So, I think this might count as procrastination from writing up my dissertation for the MPhys Research Year, but never mind…
I was lucky enough to study at Yale University, as a part of the Nuclear Structure group. My project involved lifetime analysis of 94Zr – an isotope of the element Zirconium, using the Plunger Device and the Tandem Van de Graaf accelerator at the Wright Nuclear Structure Lab. This method utlizes the Doppler shift of accelerated ions, in combination with the plunger device’s accurate distance measurement to calculate the lifetime of the state of interest. 94Zr is of special interest since it is one of the few candidates for mixed-symmetry states in this mass region for isotopes and includes the unique case where the transition strength of the second 2+ state to the ground state is actually higher than that of the first 2+ to ground state.
My year at Yale took me across America, visiting labs, attending conferences and travelling during my free time. I managed to visit 13 states and 4 labs whilst eating more take-out food than I care to calculate!
Living in America was a fantastic experience, and New England is certainly one of the most picturesque places in the country, especially in Fall, sorry, Autumn! The people are so very welcoming that I found my feet far quicker than I had expected.
The Masters year is certainly a good time to see a new country, whilst working on ground-breaking research. Who could ask for more?
For more information and stories from my year in America, which I don’t have the words or time to get into now, (unfortunately without too much focus on the physics side) please check out my blog. Now, back to the dissertation!
