Physics and Astronomy Undergraduate Awarded Research Fellowship

Undergraduate student Elias Works has been a awarded a DOE-sponsored DUNE-TECH fellowship to work with Assistant Professor Maria Brunetti this spring and summer. Elias will be doing research on the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) using machine learning approaches to study neutrino interactions in dense liquid argon detector environments. Says Elias "I am really excited to apply my previous machine learning experience to particle research. I can't wait to be a part of such a large collaboration and do some work that'll push me and, hopefully, help the broader group as a whole. Really grateful to be able to have these experiences that will help me grow and prepare for a future in academia."

DUNE-TECH (DUNE Training ExperienCe Hub) is a collaborative program run  by researchers at Rice University working on the DUNE experiment. The program pairs students and faculty to work together during the spring semester, followed by a 10-week summer research program. According to the program, “During the spring semester, the emphasis will be on preparing the student for research, focusing on foundational computational training and basic particle physics concepts”. As part of the program, Elias will be financially supported to work with Professor Brunetti, as well as to travel to Rice University for a one-week workshop with other students.

DUNE is an underground international experiment that will make groundbreaking advances in neutrino physics. It will consist of two detectors, one at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and a second larger, detector more than a kilometer underground at the Sanford Underground Research Laboratory in South Dakota. When fully operational in the 2030s, DUNE will probe fundamental physics ranging from the origins of matter and the unification of forces to the formation of black holes. KU is part of the DUNE collaboration through Assistant Professor Maria Brunetti.