Undergraduate Involvement in Research

The Task A and Task D groups have enjoyed a record of success in recruiting and working with excellent undergraduate students. Over the last ten years we have had students working with our group throughout all or most of their four years at IU including a Rhodes Scholar. Many have gone on to do graduate work at Berkeley, Caltech, U of Chicago, Cornell, and M.I. T. Wells and STARS Scholars (see below) have worked with the groups.

Honors Physics

More recently students from the introductory honors physics course have worked in high energy physics. This course was developed by Alex Dzierba who has taught the course for seven of the last nine years. Rick Van Kooten also taught this course for a year. This is a calculus-based two-semester course that meets daily. This course is taught in a highly interactive and collaborative mode and students work on projects involving a mix of some equipment construction, data acquisition and analysis and presentations. More information about the course can be found on the web: Fall and Spring semesters. Typically the Task A and D groups employ 4-5 students from the honors course each year.

Wells and STARS Scholars

The Wells Scholars and STARS Scholars programs attract among the very best students at Indiana University. The Wells programs recruits over all disciplines and about 20 students are awarded these prestigious scholarships each year. Alex Dzierba participates in the selection and interview process. About 2-3 Wells Scholars take the Honors Physics course each year and several have worked with the Task D group. The STARS program is directed to those students interested in sciences. Alex Dzierba, Alan Kostelecky and Rick Van Kooten serve as STARS mentors. Again, about 3-4 STARS students take the honors physics course each year.