Alcorn's health physics faculty and students present at professional conference Health Physics Society Conference
Alcorn State, Miss. (July 22, 2013) – Faculty and students in the Health Physics Program, Department of Advanced Technologies, presented research papers at the professional annual Health Physics Society (HPS) Conference held July 6-11, 2013, in Madison, Wisconsin. The attendees of this prestigious conference included professionals from all over the U.S. involved in usage of radioactive materials primarily in the areas of academia, industry and hospitals.
Student participants included sophomores Obed Brempong, Joseph Dimpah and Michael Yeboah, juniors Donatus Osowata and Deborah Quaye, seniors Matthew Carradine, Innocent Tsorxe, George Osei, Christopher Franklin, Harrison Agordzo, Iesha Green and Jadtrl Heard, and graduate student Shimi Didla. Graduate students Teneka Williams and Roberta Liang, and freshman Charlene Bartels-Eshun also participated in research but were unable to attend the conference. Faculty Jermiah Billa supervised student projects with co-supervision by Drs. Steve Adzanu, John Adjaye and Sam Nwaneri.
The topics presented were “Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM) Levels in a House Hold Water Heating System” by Carradine and Green, “Qualitative Analysis of NORM Activity Levels in Sludge Samples Collected from a Paper Mill” by Liang and Bartels-Eshun, “Transfer Factor of Isotopes in Turnip Leaves and Roots” by Franklin and Dimpah, “Radiological Implications of Tar Ball Deposits Along the Gulf Coast” by Didla and Brempong, “A Comparative Study of Radio Isotopic Concentration in the Upstream and Downstream Mississippi River Sediments Collected Near a Nuclear Plant” by Osei and Yeboah, “Evaluation of Self Attenuation Coefficient in Environmental Samples” by Tsorxe and Osowata, “Assessment of Radioactivity Levels in Sediments of a Lake Located in the Vicinity of a Nuclear Power Plant” by Williams and Quaye, “Evaluation of Natural and Anthropogenic Isotopes in Mississippi River Fish” by Agordzo, and “Impact of Quenching Agent on the Counting Efficiency of a Liquid Scintillation Counter ( LSC)” by Heard and Didla.
“Alcorn was the only university in the country that had significant student representation at the conference,” said Billa. “It is so important for our students to be able to present at professional conferences like this one and acquire valuable skills and experience.”
“We are elated to learn about our students’ success in their research activities,” proudly stated Dr. Kwabena Agyepong, chairman of the Department of Advanced Technologies, and director of Systems Research Institute. “Our faculty continuously encourage and supervise student involvement in various interdisciplinary research activities through the Systems Research Institute.” Dr. Steve Adzanu, co-author on the above research topics and senior professor in the department, agreed with Agyepong and added, “The faculty and staff in the Department think highly of our students’ abilities and would like to see them taking active roles in research activities.”
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Alcorn State University is a premier comprehensive land-grant university that develops diverse students into globally-competitive leaders, and applies scientific research through collaborative partnerships that benefit the surrounding communities, state, nation, and world.
Pictured L to R: Harrison Agordzo, Michael Yeaboah, Donatus Osowata, Obed Brempong, Shimi Didla, Iesha Green, Matthew Carradine, Jadtrl Heard, Innocent Tsorxe, and Joseph Dimpah (back row).
