Complex Systems, Dr. Katherine Rawlins will speak on 'Using neural networks to study cosmic rays' on March 26, 2010

Friday, March 26, noon
CPISB, Room 120

Empty space is not empty at all; energetic particles called "cosmic rays" fly between the galaxies. When these particles hit Earth's atmosphere, they fragment into a cascade of smaller particles called "extensive air showers." Some of the fragments can be measured by detectors at ground level, such as the IceCube Observatory in Antarctica. But reconstructing cosmic ray from a collection of fragments is a difficult task. Dr. Rawlins will introduce you to these ubiquitous particles, how their air showers are measured and analyzed, and how a neural network can be used to sift amongst the data for clues to their origin.

Dr. Rawlins became involved with an Antarctic neutrino experiment called "AMANDA" while attending graduate school at University of Wisconsin-Madison. By the time she graduated in 2001, she was addicted to Antarctic travel and signed up to be one of the project's winter-over scientists, spending 12 months at the small South Pole research station. She has been working with large astrophysics experiments for many years now and is still involved with the Antarctica project, now known as "IceCube."  Dr. Rawlins joined the faculty of UAA's Physics and Astronomy Department in 2005.

This event is free and open to the public. Parking is free on UAA's campus on Fridays. The UAA/APU Consortium Library parking lot or the CPISB parking garage are the closest.

For more information, contact Cheryl Wright, UAA's Complex Systems Group at (907) 786-1196.