In the standard model of nuclear physics, individual protons and neutrons are described as bound assemblies of much smaller particles called quarks and gluons. While the types and numbers of quarks that belong to one proton or neutron are tightly constrained within the model, no restrictions are placed on the configuration and number of gluons that make up the bound state. One way to study gluon structure within the nucleon is through the process of deep inelastic scattering (DIS), where individual gluons are knocked out in a hard collision with a point-like probe. Experiments of this type at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and at the future Electron Ion Collider (EIC) yield new information about the gluon structure of the nucleon. Another way to study the way gluons are arranged in stable nuclear matter is by passing high energy photons through stable nuclear matter and looking for the remnants that are produced when the photon is absorbed. While such interactions do disturb the quiescent state of the gluons inside the target, these excitations are much softer those explored in DIS experiments, and can provide complementary information about the way gluons are arranged in stable nuclear matter. One particularly interesting outcome from such spectroscopic studies would be the discovery of so-called exotic mesons in the photon remnants after the collision. The PI and students at the University of Connecticut are participating in the Gluonic Excitations Experiment (GlueX)