Cosmic ray research to be focus of international meeting at Wichita State

An international group of physicists will meet at Wichita State University in early February to chart the progress of a
cosmic ray observatory currently under construction.

The computer controlling the test array for the Auger (pronounce oh zhay) North Cosmic Ray Observatory, currently
in its first phase of construction in southeast Colorado, is located at Wichita State University, according to Nick Solomey, 
project principal investigator at WSU and chair of the WSU Department of Physics.

Scientists from Germany, France and the Netherlands will be among those present for the U.S. Auger Observatory
Group Meeting to be held February 3 and 4.. They are part of an international contingency providing over $100
million for this 25-year project. U.S. physicists will include John Harton, Colorado State University, Department
of Energy principal investigator and Jim Matthews, University of Louisiana, co-spokesman of the Auger experiment 
as well a number of scientists from other states. 

The goal of the Auger North Cosmic Ray Observatory Project is to study the rare, high-energy cosmic rays that
continually enter our atmosphere. It is the complement to the Auger South Observatory in Argentina which has
been operational since 2004.

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