Development of Gas Electron Multiplier Detectors at Hampton University

Gas Electron Multipliers (GEM) were introduced in the late 1990s and have since been developed for a large variety of nuclear and particle physics experiments and applications. As state-of-the art radiation detectors they are radiation hard, high-rate capable, and easy to handle. GEM detectors for ionizing charged particle detection including readout electronics are assembled from pre-manufactured parts by university-based students and postdocs, before the final products are deployed in experiments at off-campus research facilities. I will report about GEM detectors developed by my group at Hampton University, a tradition-rich HBCU in Virginia, and their use in recent and in planned experiments (OLYMPUS, MUSE, DarkLight, SBS) at major research facilities around the world (DESY, PSI, TRIUMF, and JLAB), with an emphasis on broader impact by developing skills and capacities at a minority-serving institution.