Southeastern student earns top undergraduate research award at physics conference
by: Rene Abadie
HAMMOND – A Southeastern Louisiana University student was awarded one of two top research awards for undergraduate students at the recent conference of the Southeastern Section of the American Physical Society held at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green.
Sean Craft of Hattiesburg, Miss., and a resident of Lacombe, won the award for his oral presentation on research that analyzes stresses and weaknesses in welded metals using laser interferometry. He is a senior majoring in physics, math and computer science.
The research was initiated last year under the direction of Physics Professor Sanichiro Yoshida. Craft continued the work over the summer, collaborating with researchers at Niigata University in Japan. He was one of four students selected by Southeastern to conduct research in Japan through a grant funded by the National Science Foundation.
"Sean's leadership and contributions to this research have been very significant," said Yoshida, who holds patents in the use of laser interferometry to detect weaknesses in metals and other materials. "His work in Japan was excellent, and he benefitted from the opportunity to work with collaborators at an international level."
