General Lab Information

Summer School Policies

Description

Welcome to the Summer School in Nuclear and Radiochemistry, held each summer at Brookhaven National Laboratory. This six week program is one of two sponsored by the American Chemical Society and is funded by the Department of Energy. The program consists of two university courses, a lecture course (CHE-361) and a laboratory course (CHE-362).

Three credits for each course are offered by the Stony Brook University (SUNY at Stony Brook) with tuition supported by the program and at no cost to the student. NCSS will cover the fundamentals of nuclear theory, radiochemistry, nuclear instrumentation, radiological safety, and applications to related fields.

In addition, there are special events including special symposia, guest lectures, field trips to various research facilities at Brookhaven National Laboratory, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, a regional nuclear power plant, a US Navy nuclear submarine base, as well as social events.

Typical topics are:

  • Nuclear Power
  • Nuclear Medicine
  • Fundamental Particle Physics
  • Environmental Radiochemistry
  • Nuclear Forensics

Students will meet and interact with many leading scientists and specialists in these various fields.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: While NCSS is primarily a university-level course, BNL is not a college or university. BNL is a workplace in a secure federal facility. Furthermore, NCSS is a semester long course compressed into six intense weeks. Therefore, traditional policies, practices, and accommodations at colleges and universities do not – and cannot – apply to NCSS at BNL. Participants in good standing may continue in the program at the sole discretion of the Program Director. Anything that interrupts the safe and normal operations of BNL and/or has a negative impact on the NCSS program may constitute a loss of good standing and is grounds for immediate dismissal. This determination is made by the Program Director, in consultation with appropriate stakeholders, and is NOT subject to appeal. Participants will be required to sign an agreement to this effect. If individuals cannot agree to these conditions, they cannot participate in NCSS at BNL.

Honor Code

These courses are conducted under the Honor Code of the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Please consult the Stony Brook University website for information regarding policies and procedures governing academic honesty. Students are encouraged to work together on homework and the collection of data in the laboratory, however, all exams and lab reports represent an individual effort. When in doubt about any assignment, especially the writing of laboratory reports with regard to plagiarism, see the teaching assistants, instructors or Program Director for guidance.

BNL Anti-Harassment Policy

At Brookhaven National Laboratory or BNL-sponsored events, discriminatory behavior or harassment of conference participants or presenters will not be tolerated. Please refer to the BNL Anti-Harassment Policy.

Attendance

It is mandatory that students are punctual, attend all lectures, special topic talks, symposiums, and organized field trips. Habitual tardiness or absences will result in a 5% reduction of total possible points for the course. This course is fast paced and there is no chance to catch up.

Coursework

All required work (reports, term papers) is expected to be turned in at the assigned time. Late assignments will result in a reduction of 20% of the total possible points. CHE-361 will involve periodic homework assignments. These assignments will be reviewed the next morning by the lecturer with typically student involvement at the blackboard. Doing your homework is encouraged and will count toward your classroom participation grade. Unusual circumstances for tardiness on assignments (sickness, etc.) shall be discussed with the Program Director on a case by case basis.

Grades

Dr. Melissa Deri, the Program Director, is responsible for the assignment of all grades. Further details are found in the course descriptions.