The nuclear physics program at Creighton University investigates the behavior of nuclear matter under extreme conditions.  We make use of the wide variety of heavy ion and proton beams available at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), using the STAR (Solenoidal Tracker At RHIC) detector, and at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), using the ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) detector. We are also involved in planning for future experiments at the Election Ion Collider to be constructed at Brookhaven National Lab. The scientific focus of our group is the production of particles in ultra-peripheral collisions, where the colliding nuclei do not physically overlap. In these “near-miss” collisions, we probe the effects of intense long-range electromagnetic interactions. The electromagnetic field of a highly relativistic charged particle is viewed as a flux of virtual photons with a continuous energy spectrum. The objective of our research is to create an experimental understanding of how photons and nuclei interact. The participation of undergraduate and graduate students, and their training for successful scientific careers, is an integral aspect of this program.