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The Department of Physics Congratulates its Spring Graduates

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We would like to congratulate physics majors Adam Trahan and Sara White, both of whom are graduating on May 13!

Adam Trahan

Adam is a native of Abbeville, LA, and is graduating with a GPA of 3.2 after double majoring in Physics and Mathematics. Adam has been a member of the Society of Physics Students, including serving as Treasurer since Spring 2015, and has also been an active researcher under the supervision of Dr. Gabriela Petculescu. Adam has been the recipient of the Fletcher Elliot Endowed Scholarship and the Dr. and Mrs. Sammie Cosper Scholarship.

Adam's research has focused on the technique of Resonant Ultrasound Spectroscopy (RUS) which is used to characterize the fundamental properties of solid materials.   During the summer of 2015 Adam was an intern at the Carderock Division of the Naval Surface Warfare Center, where he employed the RUS technique to study the effects of magnetic fields and temperature on iron and iron cobalt.

After graduation Adam plans to enroll in the Masters program in the Physics Department at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in the Fall of 2016 where he will continue his research with Dr. Gabriela Petculescu in the field of acoustics.

Sara White


Sara is a native of Houma, LA, and will be  graduating with a 3.79 GPA. Sara has been the President of the Society of Physics Students from 2013-2016, as well as doing research under the supervision of Dr. James Dent and Dr. Andy Hollerman.  She has been the recipient of the Sammie and Shirley Cosper Family Endowed Scholarship as well as the Reginald A. Bollich Endowed Physics Scholarship. Additionally Sara has been awarded a Certificate of Achievement for Academic Excellence at the Honors Convocation every year from 2013-2016, and is a current nominee for the Outstanding Graduate Award in the College of Sciences.

Sara's research focus with Dr. Dent has been on wormholes in modified general relativity, and she presented her results on this topic at the Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics in San Antonio in January of 2016. She and Dr. Dent are continuing this line of research throughout the Summer of 2016.  Sara's work with Dr. Hollerman consisted of studying luminescent properties of materials, and she presented her research in this area at the International Instrumentation Symposium in Huntsville, Alabama in 2015.

Sara was recently accepted into the Master of Science in Quantum Fields and Fundamental Forces program at Imperial College in London, and she will begin her course of study there in the Fall of 2016.

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