Coe College received a $1.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to lead a multi‑university project called Advanced Calorimetry for High Energy Physics. The program will develop next‑generation particle instrumentation and give undergraduates hands‑on research opportunities, including tests at CERN, Los Alamos and Fermilab. Funds will hire an instrumentation technician and support two annual high school workshops focused on rural students, with travel assistance available.
Coe College Wins $1.3M DOE Grant to Lead Multi‑University High‑Energy Physics Project
Coe College in Cedar Rapids will lead a multi‑institution research collaboration in high‑energy physics after receiving a $1.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of High Energy Physics.
The project, titled Advanced Calorimetry for High Energy Physics, will develop next‑generation particle‑detector instrumentation and give undergraduate students direct, hands‑on research experience. Calorimetry — the measurement of particle energy deposits in detectors — is central to many particle physics experiments, and improvements in this technology can boost the sensitivity of future discoveries.
Collaborative Research and World‑Class Facilities
Coe will coordinate work with partner institutions including the University of Iowa, the California Institute of Technology, the University of Notre Dame and others. Students and researchers involved in the program will have opportunities to test prototypes and instrumentation at major national and international facilities such as CERN (Geneva), Los Alamos National Laboratory (New Mexico) and Fermilab (Illinois).
“This award reinforces Coe’s reputation as a place where undergraduates don’t just learn science — they do science at the highest level,” said James Wetzel, associate professor of physics and principal investigator at Coe College. “It is rare for a college of our size to lead a collaboration with partners like Caltech and CERN. It proves that our students are ready to contribute directly to the global scientific enterprise.”
Investment In People And Outreach
Grant funds will support the hiring of an instrumentation technician to maintain laboratory equipment and fabricate experimental apparatus, strengthening Coe’s in‑house research capabilities and enabling more ambitious student projects.
The award will also fund two annual workshops hosted by Coe for high school students, with a focus on reaching learners from rural communities. Travel assistance will be available to help students attend and engage with hands‑on demonstrations of high‑energy physics instrumentation.
“At Coe, you get the one‑on‑one mentorship of a close‑knit college, but you also get access to the same world‑class facilities as the biggest universities,” said Coe Provost Angela Ziskowski. “Our students are presenting at international conferences, publishing papers and building the actual equipment used to discover how the universe works.”
Overall, the grant both elevates Coe’s role in the global particle physics community and creates meaningful research and outreach pathways for undergraduates and pre‑college students.
