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Senior physics major at St. Olaf College one of 70 chosen to present scientific research

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April 6, 2001

NORTHFIELD, Minn. ? Jessica Ward, a senior physics major at St. Olaf College, is one of 70 college students who presented results of her scientific research during the annual "Undergraduate Research Posters on the Hill" event March 29 in Washington, D.C.

Ward?s research poster, "Substantiation of the Nuclear Hexadecapole Interaction in Lithium Iodide Using Molecular Beam Spectroscopy," explained the results of her work. Ward, from Bemidji, Minn., completed her project under the guidance of advisor and St. Olaf physics faculty member James Cederberg, with the assistance of research partners Trisha Khanna, Garrett Hilk and Jason Buysman.

Her research involved passing a beam of molecules through an oscillating electric field, which alters the energy state of some of the molecules. After measuring this change, Ward uses the information to determine how the two nuclei interact within the molecule.

Sponsored by the Council on Undergraduate Research, the "Research Posters on the Hill" event allows college juniors and seniors to present the results of their independent research in science, engineering and mathematics. Competitively chosen from among American students who do original research in college, the students represented all regions of the country and all types of colleges and universities ? public and private, large and small.

The Council on Undergraduate Research is a national professional association representing more than 850 academic institutions. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., it facilitates undergraduate research by students and faculty through federal, state and private partners.

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Research poster ? 2

St. Olaf College prepares students to become responsible citizens of the world, fostering development of mind, body and spirit. A four-year, coeducational liberal arts college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), St. Olaf has a student enrollment of 2,950 and a full-time faculty complement of approximately 300. It is one of Money Guide?s top 100 "elite values in college education today," and it leads the nation?s colleges in percentage of students who study abroad.

Contact Michael Cooper at 507-786-3315 or cooperm@stolaf.edu.