This REU program was funded through NSF PHY-0243904.
San Francisco
The first Saturday of the program featured a trip to San Francisco. We began with a visit to the Exploratorium, one of the world's best and most interactive science museums. After a brief stint at Fisherman's Wharf (and a drive down Lombard Street on the way), we headed to Chinatown for dinner.
Crocker Nuclear Laboratory
In the late 1930's, Ernest Lawrence directed the construction of the largest cyclotron in the world, 60 inches in diameter. The machine was used in the discovery of many actinide elements. After it had been superseded by even bigger accelerators, the fledgling UC Davis physics department inherited its magnet and constructed its own cyclotron around it. The Davis cyclotron continues to operate, for work from medical treatments to air quality testing to gauging how cosmic radiation affects scientific equipment.Stanford Linear Accelerator Center/Big Basin Redwoods State Park
During our 2-1/2 hour private tour of SLAC we learned about the history, design, and physics discoveries of the center. The left photo is of the mile-long building directly above the accelerator. The hard hats at right proved unnecessary in the end.
Afterwards we continued south to camp in Big Basin. Saturday night brought a chili dinner, a campfire, and a bit of stargazing (although the trees got in the way). On Sunday we hiked to Berry Creek Falls, returning by Cascade Falls and Silver Falls for a 12-mile loop. Sights along the way included lots of big trees and several banana slugs.
Yosemite
Five of the REU women tested their friendship by packing themselves and camping gear into one small car for a trip to Yosemite. (It survived fully intact.)
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
On our daytrip to Livermore the group saw the National Ignition Facility for work on fusion, the Two Stage Gas Gun for high-pressure research, and the Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry, which supports research in areas from geology to bioscience. No cameras were allowed.Lake Tahoe
The final trip, near the end of the summer, was to North Lake Tahoe. Just as in 2004, our overnight stay at the home of one of the faculty mentors was a highlight of the summer. On Saturday people split up. Some hiked a few miles to the former Winter Olympics site at Squaw Valley. Others went mountain biking, lounged on a nearby golf course, or enjoyed the pool, hot tub, and sci-fi collection. After dark there was stargazing through a telescope borrowed from the Astronomy labs. Everyone hit the Tahoe City beach on Sunday. All this was interspersed with great home-cooked meals, and we returned to Davis refreshed and happy.
Big Sur
Two students said goodbye to California with a drive to Big Sur on the program's final weekend.