LHHS AP Physics students conducted research and presented their findings to high school and university teachers.
Lake Highlands High School advanced physics students recently conducted research and presented their findings at a meeting of high school and university professors on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacodoches. The AP Physics C class, led by LHHS’ Dr. Ken Taylor, presented their research results to the Texas Section of the American Association of Physics Teachers, American Physical Society, and Zone 13 of the Society of Physics Students. The gathering high school and university physics teachers and students to present research results to the physics community, but LHHS was the only high school to have students performing at this remarkable level.
“It is always exciting to bring students to these physics meetings,” said Dr. Taylor. “They are in a position to demonstrate their considerable skills and to place their work on display before a professional audience. It is a wonderful forum for learning and serves as a portal to the next level of education.”
Every spring in his second year physics class, Dr. Taylor creates teams of three or four for projects in which they duplicate the actions of scientists and perform a series of experiments to study the behavior of nature under controlled circumstances. The teams then document their work with a PowerPoint presentation which is shared at the meeting. Taylor, who has post-doctoral research and years of work in the so-called “Star Wars” projects of the 80’s and 90’s, has taught physics for 29 years, including 17 years at Lake Highlands. Congratulations Dr. Taylor and students!
Shown in the photo are: Front row (L-R) Bridget O’Brien, Maggie Duffy, Luke Coughlin, Albert Einstein, Dr. Ken Taylor, Brian Schmitz, Scott Hanks, Vipada Maranphal, Alec Duray; back row: Jay Coffey, Travis Patrick, Conor Puckett, Justin Okorowski, Eyobe Tamene, David Burkhalter, Evan Rodgers; not pictured: Emily Hillman and Andrew Chilian.
