Long Island High Energy and Astrophysics Undergraduate Pathway (LEAP-UP)

Long Island High Energy and Astrophysics Undergraduate Pathway (LEAP-UP) Principal Investigator: Dr. John EstesState University of New York at Old Westbury, 223 Store Hill Rd, Old Westbury, NY 11568 Co-Principal Investigators: Dr. Michael Kavic, Dr. Matthew LippertState University of New York at Old Westbury, 223 Store Hill Rd, Old Westbury, NY 11568 Dr. Ketevi Assamagan, Dr. Mary Bishai, Dr. Mateus Carneiro, Dr. Anze SlosarBrookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973 The Long Island High Energy and Astrophysics Undergraduate Pathway (LEAP-UP) program teams up the new physics program at the State University of New York at Old Westbury (OW), the most diverse SUNY campus, with the world-class research programs at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL).  Through this partnership, OW and BNL will create a new pathway which supports students, starting with recruitment efforts at local high schools and community colleges, mentorship and support throughout the students’ academic journey, an interactive research experience, and ending with support as students apply to graduate programs and beyond.  This will be done along three main thrusts: Build: The project will construct an active bridge between OW and BNL by pairing the HEP theory expertise of OW faculty with the experimental expertise of BNL researchers.  Once built, this bridge will continue to provide HEP experimental research opportunities to OW’s diverse student population. Accelerate: OW is launching a new physics program.  This grant provides essential resources to establish a robust physics program at OW, generating diverse physics student enrollment, with higher participation in HEP research and more graduates entering the HEP workforce. Mentor: Finally, this grant will support the development of teaching and mentoring training for both OW faculty and BNL staff emphasizing diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice, with the goal of increasing success of underrepresented minority students in HEP. Two-year traineeships will provide students with stipends and support for tuition and housing.  The key element is a fully mentored research experience, involving a 10-week summer program at BNL, with continued support as trainees continue their research during the following academic year.  Students will have the opportunity to work on high-energy experiments like ATLAS, DUNE, LuSEE, and BMX, as well as theoretical projects in string theory and applications of holography to quantum field theory. Collaborative experiments: ATLAS, Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE), Lunar Surface Electromagnetic Experiment (LuSEE) – Night, Baryon Mapping eXperiment(BMX), All Sky Transient Radio Array (ASTRA)