Eun-Suk Seo

Area of Research: Cosmic Ray Physics

Description of Reserach Area: The Cosmic Ray Physics Group employs stellite and balloon-borne instruments to make direct measurements of energetic particles from space to answer some of the fundamental questions about the cosmos such as (1) Is the Universe symmetric, and if so where is the antimatter? (2) What is the dark matter? (3) How do cosmic rays get their enormous energies? (4) Are supernovae really the sources of cosmic rays? (5) What is the history of cosmic rays in the Galaxy? Most part of the balloon borne instruments are built in-house by students and young scientists, many of them currently working in the on-campus laboratory.

Possible Projects: Data analysis and processing, simulations, hardware development

Pre-Requisites: Must be willing to work 20 hours/week, some expertise working with adhesives and plastics, electronics; shop equipment; computerized data analysis and presentation.

Compensation: Negotiable

Past Projects Successes: Quote from former student: "I can easily say I have earned half of my education at Maryland through my undergraduate research experience. While the physics curriculum is designed to teach the underlying principles of nature, I have found the most pleasure in applying such knowledge in the more engaging nature of experimental research. In particular, my experimental experiences have strengthened my understanding of physics, while giving me concrete, tangible results. In May of 2001, I began working as a lab assistant for the Cosmic Ray Physics group led by Dr. Eun-Suk Seo in the Institute for Physical Sciences and Technology (IPST). ....Although I began as a lab assistant, ... allowed me to take the job as far as I was willing to go. ....It gives me the opportunity to perform a wide range of tasks around the lab, from making careful measurements, to working out kinks in the experimental design, to writing programs to analyze the terabytes of data ... From team work and research in a laboratory setting to independent work running simulations on a computer, I feel I have gained a great sense of the many applications of physical laws. I also have earned a great degree of confidence in my ability to have the discipline to undertake a project, and bring it to a fruitful conclusion. I look forward to moving on to greater research challenges in my years of graduate study."

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