RUI: Search for the Electric Dipole Moment of the Neutron (nEDM)

Precision measurement of the properties of the neutron presents an opportunity to search for violations of fundamental symmetries and to make critical tests of the validity of the Standard Model. Measurements of the neutron’s electric dipole moment provide some of the tightest constraints on extensions to the Standard Model. The Valparaiso University (VU) group, as a part of a wider neutron Electric Dipole Moment (nEDM) collaboration consisting of 20 US and international institutions, will search for the electric dipole moment of the neutron. The nEDM experiment will be carried out at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The VU group will be working with the scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) carrying out research and development of the Central Detector System (CDS) of the nEDM apparatus. Valparaiso University is an undergraduate educational institution. The PI is strongly committed to have undergraduate students actively participate in this research program. Each summer, during the R&D phase of the experiment, 2 undergraduate research students, mentored by the PI, will spend ten weeks at LANL, participating in the research being carried out. When the experiment moves to the construction and installation phase, VU students will spend ten weeks each summer at ORNL, working on the installation of the detector components. Working in these research environments and interacting with renowned scientists from several other institutions and national laboratories will enhance and enrich their education and will motivate and prepare them well for graduate studies later on. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.