Internships at LIP's e-CRLab
"Four students from Gago Coutinho Secondary School did internships at LIP's e-CRLab "
As part of a partnership between Gago Coutinho Secondary School and the Laboratory of Instrumentation and Experimental Particle Physics (LIP), four students from the Electronics, Automation and Computers Technical Course had the opportunity to carry out internships at the e-CRLab.
Leonardo David and Júlio Araújo, from the 2nd year, and Mateus Domingues and Mateus Cardoso, from the 3rd year, worked on developing essential skills in assembling and programming control systems. These systems, made up of several microcontrollers, allowed the students to learn hands-on how to create automated devices.
Microcontrollers are small integrated circuit chips that have memory, a processor core and input and output peripherals. They are widely used in embedded systems, which are parts of larger systems and perform specific functions, such as controlling household appliances, toys and cars.
The internships, which lasted 300 hours, were supervised by Miguel Ferreira and José Carlos Nogueira, who provided the students with a rich and stimulating learning environment through challenging and innovative tasks. On July 11, in the LIP Seminar Room, the trainees presented the results of their work, demonstrating the practical application of the skills they had acquired.
The e-CRLab specializes in developing electronics for cosmic ray experiments, with a particular focus on fast digital electronics based on FPGAs (field-programmable gate arrays). The lab has the capacity to design and produce prototype printed circuit boards, and is also involved in large-scale projects such as MARTA, which operates RPCs at the Pierre Auger Observatory, and the development of front-end electronics based on the ASIC MAROC.
In addition, e-CRLab has developed a system and procedures for testing electronic components for the ESA mission to Jupiter and contributes significantly to outreach and teaching activities. An example of this is the creation of AMU - A ver MUões, a small cosmic ray telescope for secondary schools, and the installation of mounts at the Instituto Superior Técnico for the Advanced Experimental Physics Laboratory.
The hands-on experience provided by the e-CRLab not only enriched the technical training of the students at Gago Coutinho Secondary School, but also reinforced the importance of collaboration between educational institutions and cutting-edge research laboratories, promoting the development of future professionals in the field of electronics.