Creighton University Physics Department chair Janet Seger, Ph.D., is the 2011 recipient of the American Physics Society Award for Faculty Working with Undergraduate Researchers. The award is given annually to a physicist whose research in an undergraduate setting has gained wide recognition and made a significant contribution to the professional development of undergraduate physics students.

Professor Seger's research focus is the study of ultra-peripheral heavy ion collisions. These collisions, where the impact parameters are large enough that long-range electromagnetic interactions dominate, allow the study of photon-induced interactions in a nuclear environment. The research is supported by the Department of Education and the Nebraska’s Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research. Seger has actively involved undergraduates, including several non-physics majors, in the study of ultra-peripheral collisions at STAR, a group studying the formation and characteristics of quark-gluon plasma at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in Long Island, NY. Her students also routinely present their work at national conferences.

The award consists of a $5,000 stipend for the recipient and a separate $5,000 unrestricted grant for research to the recipient’s institution. The award was established in 1984 by a grant from the Research Corporation, a private foundation for the advancement of science and technology.