Program - Brookhaven National Laboratory

school in science or engineering. In a state that does not have a university with a PhD program in physics,
several students each year are pursuing physics majors with the intention of obtaining a PhD in physics
outside of South Dakota. The first cohort of these students are now graduating from their undergraduate
institutions and will be followed as they progress through graduate school.
PF 3 4:20 PM
Recruitment and Retention of Students in the Nuclear Sciences: A Study of the Gender
Gap Between Physics and Astronomy
Ramón S. Barthelemy, Charles Henderson
Western Michigan University, Department of Physics and Mallinson Institute for Science Education
Megan L. Grunert
Western Michigan University, Department of Chemistry and Mallinson Institute for Science Education
The increasing need for nuclear scientists has been recently fueled by concerns over an aging nuclear arms
stockpile and a failing economy that may be invigorated by developments in the STEM fields [1-2]. One
aspect of promoting a pipeline of new researchers is ensuring constant recruitment and retainment of
talented students into the field of physics. One group prime for recruitment makes up 57% of the US
university population but only 18% of physics PhD students, women [3]. This is in comparison to the
similar field of astronomy, which is comprised of 40% women at the PhD level [3]. This study will present
results from a qualitative study, using PER methodology, investigating the gender gap between physics
and astronomy. Implications for recruitment and retention will be discussed. Results suggest an emphasis
on undergraduate mentoring and skill development are key to transition into graduate programs, while the
facilitation of graduate student study groups, access to lab opportunities early in their programs, and a
supportive faculty are key to student persistence.
[1] E.A. Hanushek, L. Woessman, & Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.The high
cost of low educational performance: The long-run economic impact of improving PISA outcomes. OECD
Publishing, (2010) [2] United States. Dept. of Defense, United States. Dept. of Energy, & United States.
National Nuclear Security Administration. National security and nuclear weapons in the 21st century.
Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Energy, [National Nuclear Security Administration], U.S. Dept. of
Defense, (2008). [3] AIP Statistics (2012). http://www.aip.org/statistics/
PF 4 4:40 PM
Student Undifferentiated Views of Ionizing Radiation and Trouble With Atoms
Andy Johnson, Anna Hafele, Rebecca Maidl, Natalie Dekay
Black Hills State University
The Radioactivity By Inquiry Project is developing inquiry-based materials for teaching radiation literacy
at the high school and college levels. Prior research on learning in physics found that students initially do
not distinguish between radiation and the radioactive source. The undifferentiated view is that radiation
is “bad stuff”, that there is no difference between radiation and radioactivity, and that radiation causes
contamination. To understand radiation students must distinguish between radiation and radioactive
materials, understand atoms as sources and victims of radiation and ultimately view radiation as more
of a process than a material. This talk will describe how we characterize students’ initial and developing
ideas about radiation, what seems to be necessary to understand radiation, and quantify student progress
towards differentiation. We find that differentiating fully and abandoning the view of “radiation as stuff”
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