Two physics students and their professor took their research out into the community to educate the public about particle physics, using scientific models they designed and built themselves.
Sarah Markham ‘24 and Jillian Cola ‘25, accompanied Matt Bellis, Ph.D., associate professor of physics, to the Octagon Barn in Duanesburg on September 22 to give a talk on “Particle Physics: From the Tabletop to the Large Hadron Collider.” Their presentation was part of an astronomy series organized by Mindy Townsend, Ph.D., the Dudley Astronomer at Siena College.
Markham and Cola brought along two cloud chambers they built during summer research. This long-running project has been funded by a combination of Bellis’ grant from the National Science Foundation and Siena’s Center for Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity. These devices allowed participants to see radiation in the trails left by radioactive decay products in the cloud chambers.
The trio traded off throughout the talk as they spoke about their experience building the cloud chambers and how they learned about research by actually doing it.
“The students were a total hit!” said Bellis. “It was a great example of how Siena students are committed to bringing their scientific activities off campus and into the broader community. It also shines a light on the great partnership between Siena and the Dudley Observatory, as they get the general public excited about science in general and in particular, the scientific research that takes place at Siena.”
Audience members ranged in age from elementary school students to retirees, all of whom had either a professional or amateur interest in astronomy.
“Particles are at the center of all branches of science,” Cola explained. “The concept of radiation can be hard to understand unless you actually see it. That’s exactly what the cloud chambers allow us to do.”
Markham noted, “Particles are real, they are everywhere and there are so many kinds. There is so much we can’t see but with devices like this, visualization can help cement the learning of theory.”
Directions and kits to assemble and operate the cloud chambers developed by Bellis and his students are now available online for schools and the general public to access.
The primary goal of Bellis’ particle research is to try to understand the universe at a deeper level, “either confirming what we think we know or finding evidence that there is New Physics out there.”
“Collaborating with Sarah and Jillian and all of the former Siena students who worked on this cloud chamber project has been an absolute joy,” said Bellis. “Summer can be a particularly effective time to work with students on research. They're not taking classes so they can really focus on and dig into more challenging problems and more elaborate projects. You can see these intense summer experiences reflected in the higher quality of work they do during the academic year.”
Markham and Cola encourage fellow Saints to get involved in research and community outreach.
“If you have the opportunity to engage in this kind of work, do it,” said Markham. “It’s hard work, whatever the field, but it’s great experience.”