The Ph. D. thesis of Dr. James Matta, titled "Exotic Nuclear Excitations: The Transverse Wobbling Mode in 135Pr" has been published as a book by the well-known science publisher Springer under the "Springer Theses" series.
Physicist Maxime Brodeur received a Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) grant from the National Science Foundation to conduct research on the Standard Model of physics at the University of Notre Dame’s Nuclear Science Laboratory.
The Compact Accelerator System for Performing Astrophysical Research (CASPAR) is featured in the science section of WIRED magazine.
The National Nuclear Security Administration's Office of International Nuclear Safeguards presented this year's Joule Award "in recognition of outstanding contributions made for transferring: 19F(α,n) Na Cross Section for Uranium Enrichment to international partners." The Versatile Array of Neutron Detectors at Low Energy, also known as VANDLE, array of plastic scintillators, developed with Stewardship Science Academic Alliances funds, was critical to the success of this project.
The Compact Accelerator System for Performing Astrophysical Research (CASPAR) recently reached a huge milestone with the delivery of first beam to target. This marks a significant step in the creation and operation of the first U.S. deep underground accelerator laboratory.
Michael Wiescher, Freimann Professor of Nuclear Physics and Dan Robertson, Research Assistant Professor, are leading the team from Notre Dame, working in collaboration with researchers from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology and the Colorado School of Mines.
Nuclear graduate students Samuel Henderson and Craig Reingold are the receipents of the 2017 Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award. This award was created in 1999 to recognize graduate student instructors and TAs who demonstrate commitment to exceptional teaching in lectures, seminars, labs, and across the academic profession.
Legitimate and counterfeit currency played a significant role in the Revolutionary War – either as a justification to start it or as part of a strategy to win it. However, to understand the economics of this time period, it is critical to know how colonial and counterfeit currency was produced, distributed, and utilized.
Three graduate students (Adam Clark, Austin Nelson, and Craig Reingold) of ISNAP participated in this year’s Notre Dame Day live broadcast on April 23rd to gain votes for the Graduate Physics Society (GPS). During the broadcast, the students of the GPS performed a physics demo in which they used a sledgehammer to smash a cinder block on the chest of the broadcast host and Notre Dame alumni Vic Lombardi. This is a classic physics demonstration that illustrates the concepts pressure, inertia, and the conservation of energy.…
Physics graduate student Kevin Howard has been awarded a fellowship from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS). This summer Mr. Howard will be working with Prof. Shinsuke Ota at the Center for Nuclear Study at the University of Tokyo, and Dr. Tomohiro Uesaka, a Chief Scientist at the Spin Isospin Laboratory at the RIKEN…
Professor Ann Simon's paper “Impact of the α optical model potential on the γ-process nucleosynthesis” investigates the impact of the nuclear properties on the γ-process nucleosynthesis. γ-process is a nucleosynthesis scenario responsible for production of proton-rich isotopes of heavy nuclei. Since the reaction network that describe the γ-process is based on model predictions of the rates of all the reactions involved (only in few cases these can be measured directly) understanding of the impact of the current models of the nuclear properties is important for constraining the predictions of the network calculations. In this work, the analysis focused on the α-optical model potential; future work will investigate impact of other parameters, e.g. γ-strength function.
John Mihelich, Professor Emeritus of Physics, has passed away in Fort Collins, Colorado, on March 10. John was a long-time member of our faculty and our nuclear physics group, joining Notre Dame in 1954 from Brookhaven. While here, he gained a national reputation in gamma-ray spectroscopy, training in his lab many of the later leaders in the field. He and his wife, Jan, raised three children in South Bend, spending their free time in travel, camping, and classical music. John retired in 1989, and he and Jan eventually moved to Fort Collins. …
Nuclear graduate student, Nirupama Sensharma has been selected to the 2017 cohort of the NSF-sponsored training program Social Responsibilities of Researchers (SRR) in the Reilly Center.
Professor Graham Peaslee's research paper titled “Fluorinated Compounds in U.S. Fast Food Packaging” has received national attention after the first 2 weeks of its published release on February 1 in Environmental and Science Technology Letters…
In December 2016, four graduate students from the NSL traveled to Shanghai, China to participate in the joint CNA/JINA-CEE Winter School on Nuclear Astrophysics. The focus of the school was to enhance international collaborations among young researchers from nuclear physics, astrophysics, and astronomical observations.
University of Notre Dame, Department of Physics, graduate student Edward Lamere has been selected as the 2017 recipient of the Cornelius P. Browne Memorial Award.
The Twin Solenoid (TwinSol) exotic beam separator was the first facility dedicated to exotic beam production in the U.S. Recent improvements will greatly enhance its ability to provide high-quality exotic beams for nuclear physics and astrophysics research.
Michael Wiescher, Director of the Nuclear Science Laboratory is the recipient of the 2017 Heraeus Visiting Professor Award of the Johann Wolfgang von Goethe University of Frankfurt, Germany.
TwinSol group adjusted the position of their second solenoid in order to provide improved radioactive beams to their new target location.
Khachatur V. Manukyan, a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics and the Nuclear Science Laboratory, co-authored a major review of recent advances in the study of complex combustion processes that enable the fabrication of a wide range of nanoscale materials.