Laylah Chacon
San Jose State University
Class of 2026

“During my time in the GREAT-NS internship, I designed a molecular plating cell for the production of neodymium targets. This project allowed me to practice skills from my background as an engineering student while learning about nuclear science."

Mentor: Nick Esker

Elijah  Dolz
Antelope Valley College
Class of 2024

"My role in this project is to determine the most effective material for a silicon vertex tracker. Proper material selection for this study is based on cost effectiveness, cooling efficiency, and exceptional thermal capabilities. Improved materials can mitigate future overheating risk and improve particle tracking resolution.  In this internship, I learned the value of scientific research and its impact on the trajectory of future technology."

Mentor: Nicole Apadula

Patrick Francisco
University of California, Berkeley
Class of 2025

“Characterizing and learning about the SuperHeavy RECoils (SHREC) detector was very enriching and taught me a lot about what it is like to work in the Nuclear Science division. More specifically, I learned about the nature of detectors and how to analyze dead layers using software such as SRIM. During this internship, I learned lots about the topics that influence nuclear and the tools necessary to conduct science."

Mentor: Rodney Orford and Jacklyn Gates

Israel Galeana
University of California, Merced
Class of 2025

“My role throughout the lab was to figure out the different complexes of polonium and water using our FIONA mass analyzer and residual gas analyzer. I was able to do that by using data from the analyzers and using Python programming language to create plots from those data. Not having any background in nuclear I got to learn a lot about nuclear science through lectures and guest speakers we would have throughout the program. I learned a lot about the importance of time management and collaborating with other researchers. I also got to do a lot of networking and see what other researchers do in other laboratories"

Mentors: Fatima Garcia and Jacklyn Gates

Griffin Rhoads-Albert
California State University, Chico
Class of 2023

“I enhanced my coding skills and my knowledge in regards to the behavior of exotic and high energy nuclei to develop a simulation that helps optimize how our group can detect protons which will in turn help in the future with detecting gamma rays. This internship has been very rewarding as I was able to learn a lot about the world of nuclear science, something not offered at my university.”

Mentor: Heather Crawford and Carlotta Porzio