News & Events
December 12, 2024
STEMInA intern Katrina Reimer assists PICO 40L
Katrina Reimer is a 3rd year undergraduate Engineering student at Queen’s University. Last year she participated in the STEMInA (STEM Indigenous Academics) program, where she was partnered with Dr. Tony Noble and worked with the PICO 40L dark matter experiment on neutron multiplicity.
Reimer examined experimental data to calibrate the detector’s response to neutron signals. Neutron differentiation is important as the potential signal of a dark matter particle is expected to appear similar to that of a single bubble neutron event. As neutrons often produce multiple bubbles when they scatter inside the detector, accurate measurements of neutron bubble multiplicity provide the statistical support necessary for identifying potential dark matter signals.
“As the number of single bubble events in a row increase, the confidence that dark matter has been detected increases” explains Reimer.
Reimer was chosen to present her research at The Annual AISES National Conference in Texas in October. This was her first conference presentation, which she titled “Peci Wicein,” which means “Come with me” in Cree, and she created a short stop-motion animation to contextualize the PICO experiment at SNOLAB.
The experience with astroparticle physics through the STEMInA program has opened up many opportunities for Reimer, who says she’s interested in working to help build capacity in her home community of Attawapiskat. As the first member of her family to pursue a post-secondary education, she feels very proud and empowered to make a difference in her community. Reimer attended an Indigenous Science conference in Regina and she is excited to explore concepts of Two-Eyed Seeing in her own projects.
Reimer would like to thank her graduate student mentors; Minya Bai, Emily Adams, and Michaela Robert, who helped support her PICO internship.