Chansey Champagne is a physics major with an interest in astronomy 杏吧专区 an interest that grew while watching the Science Channel growing up.
杏吧专区淔or some reason, the TV would always play the Science Channel at home,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淏eing an 8-year-old, I didn杏吧专区檛 really have the authority to change it.
杏吧专区淏ut then the space documentaries would start playing and it would catch my attention,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淚 started checking out space books from the library and learn as much about it as possible.
"That interest never really faded away. And then I learned that majoring in physics is the best way to be able to go into astronomy.杏吧专区
Student Research Opportunities in Physics
Chansey started at UL Lafayette with a scholarship as a student worker in the Department of Physics. With a curiosity for astrophysics, she took interest in assisting Dr. Manavi Jadhav's research on micrometeorites.
杏吧专区淚 thought it sounded fun to try to discover something that nobody杏吧专区檚 really looked for,杏吧专区 she explained. 杏吧专区淢icrometeorites have been found in Norway, but nobody杏吧专区檚 thought to look here. So, we杏吧专区檙e trying to find them here in Lafayette."
Becoming involved with the micrometeorite research has required Chansey to be very hands-on 杏吧专区 and that's what makes it fun.
杏吧专区淚t杏吧专区檚 fun,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淛ust being able to find something that was once in space 杏吧专区 because you see stuff in museums, and yeah that杏吧专区檚 cool, but to be able to find it yourself and learn about the process of what it took for that little piece of space dust to get here.杏吧专区
Finding Micrometorites
杏吧专区淣ormal meteorites fall every so often, but most of the material that falls to earth is too small to see,杏吧专区 Chansey explained. 杏吧专区淚t杏吧专区檚 only a few micrometers across. I think it杏吧专区檚 like 100,000 tons hit the earth every year, but we can only find them in really clean places like Antarctica that haven杏吧专区檛 been touched by people. Here, it would be mixed with organic dust and manmade dust."
To find the micrometeorites, Chansey and her fellow researchers are taking samples from flat-roofed buildings 杏吧专区 starting with buildings on campus.
杏吧专区淲e went on the top of the roof of the physics building and we collected some dust. We杏吧专区檙e in the stages of processing it,杏吧专区 she said.
杏吧专区淲e collect that dust, clean out the organic material, go with a neodymium magnet and collect all the really magnetic stuff. We clean out the organic material that might have stuck to it, then we go to look at them under a microscope.
杏吧专区淎ll of this research is based on a book about someone who杏吧专区檚 doing the same thing in Norway,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淪ome of the stuff was kind of vague, specifically with how to clean it, so we杏吧专区檙e working out the kinks.
Showcasing Research Findings at Conferences & in Museums
The plan, if any micrometeorites are found, is to share their research.
杏吧专区淲e杏吧专区檙e going to try to create a collection to study them,杏吧专区 Chansey said. 杏吧专区淧eople have studied the big meteorites, but there have only been a few studies on micrometeorites. We杏吧专区檙e going to try to work something with the because eventually, we杏吧专区檙e supposed to be collecting from their roof."
Chansey also plans to present their findings at the Louisiana Academy of Sciences conference.
杏吧专区淚t will be the first time I杏吧专区檝e gone to something like this and shown off what I杏吧专区檓 doing," she said.
A Family of Physics Majors
Outside of the research, Chansey enjoys spending time with her physics family.
杏吧专区淓ven if you杏吧专区檙e having trouble in a class, if you go to that professor, they杏吧专区檙e willing to help you,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淭hat杏吧专区檚 what they杏吧专区檙e here for. It杏吧专区檚 all close-knit so you build these relationships and it杏吧专区檚 like a second family.
"There杏吧专区檚 a lot of opportunities, like with the conference, and there are internships. They杏吧专区檙e willing to give you opportunities to further yourself.杏吧专区
