MC students present at Argonne

By Julie Trac
News Editor

On Friday, Nov. 4, four MC students presented talks at the Argonne National Laboratory in Argonne, Ill. at the Sixteenth Annual Argonne Symposium for Undergraduates in Science, Engineering and Mathematics.

The presenters included juniors April Cook, Dede English and Kristin Mertel and senior David Danaher.

The presenters spoke about “Testing and Repairing Detectors for the Mollar Polarimeter,” “Are the Effects of Physical Therapy for Spastic Cerebral Palsy Temporary or Permanent?” “Structural Analysis of Tellurium Borate Glass Using Laser Ionization Time-of-Flight Spectroscopy” and “Ion Beamstop Design for a High Precision Mass Measurement System,” respectively.

Jeff Draves, associate professor of chemistry, and Michael Kroupa, assistant professor of physics, accompanied the students to the symposium.

Both small liberal art as well as large research institutions from across the Midwest were represented at the symposium.

At Argonne, the students learned how to present to an audience as a professional in the field of science.

Cook from Englewood, OH used information for her presentation from a 10-week long summer internship in conjunction with the Department of Energy at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility in Newport News, VA.

She states, “People do not think communication is a big part of science, but it is. Without being able to communicate your ideas or what you have researched, your work is useless.”

Cook continued, “It is a good way to meet other science majors and/or scientists in order to make connections for the future. I feel that it is beneficial to speak publicly as much as you can while you are still a student so that you have that part nailed down when you enter the real world of science. Not only will a presentation like this look good on any resume, but I gained an invaluable experience which I will look back on in the future.”

More information about the Symposium for Undergraduates and Argonne National Laboratory can be found On-line at http://www.dep.anl.gov/p_undergrad/ugsymp/.