Louisiana Tech University hosted more than 75 high school students from across Louisiana for the 2024 International Particle Physics Master Class.
The course is taught at 225 universities and research centers in more than 60 countries and provides students with the opportunity to measure real particle experimental data. Louisiana Tech University's Class of 2024 (the only class in the state) will include students from Ruston High School, Cedar Creek High School, West Monroe High School, New Iberia High School, and Westgate High School to join Tech's physics and education faculty and students. and studied physics at Louisiana Tech University.
Dr. Lee Sawyer (Director and Professor of Chemistry and Physics), Dr. Lindsay Keith Vincent (Assistant Dean for Research, Outreach, and Innovation in the College of Education), Diane Madden (Assistant Director of the Center for Science and Technology Education), Ph.D. Markus Wabisch (Associate Professor of Physics), Dr. John Shaw (Physics Lecturer), and Susan Wetzel (Physics Master Teacher of the Quarknet Consortium) led the students in hands-on activities and interactions with the European Atomic Energy Agency. held a video conference. Research (CERN).
During the conference call with CERN, students learned about the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world's largest particle accelerator, and the center's partnership with Louisiana Tech University. During the class, the high school students also interacted with Louisiana Tech physics students, who helped guide their research on radiation and cosmic ray detectors in the physics laboratory located in the Integrated Engineering and Science Building. Ta. They then used software to analyze the events of his ATLAS experiment at the LHC (the toroidal LHC instrument) and measured the mass of the Z boson, a particle that carries the weak nuclear force.
Sawyer and several physics students and professors started the Louisiana Tech Physics Master Class for local high schools in 2019, and it has grown in scope to date.
To learn more about the program, visit https://physicsmasterclasses.org/. Contact Dr. Lee Sawyer to learn how to register your class to attend his 2025 International Particle Physics Master Class at Louisiana Tech University.
This article was written by communication student Daniel Young.