This REU program was funded through NSF PHY-0649297.
Eleven students (5 women, 6 men) participated in the UC Davis Physics REU in summer 2009. (Yes, we can count! The photo includes one of several additional students, from UC Davis and elsewhere, who took part in some of the REU activities.)
Research Projects (more details)
Projects were in Condensed Matter Physics, Biological Physics, Nuclear Physics, High Energy Experiment, General Relativity, and Cosmology.Field Trips (more details)
In 2009 we visited Muir Woods National Monument and Point Reyes National Seashore; toured the Crocker Cyclotron on the Davis campus and the Advanced Light Source and National Center for Electron Microscopy at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory; attended a workshop at IBM on careers in physical science; and combined a tour of Hat Creek Radio Observatory with camping and hiking in Lassen Volcanic National Park.
Other Activities
During the first week, students attended four introductory talks on major ideas in different areas of current physics research. Weekly lunch meetings featured brief, informal talks by students about their research projects and progress. There were also two graduate school-related sessions. In the first, a faculty member who is involved with designing the physics GRE exam discussed how to prepare for and take the test. The following week, a recent chair of the physics department's graduate admissions committee talked about what graduate school is like, how graduate students are paid, and how to prepare a strong application.
Over two afternoons near the end of the program, each student gave a
15-to-20 minute research presentation. The students also submitted final
write-ups of their work, which can be viewed by following the link near
the top of the page for "more details" on the research projects.