized in order to welcome undergraduate students who had some research experience into the larger nuclear physics community to share their work and meet with their peers.

The CEU is sponsored by the NSF and several DOE accelerator laboratories, including the Los Alamos, Lawrence Berkeley, Argonne, Oak Ridge, Jefferson, and Brookhaven Labs. Students qualified to participate in the CEU program include any that have participated in experimental or theoretical nuclear physics research. Interested students submit an application consisting of a research abstract and a brief summary of the student's individual contribution to a larger group effort. The best qualifying students receive travel and lodging awards, while others receive lodging awards and need to raise travel funds from their research groups or home institution departments. Conference registration and banquet costs are covered for all students. Student response has been very strong. Around 60 students attended CEU98 and 99, and 80 participated in CEU 2000. Participation by women students has averaged around 32%, while that of minority students has averaged around 5%.

The CEU2000 events included two student research poster sessions, a welcome breakfast, a CEU nuclear physics seminar, and a graduate school information session, with representatives from over 20 graduate schools and laboratories. Additionally students went on the DNP Jefferson Lab tour and the Friday evening banquet. The CEU homepage is physics.westmont.edu/ceu2000 where there is more information about the program, including many photos of the event.

-Warren Rogers