Palmer Competes In Research Day At The Capitol

TAHLEQUAH Going to the Oklahoma State Capitol to visit is one thing, but getting to present a research experiment in front of state legislators is another.

Northeastern State University student Jasin Palmer, of Shelbyville Tenn., was the only NSU student selected to compete in the Undergraduate Research Day at the Oklahoma State Capitol on Monday, March 31.

Dr. Chris Burba, assistant professor of Chemistry, nominated Palmer for his Lithium Ion Battery experiment. Palmer started on the project when Dr. Burba asked for his assistance.

He invited me along the way and asked me to help, said Palmer. Dr. Burba is an outstanding professor.

The experiment exposes the battery to certain levels of heat (energy) to find new and more powerful battery states. When the experiment was conducted, the battery became inactive under those levels of heat (energy) making it useless. This reduces the challenges researchers face when experimenting with batteries.

Palmer, a chemistry major, plans to attend graduate school in Knoxville Tenn. specifically for physical chemistry after he graduates from NSU in May 2008. Physical chemistry applies universal principals on a micro scale, said Palmer. It challenges me and it pushes me.

Research Day at the Capitol was started in 1996 to showcase the outstanding undergraduate research being conducted at Oklahomas colleges and universities. Students compete in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. There is only one student selected from each school. This event is sponsored annually by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, Oklahoma Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) and the National Science Foundation.

3/31/2008

Published: 2008-03-31 00:00:00