IWU lands grant for neutron detector project
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Indiana Wesleyan University has received a $362,000 National Science Foundation grant to help develop what it calls a first-of-its-kind neutron detector as part of a collaborative effort with other researchers and universities.
The Modular Neutron Array Collaboration is developing a high-resolution fast neutron array at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Facility for Rare Isotope Beams at Michigan State University. Indiana Wesleyan University physics professor Warren Rogers is a founding member of the collaboration.
“We are thankful for support from the NSF for our collaboration, and for the rare and exciting opportunities it will provide for students to participate in the design, construction, and testing of a brand-new neutron detector design, the first of its kind, and apply them in cutting-edge nuclear physics experiments,” Rogers said a news release.
In the coming summers, Indiana Wesleyan physics students will help build, test and install components for the array on the Indiana Wesleyan campus and later help build the array itself on the Michigan State campus, the university.
“This new fast-neutron detector will position us to explore distant regions of the nuclear landscape like never before, sharpen theories, and train a new generation of scientists in the process,” said Thomas Baumann, staff physicist at FRIB, who is leading the project.
The project is expected to be completed in 2026, according to an MSU news release.
The Indiana Wesleyan grant was part of a $3.7 million grant awarded to the eight members of the Modular Neutron Array Collaboration, which also includes Indiana University South Bend and Wabash College in Indiana.