Our center has been very active this year. The center held a summer workshop from July 14-18th, at Stony Brook University. The workshop had a total of 15 participants. Mr. Harry Stuckey was one of the coordinators in the workshop, as he takes on a more active role in the center in the organization of workshops. The workshop was a mix of hands on activities and lectures on LHC and the standard model. The center has attracted new teachers every year, thanks to a strong relationship with the local Long Island Physics Teacher's Association. The center continues to attract new teachers every year, but a sizeable core of original teachers is still connected to the center. One day in the workshop was dedicated to the introduction of the QuarkNet cosmic ray muon detector to the teachers. The center now has three setups and plans are in motion to jointly perform measurements throughout the year involving schools that host the detectors. We visited the American Museum of Natural History to learn about their activities in the field of astrophysics. Our guide, Dr. Rob Steiner, is a particle physicist who now directs the educational programs at the museum. During the visit we had a lecture by Dr. Osrola De Marco who's primary research interest is in astrophysics and stellar dynamics. As part of celebrations for the LHC startup we had asked teachers who are currently active in QuarkNet or were connected in the past to mark the day by having activities connected to particle physics. Three teachers and six students joined me in attending the LHC PJ Party at Fermilab. In an informal survey conducted afterwards, 18 teachers responded that they have marked the event with a celebration in the classroom.

Institution URL

http://www.usatlas.bnl.gov/quarknet/