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Deep Thoughts
Notes from the underground by Communications Director Constance Walter
Monday, April 6, 2015
NASA grant takes students to California
E
ducation is a big part of
Sanford Lab’s mission.
That’s why members of
Sanford Lab’s Education and
Outreach Department spend
a lot of time working with
students and teachers across
the state.
Recently, Bree Oatman,
STEM Education Specialist at
Black Hills State University
(BHSU), accompanied a
group of students and faculty
from Sinte Gleska University
(SGU) to California. They
visited the Jet Propulsion
Lab (JPL) at California
Technology Institute (Caltech),
the University of Southern
California (USC) and the
NASA Ames Research
Facility. The trip was funded
through a grant from NASA
EPSCoR (Experimental
Program to Stimulate
Competitive Research).
“We wanted the students and
teachers to meet some of the
scientists who are involved
in the life underground
experiments taking place at
Sanford Lab and expose them
ν
Early Science
at Homestake
Sanford Lab and the Lead and Deadwood chambers
team up for a special night of science and chili
at the Deadwood Gulch Convention Center
Dr. Michael Cherry
Roy P. Daniels Professor of Physics, Louisiana State University
7 P.M., Thursday, April 16
Deadwood Gulch Convention Center
304 Cliff St., Deadwood, SD
The presentation is free to the public
The late nuclear chemist Ray Davis earned
a share of the Nobel Prize for Physics
in 2002, for his neutrino experiment at
Homestake.
Lead-Deadwood Community Fund
Chili Feed
5-7 P.M.
All you can sample for $6
Dr. Michael Cherry spent seven summers at the Homestake Mine
working with Ray Davis on his neutrino experiment. But that wasn’t the
only experiment on the 4850 Level. In 1985, Dr. Cherry used the most
sensitive and largest detector in the world to study very energetic cosmic
rays, photon decay and other mysterious particles in the universe.
In his talk, Dr. Cherry will discuss experiments and experiences on the
4850 Level.
to a variety of disciplines
in science and engineering,”
Oatman said. “They had a
chance to meet people and get
a better understanding of the
research being done at Sanford
Lab.”
Students toured JPL’s
facilities, including clean
rooms where scientists build
experiments and test new
technologies. They learned
the history of JPL, which can
be traced to the mid-1930s
when a few Caltech students
and amateur rocket enthusiasts From left: Sinte Gleska University students Karen Moore and Dakota
Young and their instructor Dana Gehring visit with Dr. Annie Rowe in the
started tinkering with rockets, Microbiology lab at the University of Southern California.
and talked with scientists
about space exploration.
a Capacity Building Grant,
figure out which topics they
EPSCoR focuses on
which will allow SGU to
want to explore.” The Capacity
establishing partnerships with
buy basic equipment to help
Building Grant includes
government, higher education
faculty teach simple biotech
stipends for summer research,
and industry to improve and
activities in the classroom.
which can be done on the
enhance research. The pro“As we walked through USC’s
Rosebud Reservation where
gram also targets underserved
laboratories, we were thinkSGU is located.
populations through Capacity
ing about the Sinte Gleska
The next step, Oatman
Building, which is designed to
environment and what it could said, is to find out exactly
develop research in rural areas. become.”
what SGU needs to upgrade
“A lot of tribal colleges
And the students, Oatman
their facilities. “There is great
have limited resources and
added, were thinking about
potential for future collaboraequipment,” Oatman said.
their summer research
tions. It’s really what Capacity
She applied for and received
projects. “They’re tying to
Building is all about.”
Science and Chili April 16
For seven summers in the 1980s, Dr. Michael Cherry conducted research on the 4850 Level of
the Homestake Mine. Cherry worked on Davis’s solar neutrino experiment but mainly focused on
studying cosmic rays, using the Large Area Scintillation Detector (LASD).
In 1988 Cherry left Penn State for Louisiana State University. The Roy P. Daniels Professor of
Physics at LSU, he continues to do research into cosmic rays and solar neutrinos, among other
research projects. One such project, the CALET Project (CALorimetric Electron Telescope), will
collect data from the International Space Station.
On Thursday, April 16, at 7 p.m., Cherry will discuss his experiments and experiences at
Homestake mine in a public presentation at the Deadwood Gulch Convention Center. Sponsored by
Sanford Lab and the Lead and Deadwood Chambers of Commerce, the presentation will follow the
Lead-Deadwood Community Fund Chili Feed, which begins at 5 p.m. The presentation is free to
the public; the Chili Feed is $6 for all you can sample.
South Dakota Science and Technology Authority
Lead, South Dakota