Science Speaker Series Kicks Off with Visit from Professor Anna Dugas

Anna Dugas, Associate Professor of Physics for Northwestern State University, spoke with LSMSA students about the LaACES (Louisiana Aerospace Catalyst Experiences for Students) DemonSats team. Students from Northwestern State University and LSMSA, participating on the cross-disciplinary DemonSats team, have designed and built sounding balloon payloads for space flight. The LaACES student ballooning program was developed to train a new generation of scientists and engineers for the aerospace industry and the general STEM workforce.

 

Anna Charron Dugas joined the faculty at Northwestern State University of LA in fall 2017 and is now an Associate Professor of Physics within the School of Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM). She has also the STEM School Facilitator where she works to facilitate faculty-faculty and faculty-student interactions in research and training for the departments of Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Math, and Engineering Technology.

Prof. Dugas instructs physics courses and is the principal investor for the Biological & Electrical Applied Physics (BEAP) laboratory where environmental sensing, robotics and biomechanical applications are explored. She also serves as the Louisiana Space Grant Consortium (LaSPACE) Affiliate Institutional Coordinator for NSU and LSMSA. She is the mentor for the active LaACES sounding balloon student team, the DemonSats, who have launched five payloads to space for atmospheric study. Dugas is a 2021 winner of the Excellence in Teaching Award for the College of Arts and Sciences and was the principal investigator for the cross-disciplinary project CAPA-COVID to design and make personal protective equipment for music classes during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

The Science Speaker Series will continue on Friday, Sept. 13, as LSMSA alum Hayden Scott ('16), a PhD candidate at UT MD Anderson, presents "Tandem Dosimetry: Characterizing High Dose in-vivo Radiation Detectors for Radiation Therapy," at 4 p.m. in the Center for Performance and Technology (CPT) Recital Hall. All members of the LSMSA community, as well as the general public, are invited to attend Scott's research presentation. The CPT is located in the center of LSMSA's campus, between the High School Building and the Music and Arts Building. A campus map may be viewed here. The CPT will be accessible to the public for this presentation.

 

LSMSA is Louisiana's preeminent state-supported residential high school with competitive admissions for high-achieving, highly motivated sophomores, juniors, and seniors. As a public school, there is no tuition to attend, and assistance from the LSMSA Foundation ensures that the program is accessible to all qualifying students regardless of financial circumstances.

 

For more information, or to apply for admission to LSMSA, visit www.LSMSA.edu.