Temple College student Demetre’ Goodmen has been selected to participate in a summer research program sponsored by the National Science Foundation.
The program, known as Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU), provides funding for students to conduct research with faculty members at colleges across the country.
Goodmen received a $5,000 stipend and will spend the summer conducting research with Dr. Kurtis Williams, assistant professor of physics and astronomy at Texas A&M University-Commerce. He will be researching topics in general astronomy.
“I have heard and read great things about Professor Williams, so I am very excited to see what kinds of research we will be doing this summer,” Goodmen said. “It is always a pleasure to work with those who have the same interests as me, and makes the learning all the more fun and memorable.”
Goodmen would like to become an astronomer, researching the physics of the universe and how they have affected where we are today and where we will be in the distant future. He also is interested in studying the nature of stars, how they are formed, what they are made of, and how some of them have planets much like our own, as well as exoplanetary research and discovery.
“This is a great opportunity, and I’m glad to be one of the lucky ones to be a part of it,” Goodmen said.
Goodmen has been conducting research with Temple College physics instructor Dr. John McClain, and is the third student of McClain’s to be selected for the REU program in the past three years. He became interested in the program at Texas A&M University-Commerce after hearing about it from Jason Meyer, who was selected to participate in it last summer.
“Physics at Temple College is establishing a benchmark for the rest of the area,” McClain said. “We have a quality program that our communities may not know about. Future scientists and engineers can get an excellent, lost-cost start on their careers by starting at Temple College.”