One of the highlights for any science undergraduate is completing a research project. Whether or not it is on/off-campus, whether or not it is un/paid, whether or not it is for credit, there is much to be gained through the process of creating new knowledge. The painful process of submitting the mind to the focus…
As part of the West Salem Elementary afterschool enrichment program, physics majors Linnea Kremer (2017, Left), Sarah Dvorak (2016, Center), and Hannah Lyle (2017, Right) led a course on physics and chemistry concepts in February 2015. This was the fourth semester in a row that Roanoke College physics students and/or professors had taught an enrichment…
Recent Roanoke MCSP graduate Elizabeth Ciskowski is one of nine new teachers this fall at The O’Neal School, a private college preparatory school in Southern Pines, North Carolina. Lizzie graduated in Spring 2014 from Roanoke College with a double major in Mathematics and Physics. From her frequent Facebook posts about the start of her term there, we’re…
For senior physics students Cam Cassady (middle right) and Chris Valentine (far right), the summer was spent engaged in research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory near Knoxville, Tennessee. Their research projects were a result of the Visiting Faculty Program funded by the US Department of Energy. Under the direction of ORNL research scientist Matthew Blackston…
First-year physics majors Tyler Strouth, Brandon Petersen, and Jacob Barfield (L to R in picture above) enthusiastically participated in the after-school enrichment program at West Salem Elementary School. The trio led an interactive session to 3-5th graders primarily pertaining to fluid properties, including a classic demonstration of laminar flow involving oil and food coloring. By all accounts,…
Update: The Roanoke Valley Governor’s School student, Alexus McBride, who was assisted back in February by RC students Amanda Wright, Lizzi Ciskowski, Sara Dvorak and Thomas Lux and RC professor Rich Grant, tied for first place in her regional science fair. Alexus will be moving on to the Virginia statewide science fair competition later this…
On February 27, MCSP students Maya Shende, Thomas Lux and Randall Pittman described the results of the research they carried out last summer and last fall to an interested and enthusiastic crowd in Massengill Auditorium. First, Ms. Shende described her work with Physics professor Dan Robb on simulating the neural network underlying the breathing rhythm,…
Thanks to Roanoke College students Amanda Wright, Lizzi Ciskowski, Sara Dvorak and Thomas Lux, as well as Dr. Rich Grant! These students and Dr. Grant dedicated part of a recent Saturday to helping Alexus McBride, a Roanoke Valley Governor’s School student, analyze the data from her school science project. Alexus’ project involved the effectiveness of…
Lizzi Ciskowski, Amanda Wright and Sarah Dvorak (L to R in the above picture) carpooled to the MACUWiP (Mid Atlantic Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics) at the University of Maryland from January 17-19! The conference program included many interesting opportunities for our intrepid trio of female physics majors: a tour of NIST (National Institute…
The MCSP Department, and the physics group in particular, were excited to welcome back Roanoke alumnus Jake Bennett to campus on February 4! Jake is currently doing graduate research at the University of Indiana at Bloomington in experimental particle physics, and in fact has planned his Ph.D. defense for this April. In addition to having…
