Black Hills State University was awarded a grant to study dark matter with SURF [Video]

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – Black Hills State University was awarded an almost 1 million dollar grant by the U.S. Department of Energy for research in high energy physics, specifically the direct detection of dark matter.

Dark Matter is a substance that makes up 80% of our universe, but its nature is still vastly unknown. The grant will allow further research into the matter, allowing undergrad students at Black Hills State to go underground at Sanford Research Facility.

The project’s focus is to advance the search for dark matter through data analysis of the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) experiment.

The grant spans over four years and, along with Sanford, is also in collaboration with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. It will give two students the opportunity to study and participate in hands-on experience in physics research and valuable exposure to leading research facilities.

“I think people don’t realize what we have here in …