Professor at Ursinus College in Physics & Astronomy
Pre-Engineering Coordinator
lriley@ursinus.edu
Mastodon: @lewriley@mas.to
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Fall 2025 Courses

• PHYS-201: Classical Mechanics
• PHYS-339W: Advanced Physics Laboratory II
• PHYS-121L: Spacetime and Quantum Physics Lab

Spring and Summer 2025

Ewan Chattin (UC Physics ‘25), Maddy Hickson (UC Physics ‘26), and Nathaniel Nerone (UC Pre-Engineering ‘27) tested and measured full energy detection efficiencies, energy resolutions, and timing resolutions of 9 CeBr₃ scintillator detectors purchased with National Science Foundation support. These detectors will become part of the CeBrA array of gamma-ray detectors at the Fox Lab at Florida State University, which is used with the Super Enge Split Pole Spectrograph to collect charged-particle gamma-ray coincidence data from nuclear reactions.

Spring and Summer 2024

Alyssa Himmelreich (UC Physics ‘26) and Blake McNulty (UC Pre-Engineering ‘26) traveled to the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) at Michigan State University to complete inverse-kinematics proton scattering measurements of the N=28 isotones ⁴⁴S and ⁴²Si. The combined results of the Coulomb excitation and proton scattering measurements of ⁴²Si will shed light on the relative contributions of neutrons and protons to the collective excitation of this nucleus.

Ewan Chattin (UC Pre-Engineering ‘25) spent 5 weeks at the Fox Lab at Florida State University studying the neutron shell structure of ⁶²Ni via the ⁶¹Ni + d → ⁶²Ni + p neutron transfer reaction using the Super Enge Split Pole Spectrograph with the CeBrA demonstrator array.