USD QuarkNet Center 2025 Annual Report
USD QuarkNet Center 2025 Annual Report
The USD QuarkNet Center is pleased to report a highly successful 2025, marked by deep engagement with both high school students and STEM educators. Under the supervision of Professor Jing Liu, the center continues to bridge the gap between high school classrooms and cutting-edge particle physics research.
Masterclass on Particle Physics for High School Students
On April 4, 2025, Professor Jing Liu organized a Masterclass for high school students in the Arts & Sciences Building at the University of South Dakota. The session was led by QuarkNet National staff member Shane Wood and provided students with a "pro-level" experience in particle physics and data analytics.
Participation: The event welcomed 25 high school students from three local high schools near USD, accompanied by two high school teachers.
Success Story: The impact of the masterclass was immediate and tangible; one participant was so inspired by the experience that they enrolled as a freshman in the USD Physics Department this fall.
Hands-on Research: Students learned to detect invisible particles and were exposed to large-scale data analytics.
Expert Engagement: The event featured a live Q&A session with scientists from Fermilab, allowing students to ask questions directly to researchers in the field.
Multimedia: A recap of the masterclass activities and student engagement can be viewed here: Particle Physics Masterclass at USD.
Professional Development Workshop for STEM Teachers
From July 24–25, 2025, the center held a two-day intensive workshop for six high school STEM teachers, led by Center Coordinator Professor Jing Liu and Lead Teacher Nolan Ortbahn.
Build Your Own Radiation Detector: The centerpiece of the workshop was a 1.5-day hands-on project where teachers built functional radiation detectors capable of capturing natural radiation and cosmic ray particles.
Interdisciplinary Skills: The project integrated chemistry (atomic structure), electronics (circuit components), and computer science (Python programming with Raspberry Pi Pico).
Institutional Impact: Following the workshop, one participating teacher contacted USD to establish a formal partnership. As a result, his high school now offers dual-credit physics classes, allowing students to earn university credits while still in high school.
Multimedia: Highlights of the teachers building and testing their detectors can be found here: #QuarkNet Workshop for STEM Teachers, 2025.
Feedback and Future Outlook
Participant feedback highlights the value of these sessions in providing unique professional development. Teachers specifically noted the importance of meaningful conversations with USD faculty and the practical nature of the electronics activities. One participant remarked, "I learned so much, and I'd really like to dive into the QuarkNet program much more."
Looking ahead, the USD QuarkNet Center is already planning for its 2026 Masterclass, scheduled for the spring of 2026. We remain committed to fostering a strong community of educators and students dedicated to the world of particle physics.
Acknowledgments
This work is supported by QuarkNet, the Department of Physics, the Dean’s Office of the College of Arts & Sciences at the University of South Dakota. Additional support is provided by the NSF PHY-2411825 award and the Ge-STAR(Germanium-based Science and Technology Advancement Research) project, funded by the NSF EPSCoR E-RISE award #2437416.