MultiDisciplinary
Anterior Cruciate Ligaments
By Alexis Jenkins
Alexis Jenkins definitely is very active from the start. Sports have always been her passion; growing up, you could always catch her outside at the softball field playing with her high school, tournament team, or family. This all was until she had an almost career-ending injury occur not just once but twice. Luckily, she could continue to play two years of college softball, but she always wondered why tearing your ACL, also known as your Anterior Cruciate Ligament, was such a big deal. Now years later, she is a Senior here at Millersville studying Sports Journalism. After graduation, she plans to work her way into the ESPN world to eventually become an ESPN Broadcast Journalist.
Trajectory of a Charged Particle in a Magnetic Field: An ODE Analysis
Kaden Hunter, Peyton Haroldson, & Alexandra Ziegler
Peyton Haroldson is a second-year student at Millersville University, majoring in Meteorology with minors in Mathematics, Physics, and Emergency Management. Peyton is expected to graduate in Spring 2026. This project was undertaken as part of an Ordinary Differential Equations course taught by Dr. Ma, providing an opportunity to apply mathematical concepts to real-world physical phenomena. Fascinated by the fundamental forces that shape the natural world, Peyton was particularly interested in exploring the motion of charged particles in uniform magnetic fields. While meteorology primarily focuses on atmospheric processes, understanding magnetic fields is also relevant to areas like space weather, which can impact communication systems and atmospheric dynamics. Through this project, Peyton aimed to gain a deeper understanding of how charged particles move through magnetic fields and to refine skills in mathematical modeling and data analysis. This experience provided Peyton with valuable insight into physics concepts that have applications in astrophysics, plasma physics, and particle acceleration. After graduating, Peyton plans to pursue further education and earn a doctorate in meteorology or a related field. The problem-solving and analytical skills developed during this project will be instrumental in future research, particularly in studying complex atmospheric and space weather interactions.
Alexandra Ziegler is a junior at Millersville University, majoring in Physics and Applied Mathematics with a minor in Philosophy. Passionate about theoretical and applied sciences, she is particularly interested in research at the intersection of physics and mathematics. This is her first academic project, marking the beginning of her research career. She serves as the treasurer of the Society of Physics Students (SPS), where she helps foster a collaborative scientific community. Looking ahead, Alexandra plans to pursue graduate studies in optics or nuclear physics, continuing her research in these fields.
Kaden Hunter is a 3rd year Applied Mathematics and Physics major at Millersville University of Pennsylvania. He and his team worked together to find out how they could use ordinary differential equations (ODEs) to model the trajectory of a particle in a uniform magnetic field. The project was an idea for an assignment given by his Mathematics professor, Dr. Baoling Ma. Kaden was inspired by his Electrodynamics course and came up with this problem, which relates to electromagnetism. The project combines his two favorite subjects: math and physics. Solving problems and understanding how things work have always been his passions. This was his first step into the research side of the field, and he immediately fell in love with it. His plan after graduation is to continue doing research at the graduate level and become a theoretical physicist at a university. The skills he honed throughout this project will continue to grow and adapt as they are incredibly useful in the field.