Eight U-High juniors and seniors will be chosen to participate in a year-long research program with the Argonne National Laboratory for the chance to use ANL’s Advanced Photon Source, an enormous particle accelerator. 

“The purpose of the program is for students to do some sort of research, or an experiment, that culminates with the use of the APS, very strong X-rays, to look at their sample,” math teacher Diane Nead said. 

In addition to working with U-High faculty members Zachary Hund, Matthew Martino, and Ms. Nead, the selected students will have the opportunity to work with Argonne scientists Tony Lanzirotti and Matt Newville, both of the University of Chicago. 

During October, students will design a project centered around using the APS and submit a formal proposal. If approved, they will conduct research from November to February. 

After visiting the APS in Lemont in February to gather additional data, the students will create a poster outlining their research results and present it to Argonne for consideration.

“To use such sophisticated facilities is just amazing for students,” Ms. Nead said. “We are blessed in Chicago to have national labs, and we should get our students in there to see what they have to offer.”

The application for the program will close on Thursday, Sept. 16, at 3 p.m. Any questions can be emailed to Ms. Nead at [email protected], Dr. Hund at [email protected], or Dr. Martino at [email protected].