CREST: Collaborative Research in Energy Science Traineeships

Dr. Rebecca Belisle¹, Assistant Professor

Co-PI(s): Zachariah Addison¹, James Battat¹, Samantha Lewis¹_, Tracy McAskill¹, Matteus F. Carneiro², Yichen Li², Vladimir Tishchenko², Esther Tsai², Noah Kurinsky³, Paul McIntyre³, Emilio Nanni³, Hirohisa Tanaka³, Yun-Tse Tsai³, Brooke Russell⁴

1: Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA 02481

2: Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973

3: SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA 94025

4: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139

The Collaborative Research in Energy Science Traineeships (CREST), partners Wellesley College faculty with leading researchers at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), to support the scientific development of undergraduate researchers at Wellesley College, a liberal arts college for women and an Emerging Research Institution (ERI). The objective of the CREST program is to provide 16-month-long, thoughtfully mentored research experiences in High Energy Physics (HEP) and Basic Energy Science (BES) for Wellesley undergraduates. The CREST program aims to recruit a diverse cohort of Wellesley undergraduates in the spring of their sophomore or junior years. Joining the program, CREST trainees will participate in technical training and community building activities at Wellesley to ensure research readiness (e.g. domain knowledge, data analysis skills, research motivation) before traveling to BNL or SLAC for summer research experiences. Working at the national labs, CREST trainees will engage in cutting edge research matched to the students’ interests and the strengths of the CREST community. Students will conduct research across the fields of neutrino physics, microwave and millimeter-wave detector design, and advanced materials characterization for optimization. They will conduct this work under the supervision of both on-site technical experts and remote Wellesley mentors to ensure students develop both the scientific and broader professional skills needed to be successful in a future scientific career. Upon returning to Wellesley the following fall, the trainees will continue with professional and community development activities, and either continue their research program remotely under the combined guidance of the National Lab PI and a local Wellesley mentor, or engage with a closely aligned research project at Wellesley or MIT. Returning CREST trainees will have the opportunity to share their research experiences with the broader Wellesley community and recruit the next cohort of CREST trainees, further supporting students’ professional development and sense of science identity. Overall, the CREST program looks to meaningfully expand the future scientific workforce in the U.S. Through intentionally developed curricula, focused professional development, multi-faceted mentorship and opportunities in cutting-edge research at SLAC and BNL, the CREST program aims to support a diverse cohort of scientists with the skills and sense of identity to thrive in their future scientific careers.

This research was selected for funding by the Office of High Energy Physics

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