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Research Experiences for Teachers (RET)


Program Overview

Funded by the National Science Foundation, the Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) is a six-week experience of hands-on experimental cosmic ray physics, and curriculum development. The program provides a unique opportunity for high school teachers to observe and measure ultra-high-energy cosmic rays with a ground-based scintillation detector. Teachers will build their own surface-based detector arrays and use the detectors to measure various properties of high-energy cosmic rays, and will write and utilize computer programs to perform various analyses of cosmic ray induced air showers.

About the Program:

  • The program is for US citizens or permanent residents only.
  • RET program is 6 weeks total:
    • Four weeks working in a lab at the University, building the detectors and drafting classroom activities.
    • Plus, two weeks during the school year which include: 
      • Data analysis of air showers using various data sets from HiSPARC.
      • Sharing their experience at the annual meeting of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) in the spring, or at the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) in the summer.
  • Deploy the cosmic ray detectors on the roof of the teacher’s school.
  • A summer stipend of $7,000.
  • Travel support to the NSTA or AAPT meeting – up to $3,000.

 

Teachers are required to:

  • Complete the summer research experience.
  • Attend all summer meetings, workshops, and seminars.
  • Develop an instructional unit based on the experience. (translation to practice)
  • Research Project - Data analysis & Poster Development.
  • Attend and share their RET experience at the NSTA or AAPT Conference.

For any questions or comments about the RET program, please reach out to our email hisparc@utah.edu.

 

RET Gallery

Our RET Team

Tino Nyawelo
PI, Physicist
John N Mathews
Co- PI, Physicist
Jordan Gerton
Co- PI, Physicist
Lynne Zummo
Education Researcher
Sarah Braden
Co- PI, Linguist & Education Researcher
Ricardo Gonzalez
Cosmic Ray Instructor & Research Assistant