Westminster Senior Physics Major Presents Research to Conference

Lorrie Straka, a senior physics major at Westminster College, recently presented her research, "The Physics of the Matrix," at the Western Pennsylvania American Association of Physics Teachers meeting.

"In an effort to broaden physics awareness, we have looked for ways to make learning physics fun," Straka said.  "By taking The Matrix,' an extremely popular film with many physics-defying scenes in it, we have created an interactive movie physics project.  Through careful observation of select scenes, we can use simple kinematics to decode these matrix feats and how they stack up to some simple models of the real world."

Straka is a daughter of Wendy and William Straka, West Leechburg, and a graduate of Leechburg Area High School.

For more information, contact Dr. Craig Caylor, assistant professor of physics, at (724) 946-7202 or e-mail caylorcl@westminster.edu.

More Stories