This REU program was funded through NSF PHY-2150515.
The 2024 REU Program in the UC Davis Physics and Astronomy Department had 14 student participants, here pictured overlooking the atrium of the Physics Building.
Research Projects (more details)
Projects involved theoretical, computational, and experimental work in Astrophysics, Condensed Matter Physics, Nuclear and Particle Physics, Precision Measurement, and Gravitation.Field Trips (more details)
Summer 2024 trips were to Calaveras Big Trees State Park, McClellan Nuclear Research Center, Lick Observatory, Point Reyes National Seashore, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
Other Activities
The group's weekly lunch meetings included informal research talks by students, virtual visits by REU alumni discussing their education and career paths, and an overview of graduate school and the admissions process.Near the end of the program, each student gave a 15-minute research presentation, open to the entire department. Students also prepared final write-ups about their projects. A few presented their work at national or local conferences with financial support from the REU program.
Housing
The students lived in four two-bedroom apartments located in different apartment complexes in West Davis. Three of the apartments were occupied entirely by REU students for the summer; the fourth also had two UCD undergraduates, a Physics major and a Math major, who were doing research in Davis over the summer. Most of the students participated in a cooking rotation, with teams of 2-3 students each cooking once per week for the entire group.