McCleese Presents at Physics Conference

CLAY STUDENT PRESENTS AT 57^TH ANNUAL APS PLASMA PHYSICS CONFERENCE IN SAVANNAH, GEORGIA.

Ava McCleese, a junior at Clay High School, presented a poster session on “The Diagnosing of Plasmas using Spectroscopy and Imaging on Proto-MPEX” at the 57^th Annual Meeting of the American Physical Society, Division of Plasma Physics on November 17, 2015, in Savannah, GA;  Exhibit Hall A at 2 pm.  Ava’s ARC/ORAU mentor was Theodore Biewer, with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.  

She presented with other high school students as well as undergraduate and graduate students and scientists from all over the United States.  Her topic heading was listed under the research topic heading Education and Outreach; Undergraduate/High School Research: DIII-D I, Diagnostics and Simulation Methods, Low-Temperature Plasmas, Breakdown, Thrusters, and Sheaths.

About the Conference
The Division of Plasma Physics (DPP) Annual Meeting 2015 took place in Savannah, GA.  All technical sessions took place at the Savannah International Trade & Convention Center with over 1887 abstracts submitted. The headquarters hotel was the Westin Savannah. The convention center and hotel are situated on the banks of the Savannah River and just a short ferry ride from the historic homes and picturesque squares of Savannah. 

Undergraduate or High School Students Doing Research
There was a special poster session entitled “Undergraduate/High School Research” at the annual meeting on Tuesday, November 17. For the thirteenth year, DPP presented an outstanding poster award to undergraduate students. This session provided an opportunity for students to present results from summer and/or thesis research, as well as the opportunity to meet other plasma physicists, such as junior and senior researchers and students.  Poster Session boards are freestanding, with a display area measuring four (4) feet high by eight (8) feet wide.

Ava’s research is a result of her attending the ARC/ORNL 2015 High School Summer Math-Science-Technology Institute which included 14 high school teachers and 36 high school students as participants. These 50 participants are from 13 states within the Appalachian region. Four Resident Teachers chaperone the participants. The 2015 participants are distributed into 10 research teams: four of the research teams are comprised of teachers, and six teams are comprised of students. Team members generally do not know each other initially, but friendships become established over the two-week research experience.

Visit the Oak Ridge ORAU/ARC website for more information:  http://www.orau.org/arc-ornl/2015/index.html

Other student projects included

·         Application of Diagnostic Techniques for Measurements on the Prototype-Material Plasma Exposure Experiment (PROTO-MPEX)

• Uniformity of Thermal Aging of I&C Cable Insulation in Current Nuclear Power Plants
• Design of Novel Polymeric Materials Using Computer Simulation
• Heterologous expression of mgsD to identify potential adaptation to salt stress
• Magnetic Levitation
• Robotic Systems and Engineering Development
• Build a Supercomputer

Application of Diagnostic Techniques for Measurements on the Prototype-Material Plasma Exposure Experiment (PROTO-MPEX)
Proto-MPEX is a linear device that uses magnetic fields to confine plasmas and direct them onto material targets, simulating conditions that will be found in future fusion reactors. The students will be introduced to a variety of techniques which are used to make measurements from plasma discharges, including survey spectroscopy, Doppler spectroscopy, filter spectroscopy, infra-red imaging, thermocouples, visible camera imaging, and probes. Students will examine data from computer terminals, both from a data archive and live, as the Proto-MPEX device operates. Students assembled a database of measurements and looked for trends.