Interests (Work Related):

I am currently working on experiments at Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (Jefferson Lab) to measure strangeness production in electron-nucleon reactions and to study the excited states of the nucleon. These experiments use the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer (CLAS). This first of its kind superconducting toroidal magnet allows for the precise identification of multiple particle final states. Commissioning of this detector began in November of 1996. The first experiment began in December 1997 and was completed in March 1998. As part of the international collaboration building this device, my efforts have focused on the software and computer hardware needed to run the device and to collect and analyze the data from experiments done using CLAS.

I am also interested in science education and have devoted a significant fraction of my effort toward improving the computer technology in the undergraduate physics labs, developing and improving science demonstrations, and exploring the potential of the world wide web as a teaching device.

Recent Activities:

Developing distributed software for the CLAS experimental program, including software for data acquisition, detector simulation, event analysis, and experiment database management.

Building a distributed computing cluster from commodity priced computers for CLAS data analysis and have just begun a project to build a similar computer system for on-line event analysis at CLAS.

Developing the specifications for a computer system for data acquisition and analysis for a Meson Physics Facility at Jefferson Lab

Taking Part in Grand Challenge in High Energy and Nuclear Physics Focussed on Efficient Data Access for Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider

Past-Chairman for the Jefferson Lab User's Group Board of Directors

Chairman of the Jefferson Lab Physics Computing Advisory Committee.

Rewrote the software for Physics 2048C (General Physics A) laboratories.

Developed and am currently maintaining Web resources for Physics 2048 and Physics 2049.

Developed Web-4M (now a commercial product) for on-line collaboration and education

Developed and currently maintaining a science and mathematics activities page, Cyberspace Middle School, on the World Wide Web

Member, Sealey Elementary School Advisory Council

Member, Leon Association of Science Teachers Board of Directors

Contact Information:

Mail:

Dr. Larry Dennis

Department of Physics

Florida State University

205 Keen Building

Tallahassee, FL 32306-3016

Phone: (904) 644-1804

Fax: (904) 644-9848

E-mail: dennisl@scri.fsu.edu