Posted on Thursday, October 29, 2009
Westminster College senior physics major Stefanie Cumberledge's research, "Liquid Drop Collisions," was selected for presentation by the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR), and her project was also included in the University of Michigan Physics Department's Annual Review.
Cumberledge participated in a Summer Research Experience for Undergraduates at the University of Michigan, where her mentor was Professor Fred Becchetti. Her paper was chosen from thousands of submissions and her abstract showed a unique contribution to her field of study.
Her project was on colliding oil and water drops as simulations of nuclear and astronomical and other collisions, including planets, asteroids, and galaxies. The simulations provided information on the type of fragments and the mass transfer produced in such collisions. Each drop tended to retain most of its original mass and thus its kinetic energy with fission.
Cumberledge is a daughter of Robert and E. Jane Cumberledge of Cranberry Township and a graduate of Butler Area High School.
Contact Dr. Craig Caylor, associate professor and chair of Westminster's Department of Physics, at (724) 946-7202 or e-mail caylorcl@westminster.edu for additional information.
