Construction of a modular large-area neutron detector for the NSCL

A collaboration of ten institutions, including a large number of undergraduate schools, proposed and constructed a highly efficient large-area neutron detector. The modular neutron array (MoNA) is designed to detect high-energy neutrons in experiments with fast rare isotopes at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory. It consists of 144 individual detector modules of plastic scintillator, is position sensitive, and features multi-hit capability. The MoNA project involves undergraduate students from the collaborating colleges and universities and gives them the possibility to take part in research at the forefront of nuclear physics.