Physics Students Present at Planetarium Conference

For the first time, MSUM students presented at the Great Lakes Planetarium Society held in Flint, Mich., last week. Dana Koczur and Anthony Woltman from the Department of Physics and Astronomy were the first students to attend the annual conference and present on the research they completed over the summer under a Strong Endowment grant. 

Koczur and Woltman, along with Planetarium Director Sara Schultz, presented on “Student Built LED Lighting Systems for Planetariums.” The topic covered the LED cove lighting system they had designed, built and programmed over the summer as a Strong Endowment research project. The topic was of keen interest to other small planetaria across the Great Lakes area. The presentation garnered tremendous interest in the work being done in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and there was talk of future work for other facilities as well as potential internships with planetarium software vendor companies.

The experience of presenting at a large regional conference was invaluable as well as the opportunity to learn from others in the field and positively represent our campus community. For more information on future projects and opportunities, please contact Steve Lindaas in the Department of Physics and Astronomy or Sara Schultz in the Planetarium.