MSU, Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science collaboration yields student development
Contact: Sarah Nicholas
snicholas@deanas.msstate.edu
MSU, Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science collaboration yields student development
STARKVILLE, MS – A partnership between Mississippi State University physics faculty member Gombojav O. Ariunbold and the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science in Columbus provides incoming college students an indication of what to expect in their desired fields of study.
“This research program has allowed me to get a glimpse of what my future as a physics major would look like,” said Collin Jeck, a 12th grader at MSMS who currently studies with Ariunbold as part of the collaboration. “It has taught me different problem-solving techniques while enhancing my ability to work within a team to achieve one goal.”
Designed to generate student development in STEM fields and cultivate college-prepared students, MSMS students have the voluntary opportunity to partner with MSU research faculty in their area of interest, completing a minimum of four hours per week in an MSU lab with faculty and/or graduate students, earning three high school credit hours from MSMS.
“It is definitely something I would encourage any potential STEM major to do because it allows you to utilize the topics learned in school outside of the classroom,” said Jeck, a native of Meridian, MS.
A public, residential high school for 11th and 12th grade academically gifted students from Mississippi, MSMS is located on the Mississippi University for Women campus.
Ariunbold, an assistant professor in MSU’s Department of Physics and Astronomy, coordinated a research program this year with Jeck involving the optical tweezer technique – a technique first invented by Arthur Ashkin, a 2018 Nobel Prize winner.
Ashkin’s research effectively “changed biology,” said Ariunbold, because it has allowed for a “greater study of different biological fields,” including examining DNA, RNA and proteins.
“Work has also been completed with the optical tweezers set-up in the cell biology field,” Ariunbold said, “with the tweezers used to manipulate different live cells.”
Combining physics, biology and engineering, Ariunbold said the experiment involved setting up a laser to pass through a series of different lenses, filters and eventually a microscope system.
“Mr. Jeck was asked to demonstrate an optical trapping of three micron-sized spherical beads using an optical tweezer technique,” Ariunbold said. “He studied the Brownian motion of the beads and determined viscosity of the aquatic environment.”
“The sample the microscope is focused on contains things like microscopic beads, live cells, or even viruses,” Jeck said. “The laser passes through the microscope system, becoming focused on the sample. From here, the holding force of the laser acts as an ‘optical trap’ when the laser is over the cell, bead, virus, or whatever is being studied.”
“This is a complicated device which was purchased and built for use in undergraduate teaching laboratories. It was only through the expertise of Dr. Ariunbold and his students, along with Mr. Jeck’s hard work, that the device is finally working and can be used for experimental measurement,” said Jeff Winger, associate department head and professor in the physics department.
“First, we worked on constructing the optical tweezers setup, ensuring the camera, microscope, and laser were all working simultaneously,” Jeck said. “After the system was set up, we began to study the effects of Brownian Motion on our sample. We placed three micron-size spherical beads in free fluid and took a series of images over about 40 seconds, observing the random motion of the particles in the optical tweezers system. After this, we worked on trapping the beads with our laser and moving them in the fluid. This collection of data allowed us to survey Brownian Motion and calculate the viscosity of our fluid and the holding forces of the laser that allow the particles to be trapped.”
“This is a success story for Mr. Jeck under the MSU outreach research program,” said Ariunbold, noting Jeck completed the project successfully.
MSU’s College of Arts and Sciences includes more than 5,200 students, 325 full-time faculty members, nine doctoral programs, 14 master’s programs, and 27 undergraduate academic majors offered in 14 departments. MSU is classified by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education as a “Very High Research Activity” doctoral university, the highest level of research activity in the country. MSU is one of only 120 schools to hold the designation. For more details about the College of Arts and Sciences or the Department of Physics visit www.cas.msstate.edu or www.physics.msstate.edu.
Mississippi’s leading university, also available online at www.msstate.edu.