Nuclear and Plasma Physics Research at Geneseo

The Department of Physics and Astronomy at SUNY Geneseo carries out a number of research projects in nuclear and plasma physics.  Many of these projects utilize our National Electrostatics Corporation Model 5SDH 1.7 MV tandem Pelletron accelerator.  Professors Padalino, Fletcher, and Freeman perform research in collaboration with the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) in the field of Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF).  Our accelerator can be used to test and calibrate diagnostics used at LLE.  

Our accelerator also enables us to carry out a variety of ion beam analytical techniques.  These include Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS), proton-induced X-ray emission (PIXE), and nuclear reaction analysis (NRA).  These techniques allow the elemental composition of samples to be determined with high precision non-destructively.

More information about our accelerator lab can be found on Geneseo's Nuclear Physics page.