2021FRIB/NSCL Graduate Brochure

JOINT INSTITUTE FOR NUCLEAR ASTROPHYSICS-
CENTER FOR THE EVOLUTION OF THE ELEMENTS
Michigan State University is the lead of the Joint Institute
for Nuclear Astrophysics Center for the Evolution of the
Elements (JINA-CEE), a National Science Foundation
Physics Frontiers Center dedicated to interdisciplinary
research at the intersection of nuclear physics and
astrophysics. The goal is to make rapid progress on some
of the most important open questions in this subfield: How
were the elements created in the first billion years after the
Big Bang? What can observations of neutron stars tell us
about very high density matter?
Currently, 19 NSCL faculty members and their groups
participate in JINA-CEE together with five faculty members
in the Astronomy group at the Department of Physics and
Astronomy, and one more in the Earth and Environmental
Sciences Department. JINA-CEE embeds research in
nuclear astrophysics carried out at FRIB/NSCL into a large
international research network that includes theorists, other
experimenters, computational physicists and astronomers.
This unique cross-disciplinary network enables rapid
communication and connects research at new accelerator
facilities, observatories, and model codes in new ways.
Cross-disciplinary and collaborative
JINA-CEE is dedicated to educate the next generation
of nuclear astrophysicists by providing students with
cross-disciplinary training, and networking and research
opportunities which cannot typically be offered by single
institutions. Science topics include: origin of the r-process,
X-ray bursts, stellar yields, multi-messenger astrophysics,
galactic chemical evolution, neutron star crusts, stellar
burning and first stars. JINA-CEE schools, conferences, and
workshops held at various locations around the world, as well
as interactions with JINA visitors, provide additional training
opportunities. Through the newly created IReNA network,
JINA-CEE is connected with 5 other interdisciplinary
research networks across 17 countries, which gives our grad
students and postdocs access to multiple mentors, a variety
of educational resources and facilities.
Core institutions
Our annual Frontiers in Nuclear Astrophysics Conference
brings our members and the broader nuclear astrophysics
community together to discuss progress and future
directions related to the understanding of the origin of the
elements and neutron stars. This meeting is organized and
run by our grad students and postdocs. The first day of the
conference consists of a Workshop for Junior Researchers,
which includes research talks and professional development
activities such as: scientific writing, grant writing, speaking
skills, academic and non-academic career panels and
outreach. To learn more, visit jinaweb.org or contact
Hendrik Schatz (schatz@msu.edu).
Learn more at jinaweb.org and irenaweb.org
JINA-CEE
Center for the Evolution of the Elements
Become a next-generation nuclear astrophysicist through
JINA-CEE’s cross-disciplinary training, networking and
research opportunities
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Orion image from Hubble Space Telescope, photo courtesy of NASA