News release Public Information Office  SLU 10880   Hammond, LA 70402   phone: 985-549-2341   fax: 985-549-2061 publicinfo@selu.edu summer 05 news releases Public Information home News archive Contact: Rene Abadie Date: 11/7/05   PROFESSOR, STUDENT TEAM UP TO WRITE SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE RANKED AS A TOP ONLINE ‘HIT’         HAMMOND – A scientific article written by Southeastern physics professor Sanchiro Yoshida and recent graduate Tiffany Findley has been a popular “hit” on the IOP Electronic Journals website.        The article, “Analysis of a simple pendulum driven at its suspension point,” was published last quarter in the European Journal of Physics. According to the publisher, the paper has been downloaded more than 250 times since it was published, a distinction held by only 10 percent of the articles published.        The paper explores an analysis of a harmonic oscillator that Findley set up on campus to model the dynamics of suspended optics used at the LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) facility in Livingston Parish, where Yoshida serves as one of the staff scientists. The facility is focused on researching gravitational waves from sources such as black hole collisions, pulsations of newborn neutron stars and the background remnants of the Big Bang itself.        “This is exciting news,” said Daniel McCarthy, interim dean of the College of Science and Technology, “since most scientific articles receive very few citations. If an article gets cited 10 times, that is considered to be very significant. A download from an on-line journal is not the same as a citation, but 250 downloads in a three-month period is absolutely unbelievable. Dr. Yoshida and Tiffany have produced a piece of work that is making waves internationally.”        A native of Prairieville, Findley received Southeastern’s award for the outstanding graduating senior in physics last May and is currently a graduate student at the University of Indiana pursuing her doctorate in Nuclear Physics. She received a research fellowship that pays for all of her tuition and fees, and also provides her with a $23,000 annual stipend.        While an undergraduate at Southeastern, Findley completed a LIGO summer research fellowship funded by the National Science Foundation’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program. She also was one of 25 undergraduate students nationwide to be selected for a U.S. Department of Energy fellowship, which included an intensive course on plasma physics and fusion energy at Princeton University with the rest of the summer devoted to a research project at Southeastern under McCarthy’s direction.         “Tiffany’s work is an excellent example of how our faculty actively involve undergraduate students in scientific research, which greatly improves their opportunities for graduate studies or employment,” McCarthy said.