Some of the larger projects I am involved in ...
Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics
Center for the Evolution of the Elements
I am currently serving as director of the JINA Center for the Evolution of the Elements, a NSF Physics Frontiers Center. The center brings together nuclear experimentalists, nuclear theorists, astrophysicists, and astronomical observers from more than 20 institutions in the US and abroad. The goal is to address open questions related to the origin of the elements in nature, and the properties of dense nuclear matter that exists for example inside neutron stars.
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SECAR
Separator for CApture Reactions
I am serving as project manager for SECAR, a joint project between the DOE Office of Science/Office of Nuclear physics and the National Science Foundation to build a recoil separator at NSCL and FRIB. SECAR will enable the use of low energy reaccelerated NSCL and FRIB beams to measure directly the nuclear reactions that occur in stellar explosions, supermassive stars, and other exotic stellar objects.
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JENSA
Gas Jet Target
I am involved in the JENSA gas jet target collaboration, led by Colorado School of Mines and ORNL. JENSA has been installed and commissioned at NSCL and is the densest windowless helium (and hydrogen) gas jet target that has ever been built. It will be used to measure reactions with low energy radioactive beams in stand-alone mode and, once completed, with the SECAR recoil separator.
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NERO
Neutron Emission Ratio Observer
NERO is a neutron long counter that detects low enegry neutrons with high efficiency. It has been used at NSCL for many years to measure beta delayed neutron emission for astrophysical processes in supernovae. The HABANERO project is currently building a modified version of NERO that can detect higher energy neutrons to measure alpha particle induced neutron emission that determine which elements can be created in supernova explosions.
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