Contact: Carmen Ramos Chandler ,
818/677-2130
carmen.chandler@csun.edu

Presidential Scholar Publishes Article in Physics Journal

The article is based on research Vidal, a Northridge Presidential Scholar, helped carry out as a freshman under the direction of CSUN physics professor Barney Bales.

Bales dismissed the idea that a freshman working on major scientific research was unusual.

"Look, we're at Northridge, not UCLA," he said, adding that he chose Vidal because "I'm always on the lookout for good students."

Vidal said she is excited at the opportunity at being published while only a sophomore. She said she became interested in physics as a student at Alemany High School in Mission Hills, and has been able to pursue her dream at CSUN.

"I'm really curious; I love to experiment," she said. "There are few areas in life where you can test out theories. Science is one of them. You can't hurt anything but chemicals."

The research she did as a freshman with Bales dealt with micelles-aggregates of polar molecules (that is, molecules with charged ends, one positive, on negative) that act like magnets. The article for Journal of Physical Chemistry presented a model for the structure of micelles and their actions in water. If the model stands up under future testing, it could lead to practical applications in fields as diverse as agriculture, cosmetics pharmaceuticals, not to mention the primary application: detergents.

Vidal, who plans to do graduate work in physics and perhaps become a physicist for the government, helped design and test the experiment. She also took the data and analyzed it using a method Bales devised. The article's other co-authors were Luis Mersino, then a graduate student, and Miroslav Peric of the physics faculty.

The team used an electron spin resonance spectrometer - a piece of state-of-the-art equipment - that gives highly precise results. But in itself, that wasn't enough. "You also need precise methods of analyzing data that others don't have," Bales explained. "We're the best in the world at making precise measurements of this type."

Vidal was one of 16 students selected as a Presidential Scholar last year, the first year the program was implemented.

Other Presidential Scholars from last year's cohort have logged some unusual experiences. Megan McCloud, a history major, interned last summer at Steven Spielberg's Survivors of the Shoah Foundation, videotaping Holocaust survivors as they recalled their experiences. Nick Hamlin, a deaf studies major, wrote a one-act play presented during last year's Deafestival '97.

Presidential Scholars receive full academic scholarships covering the state university fee, lab fees, and the orientation fee as well as a partial textbook allowance and free on-campus parking. They are selected from students who ranked in the top 5 percent of their high school class and received a total of 1300 on their SAT scores.

Twenty students from throughout the Southland were selected to be Presidential Scholars this year.

This year's recipients are: Mary Adams of Valencia; Kim Ashley, Malibu; Helen Grace Avila, Van Nuys; Joaquin Burciaga, Ingelwood; Ryan Casey, Oak View; Rebekah Combe, Ventura; Leticia Corona, San Fernando; Rosa Delgado, Pacoima; Joy Finch, Saugus; Lindsay Gifford, Bakersfield; Jeanette Heidlberg, Saugus; Viet Hoang, Burbank; Mariah Kunkel, Winnetka; Luis Navarro, Van Nuys; Elizabeth Roques, Valencia; Madrigal Valenzuela, Ventura; Jennifer Van Heijzen, Tujunga; Theron Wannberg, Chatsworth; Corrynn Way, Sunland; and Matthew Worland, Winnetka.