Saint Michael's student Ashley Armstrong of Rome, N.Y., lands grant to Harvard-Smithsonian Center

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Ashley Armstrong of Rome, N.Y., lands Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics grant

COLCHESTER, VT (03/27/2012)(readMedia)-- Saint Michael's College junior Ashley A. Armstrong, a physics and philosophy double major, was awarded a grant to participate in the 2012 Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics Solar REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) program. Ms. Armstrong, the daughter of Mary Jo and Steven Armstrong of Rome, N.Y., graduated from Rome Free Academy before coming to Saint Michael's.

Ms. Armstrong will receive a $4,500 stipend to support her work during the 10-week program. The highly competitive program had only eight student participants in 2011, and they came from colleges like Williams, Haverford, and St. Andrews.

"I am both extremely grateful and excited to be spending the summer working for the CFA (Center for Astrophysics)," Ms. Armstrong said.

"I'm looking forward to gaining a better perspective on the different kinds of research going on throughout the astronomical community, as well as seeing what graduate level research might be like," she added. "This experience is sure to shape my future plans in a very important way. I think that it's going to be a summer of adventure in Cambridge, as I explore our Sun through the project titled: "Thermal Energy Content of Solar Flares."

While the exact program of research for Ms. Armstrong has yet to be determined, it will focus in some way on the observational astrophysics of the Sun. This could include focus on the thermal energy content in solar flares, observations and modeling of magnetic fields in flares, X-ray observations, and so forth, SMC physics professor Dr. Alain Brizard explained.

Ms. Armstrong is a student of Professor Alain Brizard and of SMC Physics Professor, Dr. John O'Meara. Both are widely published researchers, Brizard in the field of plasma physics and O'Meara in the field of astrophysics.

Learn What Matters at Saint Michael's College, The Edmundite Catholic liberal arts college, www.smcvt.edu . Saint Michael's provides education with a social conscience, producing graduates with the intellectual tools to lead successful, purposeful lives that will contribute to peace and justice in our world. Founded in 1904 by the Society of St. Edmund and headed by President John J. Neuhauser, Saint Michael's College is located three miles from Burlington, Vermont, one of America's top college towns. Identified by the Princeton Review as one of the nations Best 376 Colleges, and included in the 2012 Fiske Guide to Colleges, Saint Michael's has 1,900 undergraduate students and 500 graduate students. Saint Michael's students and professors have received Rhodes, Woodrow Wilson, Pickering, Guggenheim, Fulbright, and other grants. The college is one of the nation's top-100, Best Liberal Arts Colleges as listed in the 2012 U.S. News & World Report rankings.

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