PIXE-PAN 2009

Institute for Structure and Nuclear Astrophysics
@ University of Notre Dame

From the office of Notre Dame Police: At approximately 2037 hrs. on Friday the 19th of June 2009, the body of Dr. Astroprof, Director of the Nuclear Science Lab, was discovered in the control room of 125 Nieuwland Science Hall. Frank Lewkinski, of Housekeeping, called the Campus Police Department immediately upon discovering the body. Lewkinski stated that he saw Dr. Astroprof alive and well at around 2019 hrs.

Lewkinski explained that he had shown up for work at 1930 hrs., as usual, to clean the lab. Lewkinski told authorities that when he first arrived at the lab, Dr. Astroprof was working at the FN console. There seemed to be nothing irregular in his behavior, and nothing appeared to be amiss in the lab.

Lewkinski said that at around 2019 hrs. he realized that he had forgotten a few cleaning supplies, so he left the lab to go down the hall to get them. Assuming that he would be back in a very short time he left the door open, though it usually remained locked after regular work hours. Lewkinski explained that he was detained by a coworker and so was unable to see if anyone entered the lab during his absence.

Upon returning to the lab approximately 18 minutes later, Lewkinski said he found Dr. Astroprof sprawled and unconscious on the floor of the control room. Lewkinski said he first called the emergency response team, and then he attempted to revive the non-responsive Dr. Astroprof. Medical personnel arrived at the scene at 2041 hrs. and declared Dr. Astroprof to be dead at the scene.

Investigators suspect foul play. Dr. Astroprof had no known medical history or conditions which may have contributed to his death. There was nothing which suggests a suicide. Crime scene reports indicate that there were some signs of a struggle at the scene, although there were no indications of physical trauma on the person of Dr. Astroprof.

Our team of researchers needed the help of PIXE-PAN students to check the evidence in order to discover the identity of Dr. Astroprof’s killer.

Suspects: Researchers performed background checks on all personnel involved with the lab at the time of the murder and, whether coincidence or premeditation, the four people who were found to have probable motives for the murder of Dr. Astroprof are the four teachers participating in the PIXE-PAN workshop, which you students are now involved in, as well. The suspects are listed below.

		Kelly B., aka: Teed Off Apparently Dr. Astroprof refused to help Kelly with her plans to take over the world via nuclear physics. Investigations reveal that Kelly is still exceedingly bitter that her plans were foiled by his lack of compliance.
		Heather C., aka: Hoosier Mama It has been confirmed that Dr. Astroprof denied Heather’s acceptance into graduate school at The University of Notre Dame. Investigations reveal that Heather often comments bitterly on the subject, and she uses the denial letter as a dart board.
		Casey B., aka: Aggie It seems that Casey owes Dr. Astroprof an excessive amount of money after a trip to Monte Carlo. Investigations reveal that Casey is both an obsessive and aggressive gambler, and she has had much experience dealing with loan-sharks.
		David B., program recidivist Dr. Astroprof allegedly stole David’s girl-friend back in high school. Investigations reveal that David never quite got over the injustice, and he recently switched from writing romantic poems to Peggy Sue to writing hatred-filled poems to Dr. Astroprof.

Investigators searching the scene of the crime found four (4) hairs on the person of Dr. Astroprof. Due to the motives of the suspects, investigators were able to obtain search warrants which allowed them to collect hair samples from each of the teachers. Using a diffraction set-up which determines the thickness of wires (in this instance hair samples), the students were able to match each of the four teachers to one of the hair samples found on Dr. Astroprof’s clothing.

While examining the scene of the crime, CSI personnel discovered a soil sample on the floor of the FN console area. Since Lewkinski claimed to have just finished cleaning the floors before Dr. Astroprof was found dead, authorities had reason to believe that this soil sample belonged to the person responsible for the murder. Under the search warrant, investigators were able to obtain similar soil samples from the clothing/shoes of each of the four teachers.

To assist in our investigation, the PIXE-PAN student teams used the techniques they’d learned to analyze all of the soil samples that were collected. Since there were four student teams and four teacher-suspects, each team was assigned the task of comparing evidence from a specific teacher to the evidence found at the scene of the crime. Students tested the samples in XRF, PIXE, and Neutron Activation labs...some hoping to find that their teacher-suspect would be proved innocent.

After a number of research applications, only Heather C’s group came up with a direct match between a sample gathered from the suspect and a sample found at the scene of the crime. The samples both contained a mixture of NaCl and KCl. It was not until each team had completed the Neutron Activation lab testing that it was possible to confirm whether their teacher was guilty or innocent because the samples taken from the other three teachers were of pure KCl. The sodium had too low an energy to be seen in the XRF and PIXE, although some teams did notice a difference in the concentration levels between their teachers’ samples and the samples found at the scene of the crime.

The Neutron Activation evidence was unquestionable, however, and authorities took Heather C. in for questioning. She was very non-compliant at first, but then explained that she had gone in to the lab at 2030 because she had left her key at the console earlier in the day. She said she saw Dr. Astroprof lying on the floor, but was afraid of being accused of the crime and so ran out as quickly as she could. Based on her original statement Heather C. now faces charges for perjury, but she is no longer a suspect for the murder because an REU student, Ryan Soklaski, came forward admitting to murder. He explained that he was in such a rage after Dr. Astroprof accidentally stumbled upon the Higgs boson - the only Standard Model particle that had not been previously observed - after Ryan had spent his whole life in the search of this massive scalar elementary particle, a feat which was sure to win the discoverer the Nobel Prize. “I was so close to discovering it myself,” Ryan says, “that I could not let him take this victory from me. . .and I made sure he wouldn’t!” Soklaski’s trial is scheduled for later this year.

Summary by NCIS Abby-Elizabeth

It’s doubtful that anyone will now declare physics to be a ‘safe’ major, for it seems that competition to succeed in this field is fierce and dangerous. But we all mourn the loss of Dr. Astroprof - not only was he a pioneer in his field and respected by many who have worked with him over the years, but he was a kind boss and a good friend to all who had the privilege of claiming such a relationship. He will most certainly be missed.