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We report on a new methods for studies of neutron rich systems through resonant (p,n) reaction with radioactive ion beams. A specific example of the spectroscopy of 7He and future application of the proposed methods are discussed.

The Modular Neutron Array (MoNA) is a highly efficient large‐area neutron detector for the detection of high‐energy neutrons to be used in experiments with fast rare isotopes at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory. The detector is designed for the detection of neutrons between 50 MeV and 250 MeV with an efficiency of up to 70%. This detector was proposed and is being built by a collaboration of ten institutions, including a large number of undergraduate schools.

The Hope College PIXE facility was used to perform an analysis of zircons, apatites and monazites prevalent in rocks collected in southern India. Thin sections of the samples were prepared for electron microprobe analysis at U. Chicago, and a number of rare earth elements were quantitatively measured. These samples were then fractured and individual crystals were analyzed with 2.3 MeV protons in an internal PIXE irradiation chamber. GUPIX II© software was used to identify and measure trace metals in the samples and the results have been correlated with the electron microprobe data. Whole rock analyses, prepared by making pressed pellets of the powdered rock components were also analyzed by PIXE and XRF. Each of these techniques can be used to address the geological distribution of large ion lithophiles in the mantle, and advantages and disadvantages of each technique will be presented.

The advanced physics laboratory at Hope College is a majors course focusing on experimental physics. This course teaches not only experimental techniques, but also experimental design, implementation and analysis. The students are asked to design experiments using existing equipment (such as the Hope College 2MV Van de Graaff accelerator) to address a physical question posed by the instructors. Their experimental plan is reviewed by a program advisory committee (the instructors for the course). Students learn that the planning state can be as important as the actual experiment. They learn how to write a report about an unexpected or less than perfect result. The challenge for the instructors has been finding a way to help the students to become “independent” without frustrating them in their early attempts. This paper will discuss the structure of the course and give examples of the accelerator-based experiments used to help build independent research skills.

Intermediate mass fragment (IMF: 3≤Z≤20) emission for the 36Ar+197Au reaction at E/A=35, 50, 80, 110 MeV has been studied with a low‐threshold 4π charged‐particle detector array. Multiplicities of intermediate mass fragments gated on total charged‐particle multiplicities have been extracted with an average multiplicity of 4 intermediate mass fragments for the most central collisions at E/A=110 MeV. Two‐fragment correlation functions are presented for various gates on the fragment energy, and information about the time‐scale of fragment emission is extracted.