CUBED: South Dakota 2010 Research Center For Dusel Experiments

Abstract

With the selection of the Homestake Mine in western South Dakota by the National Science Foundation (NSF) as the site for a national Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory (DUSEL), the state of South Dakota has sought ways to engage its faculty and students in activities planned for DUSEL. One such effort is the creation of a 2010 Research Center focused on ultra-low background experiments or a Center for Ultra-low Background Experiments at DUSEL (CUBED). The goals of this center include to 1) bring together the current South Dakota faculty so that one may begin to develop a critical mass of expertise necessary for South Dakota's full participation in large-scale collaborations planned for DUSEL; 2) to increase the number of research faculty and other research personnel in South Dakota to complement and supplement existing expertise in nuclear physics and materials sciences; 3) to be competitive in pursuit of external funding through the creation of a center which focuses on areas of interest to experiments planned for DUSEL such as an underground crystal growth lab, a low background counting facility, a purification/depletion facility for noble liquids, and an electroforming copper facility underground; and 4) to train and educate graduate and undergraduate students as a way to develop the scientific workforce of the state. We will provide an update on the activities of the center and describe in more detail the scientific foci of the center.