Illinois Institute of Technology has teamed up with Northern Illinois University to create the Chicagoland Accelerator Science Traineeship (CAST) program.

Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the program provides up to two years of funding for students in the graduate program in physics at Illinois Tech to pursue studies in accelerator science and technology. Students in this program will actively participate in research at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab), Argonne National Laboratory, or with local industrial partners.

The competitive program offers accelerator and beam physics graduate students at Illinois Tech the opportunity to participate in relevant accelerator science at pioneering research institutions during their initial years of graduate study.

Students in the program are expected to complete the two years of studies culminating in a masters degree or admittance into a doctoral program in the accelerator field, and will participate in projects at the national labs or with industrial partners. Possible topics may include (but are not limited to):

• Modeling and optimization of accelerator and beam designs,
• Operation and system integration issues relevant to the development and upgrades of large-scale accelerator systems,
• General beam instrumentation, measurements and diagnostics.

To be eligible to participate in the DOE-sponsored traineeship program, graduate student candidates must:

1. Be a U.S. citizen or a legal permanent resident.
2. Be at least 18 years of age.
3. Be enrolled full-time in the Ph.D. or master’s (with thesis) degree program.

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis.

For further information or to express interest in applying, send an email to CAST@capp.iit.edu or torun@iit.edu.

In order to apply for the program, an application for graduate studies at Illinois Tech must be submitted, and in addition, an email sent to CAST@capp.iit.edu stating interest in the program.

It would be helpful to include the following in the email:

1. A personal statement with specifics regarding research interest in Accelerator Science and the expected benefits the applicant will gain from joining the CAST program at Illinois Tech
2. A short resume that includes information about the undergraduate degree