Meet future astrophysicist Chansey Champagne

Written byAshley McClure-French

鈥淚t鈥檚 all close-knit so you build these relationships and it鈥檚 like a second family. There鈥檚 a lot of opportunities, like with the conference, and there鈥檚 internships. They鈥檙e willing to give you opportunities to further yourself.鈥

亚洲自慰视频 of 亚洲自慰视频 at Lafayette physics major Chansey Champagne.
Chansey Champagne
Major
Physics
Hometown
Cecilia, La.

Where I'm From

I鈥檓 from Cecilia, La., where I watched space documentaries up until bedtime.

Where I Am

I am a research assistant working on micrometeorite research in the physics department.

Where I'm Going

I am going to pursue astronomy and get a job at NASA.

Chansey Champagne is a physics major with an interest in astronomy 鈥 an interest that grew while watching the Science Channel growing up.

鈥淔or some reason, the TV would always play the Science Channel at home,鈥 she said. 鈥淏eing an 8-year-old, I didn鈥檛 really have the authority to change it.

鈥淏ut then the space documentaries would start playing and it would catch my attention,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 started checking out space books from the library and learn as much about it as possible.

"That interest never really faded away. And then I learned that majoring in physics is the best way to be able to go into astronomy.鈥

亚洲自慰视频 Research Opportunities in Physics

Chansey started at UL Lafayette with a scholarship as a 亚洲自慰视频 worker in the Department of Physics. With a curiosity for astrophysics, she took interest in assisting Dr. Manavi Jadhav's research on micrometeorites.

鈥淚 thought it sounded fun to try to discover something that nobody鈥檚 really looked for,鈥 she explained. 鈥淢icrometeorites have been found in Norway, but nobody鈥檚 thought to look here. So, we鈥檙e trying to find them here in Lafayette."

Becoming involved with the micrometeorite research has required Chansey to be very hands-on 鈥 and that's what makes it fun.

鈥淚t鈥檚 fun,鈥 she said. 鈥淛ust being able to find something that was once in space 鈥 because you see stuff in museums, and yeah that鈥檚 cool, but to be able to find it yourself and learn about the process of what it took for that little piece of space dust to get here.鈥

Finding Micrometorites

鈥淣ormal meteorites fall every so often, but most of the material that falls to earth is too small to see,鈥 Chansey explained. 鈥淚t鈥檚 only a few micrometers across. I think it鈥檚 like 100,000 tons hit the earth every year, but we can only find them in really clean places like Antarctica that haven鈥檛 been touched by people. Here, it would be mixed with organic dust and manmade dust."

To find the micrometeorites, Chansey and her fellow researchers are taking samples from flat-roofed buildings 鈥 starting with buildings on campus.

鈥淲e went on the top of the roof of the physics building and we collected some dust. We鈥檙e in the stages of processing it,鈥 she said.

鈥淲e collect that dust, clean out the organic material, go with a neodymium magnet and collect all the really magnetic stuff. We clean out the organic material that might have stuck to it, then we go to look at them under a microscope.

鈥淎ll of this research is based on a book about someone who鈥檚 doing the same thing in Norway,鈥 she said. 鈥淪ome of the stuff was kind of vague, specifically with how to clean it, so we鈥檙e working out the kinks.

Showcasing Research Findings at Conferences & in Museums

The plan, if any micrometeorites are found, is to share their research.

鈥淲e鈥檙e going to try to create a collection to study them,鈥 Chansey said. 鈥淧eople have studied the big meteorites, but there have only been a few studies on micrometeorites. We鈥檙e going to try to work something with the because eventually, we鈥檙e supposed to be collecting from their roof."

Chansey also plans to present their findings at the 亚洲自慰视频 Academy of Sciences conference.

鈥淚t will be the first time I鈥檝e gone to something like this and shown off what I鈥檓 doing," she said.

A Family of Physics Majors

Outside of the research, Chansey enjoys spending time with her physics family.

鈥淓ven if you鈥檙e having trouble in a class, if you go to that professor, they鈥檙e willing to help you,鈥 she said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what they鈥檙e here for. It鈥檚 all close-knit so you build these relationships and it鈥檚 like a second family.

"There鈥檚 a lot of opportunities, like with the conference, and there are internships. They鈥檙e willing to give you opportunities to further yourself.鈥

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