APSU Students earn high marks for research at famed Fermilab
October 3, 2013
Clarksville, TN – Mees Fix, an Austin Peay State University physics student, thought he might be in trouble. He was outside of Chicago, analyzing white dwarf stars at Fermilab – the U.S. Department of Energy’s national laboratory – when he noticed something strange. One of the stars was giving off way too much light energy.
“At first, I thought I broke something,” he said. “I figured I messed something up. I walked over to Dr. Smith and said, ‘check this out? What’s going on here?’” [Read more]
Austin Peay State University Student Heading to Famous CERN Lab this Summer
February 11, 2013
Clarksville, TN – The tunnel, which is more than 16 miles long, is buried some 300 feet underground in the suburbs of Geneva, Switzerland. Back in 2008, a few nervous individuals worried the long, circular corridor might end up destroying the planet.
That’s because scientists planned to smash subatomic particles together in that hidden laboratory to recreate the “big bang” that spawned the universe. A handful of doomsdayers worried the researchers might instead create a miniature black hole.
Austin Peay physics student conducted research in Czech Republic this summer
October 19, 2012
Clarksville, TN – In a laboratory in the Czech Republic town of Pardubice, Austin Peay State University physics student James Winegar tried to strike up a conversation with a local Ph.D. student. Winegar, one of the few English speakers around, had spent much of the summer working on his Czech language skills, so he thought it was a good opportunity to practice a few phrases.
“He said, ‘stop butchering my language,’ or something to that effect,” Winegar said. “He said, ‘you’re not allowed to speak it anymore.’” [Read more]
Austin Peay State University Physics Students building ‘Green’ Race Car
April 4, 2012
Clarksville, TN – The other day, Austin Peay State University physics student Elijah Jensen took out his cell phone to show a picture of his car. The hood was up in the photo, exposing an engine in pieces.
“That’s my car’s engine on Saturday,” he said. “I had to take the whole thing apart to fix one little piece. I’m very into fixing my own car, but fixing a car is a lot different than building a car.”
APSU physics students Elijah Jensen and John Walker discuss the half-scale prototype race car frame they designed and built. The next step is to build the full-scale formula SAE racecar. (Photo by Amber Fair/APSU).
Austin Peay State University physics student builds Spectrometer for Observatory
March 29, 2012
Clarksville, TN – In the middle of the night, a little sliver of light shines from the doorway of the observatory in the remote farmland of the Austin Peay State University Environmental Education Center.
Inside, maybe with a cup of coffee or a soda to keep her awake, is APSU physics student Katie Boedges, waiting for the Cat’s Eye Nebula to appear in the night sky.
“It rises at 1:30am in the morning, so I’m usually going to be there all night long,” she said. [Read more]
Austin Peay State University student to study physics at Louvre in Paris this summer
March 27, 2012
Clarksville, TN – The art world, it turns out, can use a good physicist. When it comes to restoring priceless works, identifying forgeries or discovering long lost masterpieces painted over centuries ago, curators at the world’s top museums and galleries turn to their colleagues in the sciences for help.
This summer, officials at the Louvre Museum in Paris might look to Austin Peay State University physics student Drew Kerr to assist them in making discoveries about the famed works in their collection.
APSU student Drew Kerr working with a Raman Spectrometer in the APSU Sundquist Science Complex’s laser lab. (Photo by Beth Liggett/APSU staff)
New Observatory Opens at APSU Farm
August 24, 2011
Clarksville, TN – Shortly before sunset last Friday evening, a large crowd of stargazers gathered at the Austin Peay State University Environmental Education Center off Pickens Road, hoping to get a good look at the moon or possibly Mars.
The center, also known as the APSU Farm, sits only a few miles from Governor’s Square Mall and is somewhat affected by that area’s light pollution, but as of Friday, it has become the one of the best spots in Clarksville for astronomers to congregate.
That’s because, next to the barns and hay bales, APSU has opened a new observatory with a retractable dome and a 20-inch Ritchey-Chretien telescope, featuring the same optical design as NASA’s Hubble Telescope.
New APSU Observatory offically opens.
APSU Physics Student Yost Receives Honorable Mention for Famed Goldwater Scholarship
May 7, 2011
Clarksville, TN – In 2008, Mason Yost was a high school student unsure of where he wanted to go to college or what he wanted to study. That summer, the Cleveland, Tennessee, native ended up making a fateful visit to Clarksville to attend the Governor’s School for Computational Physics at Austin Peay State University. That’s where he met faculty members such as Dr. Alex King, chair of the physics department, and Dr. Jaime Taylor, dean of the College of Science and Mathematics.
“My interest in physics really began when I attended Governor’s School,” Yost said. [Read more]
Eight APSU Physics Students to Participate in Coveted Summer Research Programs
May 2, 2011
Clarksville, TN – This summer, eight Austin Peay State University physics students will spread out across the country to take part in the prestigious Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program at some of the nation’s top universities.
The REU program, which is funded by the National Science Foundation, provides grant money for undergraduate students to participate in innovative new research. Thousands of college students apply each year in different disciplines, with only a select few receiving the coveted REU Awards. [Read more]
