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Oct. 29, 2002
DH-02 TK 066
Contact: Thomas Knox
(310) 243-3367
Email: tknox@csudh.edu

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Advisory

Caltech Physicist Discusses Ultra High Cosmic Rays
During Physics Colloquium at Cal State Dominguez Hills

CARSON, Calif. - California Institute of Technology (Caltech) physicist, Dr. Robert McKeown, will review the properties of ultra high-energy cosmic rays during a physics colloquium on Friday, Nov. 1, at 3:30 p.m. in Room 221 of the Natural Science and Mathematics building at California State University, Dominguez Hills.

WHO: Dr. Robert McKeown, Professor of Physics, Caltech

WHAT: Physics Colloquium, "The California High School Cosmic Ray Observatory"

WHERE: California State University, Dominguez Hills, Natural Science and Mathematics Building, Room 221

WHEN: Friday, Nov. 1 at 3:30 p.m.

California High School Cosmic Ray Observatory (CHICOS), is a collaborative project involving Caltech with local high schools and other universities to construct a large array of particle detectors in the greater Los Angeles area. Detectors, located on various school rooftops, utilize the power and network infrastructure available at the schools. McKeown says the main scientific goal of the project is to study cosmic rays at ultra-high energies. "We have fielded 23 sites so far, and are beginning to collect data as we continue to deploy additional sites," McKeown explains. "We have recently observed our first evidence of extended air showers in coincidence with a local high school."

Professor of Physics Kenneth S. Ganezer, also chair of the CSUDH Department of Physics, shares the excitement and potential of the project. "CHICOS is a wonderful demonstration of how seemingly disparate functions of the educational enterprise, frontier research, higher education, K-12 education, and community outreach and service can be incorporated into a single exciting endeavor," Ganezer says.

Ganezer, along with a team of CSUDH scientists and physics students recently received high praises for their work on ultrasound advances in osteoporosis and bone imaging during the 2002 meeting of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) in Montreal, Canada. The work of Ganezer's team was also recognized by the American Institute of Physics (AIP) as significant in the diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis, the thinning and loss of elasticity of bone that eventually affects thousands of elderly people.

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