Ph.D. Candidate | Department of Physics & Astronomy, Louisiana State University | zpurce2@lsu.edu
I am a physics Ph.D. student at Louisiana State University. My research focuses on conducting experiments to better understand the structure of light mass nuclei. I am passionate about building tools both digitally and physically that make doing nuclear physics (along with other tasks) easier. When I am not in the office or lab, you can likely find me biking and exploring Baton Rouge and beyond.
July 2019 - Present
Assisted development of detectors for use in the Array for Nuclear Astrophysics and Structure with Exotic Nuclei (ANASEN). Designed and tested a cryogenic helium gas target for use in experiments with radioactive beams. Helped develop LSU thin film CD2/CH2 target lab. Thesis project studying 10B(3He,4He)9B. Helped conduct experiments at FSU, TAMU, and ANL.
December 2015 - June 2019
Assisted development of detectors for use in the Array for Nuclear Astrophysics and Structure with Exotic Nuclei (ANASEN). Designed and tested a cryogenic helium gas target for use in experiments with radioactive beams. Helped develop LSU thin film CD2/CH2 target lab. Thesis project studying 10B(3He,4He)9B. Helped conduct experiments at FSU, TAMU, and ANL.
July 2019 - Present (Expected Graduation in Spring 2026)
August 2015 - May 2019
Major in physics, minors in mathematics and computer science