Studies revealing the structure of light mesons at the Electron-Ion Collider

        Atoms are the building blocks of everything and are made up of smaller things such as protons, neutrons, and electrons. There are even smaller particles that makeup neutrons and protons, the quarks and gluons. Most of the visible mass comes from the quark and gluon interactions. In my research, I am focusing on the structure of mesons, particles that are made from one quark and an anti-quark fixed with a gluon. I've been developing Monte Carlo simulations to make projections for meson structure experiments at the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC). I've been utilizing python, C++, and Geant4 to build a Monte Carlo and root to visualize and analyze the projected data. The EIC requires instrumentation, specifically the detection of the scattered electron. I am focusing on investigating the optimal configuration of an EM calorimeter that detects scattered electrons. I've been working with a simulation that resembles the geometry and materials. This enables us to study the energy deposition in the scintillation material, the energy resolution of detector assembly, and the ratio of Cherenkov to scintillation optical photons. In this talk, I will present projections of meson structure-function measurements at the EIC and optimized detector configurations required to collect data.