Submitted Proposal
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Trimmed version of the CNAP PFC proposal to the NSF (page numbers refer to those in the upper right-hand corners) 1 NSF coverpage 2 Project Summary 3 Executive Summary 6 Prior Accomplishments 11 Major Activities Introduction 13 MA1: Neutrino Phenomenology 21 MA2: Neutrino Technology 31 MA3: Neutrino Frontier 41 Education, Development and Outreach 44 Shared Facilities 47 Collaboration with other sectors 49 International Collaboration 50 Seed Funding and Emerging Areas 51 Management 55 Institutional and Other Commitments 56 NSF Summary Table 57 References 64 Abbreviated Biographical Information 73 Center Budget Justification 81 Letter from NC Museum of Natural Sciences 82 List of Supporting Letters 1 COVER SHEET FOR PROPOSAL TO THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENT/SOLICITATION NO./CLOSING DATE/if not in response to a program announcement/solicitation enter NSF 08-1 FOR NSF USE ONLY NSF 07-567 01/30/08 NSF PROPOSAL NUMBER FOR CONSIDERATION BY NSF ORGANIZATION UNIT(S) (Indicate the most specific unit known, i.e. program, division, etc.) PHY - PHYSICS FRONTIER CENTER DATE RECEIVED NUMBER OF COPIES DIVISION ASSIGNED FUND CODE DUNS# (Data Universal Numbering System) FILE LOCATION 003137015 EMPLOYER IDENTIFICATION NUMBER (EIN) OR SHOW PREVIOUS AWARD NO. IF THIS IS IS THIS PROPOSAL BEING SUBMITTED TO ANOTHER FEDERAL TAXPAYER IDENTIFICATION NUMBER (TIN) A RENEWAL AGENCY? YES NO IF YES, LIST ACRONYM(S) AN ACCOMPLISHMENT-BASED RENEWAL 546001805 NAME OF ORGANIZATION TO WHICH AWARD SHOULD BE MADE ADDRESS OF AWARDEE ORGANIZATION, INCLUDING 9 DIGIT ZIP CODE 1880 Pratt Drive Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Suite 2006 AWARDEE ORGANIZATION CODE (IF KNOWN) BLACKSBURG, VA 24060-0000 0037549000 NAME OF PERFORMING ORGANIZATION, IF DIFFERENT FROM ABOVE ADDRESS OF PERFORMING ORGANIZATION, IF DIFFERENT, INCLUDING 9 DIGIT ZIP CODE PERFORMING ORGANIZATION CODE (IF KNOWN) IS AWARDEE ORGANIZATION (Check All That Apply) SMALL BUSINESS MINORITY BUSINESS IF THIS IS A PRELIMINARY PROPOSAL (See GPG II.C For Definitions) FOR-PROFIT ORGANIZATION WOMAN-OWNED BUSINESS THEN CHECK HERE TITLE OF PROPOSED PROJECT Center for Neutrino and Astroparticle Physics (CNAP) REQUESTED AMOUNT PROPOSED DURATION (1-60 MONTHS) REQUESTED STARTING DATE SHOW RELATED PRELIMINARY PROPOSAL NO. IF APPLICABLE $ 16,621,000 60months 07/01/08 0753563 CHECK APPROPRIATE BOX(ES) IF THIS PROPOSAL INCLUDES ANY OF THE ITEMS LISTED BELOW BEGINNING INVESTIGATOR (GPG I.G.2) HUMAN SUBJECTS (GPG II.D.6) Human Subjects Assurance Number DISCLOSURE OF LOBBYING ACTIVITIES (GPG II.C) Exemption Subsection or IRB App. Date PROPRIETARY & PRIVILEGED INFORMATION (GPG I.D, II.C.1.d) INTERNATIONAL COOPERATIVE ACTIVITIES: COUNTRY/COUNTRIES INVOLVED HISTORIC PLACES (GPG II.C.2.j) (GPG II.C.2.j) SMALL GRANT FOR EXPLOR. RESEARCH (SGER) (GPG II.D.1) VERTEBRATE ANIMALS (GPG II.D.5) IACUC App. Date HIGH RESOLUTION GRAPHICS/OTHER GRAPHICS WHERE EXACT COLOR PHS Animal Welfare Assurance Number REPRESENTATION IS REQUIRED FOR PROPER INTERPRETATION (GPG I.G.1) PI/PD DEPARTMENT PI/PD POSTAL ADDRESS Physics 313 Robeson Hall, Physics Department Virginia Tech PI/PD FAX NUMBER Blacksburg, VA 24061 540-231-7511 United States NAMES (TYPED) High Degree Yr of Degree Telephone Number Electronic Mail Address PI/PD NAME Robert B Vogelaar PhD 1989 540-231-8735 [email protected] CO-PI/PD Arthur E Champagne PhD 1982 919-962-7205 [email protected] CO-PI/PD Gail McLaughlin PhD 1996 919-513-0516 [email protected] CO-PI/PD Ramaswamy S Raghavan PhD 1964 540-231-2761 [email protected] CO-PI/PD Kate Scholberg PhD 1997 919-660-2962 [email protected] Page 1 of 2 2 Project Summary: Neutrino science has produced some of the most exciting physics discoveries in the past decade, opening completely new research avenues and prompting a wide range of new experiments – with the prospect not only of new insights into neutrino properties but a host of major breakthroughs in nuclear physics, particle physics, astrophysics, and cosmology. The need for a timely, integrated approach to this subject has been stressed by recent major reports issued by the American Physical Society, the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy. This large and ambitious project aims to fill that need. A consortium of four research universities—Virginia Tech, North Carolina State University, University of North Carolina, and Duke University—proposes to establish the Center for Neutrino and Astroparticle Physics (CNAP), a novel entity that will unite the critical elements needed to spur transformative advances in the field, generating new insights, technologies, and research thrusts, greatly expanding the neutrino and astroparticle physics frontiers. Intellectual merit: To accomplish its mission, CNAP will: assemble a core group of leading neutrino theorists and experimentalists working in particle, nuclear, solar, and astrophysical topics; provide a unique suite of facilities for rapid ‘concept-to-prototype’ development; and engage a steady flow of students and investigators in classes, seminars, and workshops. CNAP’s pioneering research agenda will be organized around three interwoven areas of major activity: Neutrino Phenomenology: extracting neutrino properties experimentally, quantifying their role in a variety of environments – solar, astrophysical, and cosmological; Neutrino Technology: combining new insights and technologies to ensure a rapid ‘concept−to−prototype’ capability using a dedicated suite of facilities; Neutrino Frontiers: providing a creative theoretical and experimental framework that fosters a new generation of experiments and observations, possibly in entirely unforeseen directions. Major advances in neutrino physics will be accomplished by: • Focused activity in neutrino phenomenology with workshops and faculty visitor programs that emphasize cross-fertilization of multiple disciplines in theory and experiment; • Promoting innovation in neutrino experimental development via interaction of technical experts and facilities (on the surface and underground) for rapid concept-to-prototype detector development; • Innovative planning for the neutrino frontier with promising experimental accessibility and informed decisions on large-scale projects through simulations and assessment in the global context. Broader impacts: In addition to exciting research that will influence our most basic understanding of the structure of matter and the universe, the Center will manage integrated education and outreach plans that will: • Nurture the next generation of neutrino scientists by attracting the best graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to innovative neutrino research. CNAP will also engage undergraduates locally and in partnership with two HBCU’s: South Carolina State University and North Carolina Central University. • Involve public schools by offering K-12 students and teachers professionally designed programs run by NCSU and Virginia Tech. • Engage the general public through facility tours, public lectures tailored to younger audiences, and exhibits at the NC Nature Research Center. Postdoctoral fellowships with defined outreach activity will also be established. 1 3 Executive Summary There is great excitement today in the physics community centered around neutrinos − their mass and flavor mixing, their nature, and possibly yet unrecognized roles of neutrinos in astrophysics and cosmology. They present the long sought window into the world of ‘physics beyond the standard model’ by establishing a non-zero neutrino mass and a new picture of neutrino flavor mixing, unexpected from analogous quark mixing. Looking ahead, perhaps neutrinos can shed light on the matter−anti-matter asymmetry of the universe. Perhaps neutrinos are the key to understanding supernova explosions and thus the synthesis of heavier elements. Perhaps neutrinos violate lepton number conservation. Perhaps neutrinos will reveal new secrets from within our sun’s core and of the earth. The potential for further discovery is very real. Worldwide, theorists and experimentalists are creating programs using the neutrino to tease out answers to some of the most challenging questions we have about Nature. Yet the neutrino has proved notoriously difficult to study, and progress is directly coupled to the development of new detection techniques. Optimizing a neutrino exploration program − asking the right questions, inventing the needed technology, conducting the critical experiments, interpreting the results, and envisioning the future − is extremely challenging. As the role of neutrinos becomes more apparent in diverse venues, researchers are discovering they face many common challenges and share many common goals. The proposed Center for Neutrino and Astroparticle Physics (CNAP) will provide the necessary forum and resources to tackle these challenges efficiently, enabling rapid ‘concept to prototype’ development with a unique suite of facilities, and fostering the vibrant interplay between theory and experiment which is needed to push the frontier of neutrino and astroparticle physics forward. Its unique environment will excite and train a new generation of researchers. Its vision is guided by a world-class advisory board, and the Center’s concept has received strong endorsement from leaders in the field, nationally and internationally. Context Four major research universities, each with an ongoing commitment to neutrino and astroparticle physics, have partnered to create CNAP: VT, NCSU, UNC and Duke. Their combined research teams consist of leading