OVERVIEW

The Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics (KICP) at the University of Chicago will host a Summer School on Dark Matter Detectors from July 11th to July 21st 2012. The aim of the School is to expose a select group of 15 to 20 graduate students to the challenges of designing, building, and operating both current and future dark matter detectors for searches conducted at underground laboratories. The School will provide the students a full-immersion, hands-on experience, with several labs exploring experimental techniques for dark matter detection. Planned experiments that students will be able to perform include: calibration of photon detectors, characterization of ultra-pure Germanium detectors, radiopurity determination through spectroscopic measurements, the art of fighting electronic noise, shielding techniques, measurement of a scintillator's quenching factor, particle detection with a bubble chamber and CCDs, and measurement of electroluminescence in noble gases. Data acquisition and simulation techniques will also be covered.



The School will be held in the Laboratory for Astrophysics and Space Research (LASR) at the University of Chicago. A visit to Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab), where the students will become familiar with noble liquid, bubble chamber and cryogenic detectors, is also included.

 
Accommodation & Travel support


Accommodation will be provided, free of charge, at the Max Palevsky Residential Commons of the University of Chicago. Limited assistance for travel expenses is available for exceptional circumstances. Students planning to attend the following 9th International Conference on the Identification of Dark Matter (IDM 2012) from July 23rd through July 27th 2012 can extend their free accommodation at the Max Palevsky Residential Commons for the duration of the conference.
 
Directors of the School
Juan Collar
Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics
Paolo Privitera
Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics