Associate Professor Dr. Mustafa Rajabali is building an ion beam laboratory on campus. By teaching a diverse group of students how to get information and direction from departments across campus, Dr. Rajabali and his team have saved countless dollars and gained valuable hands-on experience. The team’s projects are impressive in both scope and cost savings.
The ion-beam facility is unique in that it involves only undergraduates in every aspect of its design, development and construction. It is envisioned to be a training ground for undergraduate science and engineering majors who intend to pursue a path in graduate studies or choose a career path in applied physics. The lab incorporates many fields in physics and engineering and is a critical part of a plan to develop a facility that will support a multitude of research projects including work related to Dr. Rajabali’s Department of Energy, Office of Science, Nuclear Physics Grant.
The ingenuity and resourcefulness of Dr. Rajabali’s team has resulted in unique experiences for undergraduate students in acquiring knowledge, collaborating with other departments and facilities on campus, and in learning how build their own equipment. Invaluable lessons learned even before the lab and equipment contained within are fully functional. It’s not the destination, it’s the journey!