University of Cincinnati QuarkNet Center - 2024 Annual Report

The University of Cincinnati QuarkNet Center 2024 activities included a 3-day teacher workshop, attendance at the Lead Teacher Camp by co-lead teacher Martin Wells, and a coding camp hosted by co-lead teacher Emily Rosen.

The University of Cincinnati QuarkNet Center hosted a 3-day teacher workshop 15-17 July 2024.  The workshop was attended by 10 high school teachers from the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky region, half of whom had not attended a QuarkNet workshop before. We appreciate Ken Cecire joining us virtually and in-person.  Topics included an introduction to the Standard Model by University Mentor Prof. Conor Henderson, a presentation on challenging internal biases by Prof. Phil Ilten, and a session describing opportunities throughout the year, such as WorldWide Data Day and International Masterclasses. Activities included "Shuffling the Particle Deck" and "Rolling with Rutherford". Four High School students who had been working on a summer HEP research internship with UC Prof Mike Sokoloff presented their very impressive work. Prof Phil Iten showed the teachers a new teaching tool that he developed called FeynHex that uses 3D-printed tiles to construct Feynman diagrams from the fundamental particles and interaction vertices. A live demonstration of a cloud chamber in action in the UC lab was particularly well-received, and many teachers expressed an interest in constructing their own cloud chamber as a student project, following the instructions available from various online sources. We hope to foster sharing of further information on this interesting aspect and help teachers follow-up. The workshop concluded with the teachers presenting their implementation plans.

Co-lead teacher Emily Rosen hosted a 3-day coding camp in August 2024. Participants reviewed fundamentals of programming in python, wrote code to analyze large datasets from CMS, and designed code-centered activities for incorporation into a K-12 course.

University Mentor Henderson also helped local teacher Carol Burns (Reading High School) get setup in the summer with her QuarkNet Cosmic Ray Detector that she is using in her classroom.

From co-lead teacher Martin Wells:
Lead Teacher Camp was held at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in Lead, South Dakota. Ten Lead Teachers from Quarknet centers around the US and Puerto Rico gathered to discuss successes and challenges at their centers. The UC center has undergone changes in leadership the last few years with the retirements of Jeff Rodriguez (Lead Teacher) and Mike Sokoloff (Mentor), who essentially started the center. Thankfully, Conor Henderson has enthusiastically taken the role of mentor. Emily Rosen is also a lead teacher and provides strong leadership. The camp strengthened my understanding of the role of Lead Teacher and gave me a clearer picture of the relationship between local and national organizations. The UC center is in great shape and the exposure to challenges that other centers face made me appreciate that even more.