CU researchers to track some of world’s most elusive particles, thanks to $674,225 DOE grant

PRESS RELEASE

ATHENS, WV — Concord University is taking physics research to the next level through a $674,225 grant from the  U.S. Department of Energy that will support the development of new technology designed to help scientists  capture rare signals from neutrinos — some of the universe’s smallest, most elusive particles. 

CU Assistant Professor of Physics Dr. Tulasi Subedi said the university will lead the four-year project in partnership  with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, developing specialized electronics and software that can rapidly identify  valuable signals from neutrino detectors and separate them from unwanted background noise.  

In simple terms, the system will act as a sort of high-speed filter, allowing researchers to identify and preserve  signals most likely to represent meaningful neutrino interactions while reducing the amount of unnecessary data  collected by the detectors. 

The technology will support the COHERENT experiment at Oak Ridge’s Spallation Neutron Source, helping  researchers collect and analyze data more efficiently as they pursue a deeper understanding of neutrinos and their  interactions with matter. 

“The grant will help build lasting research capacity at Concord University, establishing in-house expertise and  infrastructure in detector electronics and data acquisition that will support future research projects, grant  proposals, and student training,” Subedi said. “Concord students will gain hands-on research experience with  detector electronics, data acquisition, and analysis.” 

The project will strengthen Concord’s research partnership and offer students valuable opportunities to engage  with a major international physics collaboration, Subedi added. 

COHERENT made the first observation of coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering in 2017. The improved  readout systems developed through the Concord-led project will support the next generation of detectors as  researchers work to advance those measurements. 

-CU