Astrophysics

Gamma Ray Bursts

The Astrophysics Group is an active participant in the international effort to understand the nature of Gamma-Ray Bursts (grb). Dr. Lestrade has been a member of the BATSE team since 1987. BATSE is a grb experiment which is currently flying on board the Holly Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory.

Dr. Lestrade is also collaborating with astrophysicists at the Centre d'Etude Spatiale des Rayonnements in Toulouse, France.

Data from experiments are analyzed by both undergraduate and graduate students at MSU. Recently, 6 undergraduates presented the results of their research at the Academy of Sciences meeting in Biloxi.

Yan Yuan is a graduate student working on his PhD. His dissertation topic is scale invariance and other properties of gamma-ray time profiles.

Comet Science

The astrophysics group has recently grown to include work in
comet science. Dr. Donna Pierce is interested in comet chemistry
and the interplay between physical and chemical phenomena in
comet atmospheres. She collaborates with researchers at the
University of Maryland and the University of Texas.

Direct comments to Dr. J. P. Lestrade | lestrade@ra.msstate.edu