This REU program was funded through NSF PHY-1560482.
Fourteen students participated in the UC Davis Physics REU in summer 2016. These included one student from China in addition to those with full or partial funding from the National Science Foundation.
Research Projects (more details)
Projects were in Astrophysics, Biological Physics, Complexity, Condensed Matter Physics, Nuclear Physics, and Particle Physics.Field Trips (more details)
In summer 2016 we visited Lick Observatory, the McClellan Nuclear Research Center, Lake Tahoe and the Tahoe Environmental Research Center at Incline Village, REU alumni in the San Francisco area and Big Basin Redwoods State Park, and Lassen Volcanic National Park.Other Activities
Weekly lunch meetings included both practice for the GRE physics exam and brief, very informal presentations by the REU students. One meeting towards the end of the summer was devoted to information about graduate school and the admissions process, led by the chair of our graduate admissions committee.Near the end of the program, we devoted two afternoons to 15-minute research presentations by all the students. Students also prepared final write-ups of their projects.
Housing
The REU program inhabited Pierce Co-operative, next door to the co-operative building we've used in the past. One student who lived off campus also cooked and had weekday dinners at Pierce. Above: the Pierce cat Datura, and the scale of cooking a dinner for more than a dozen college students.