Mr. Jason Smith, an undergraduate student researcher from the Applied Physics Institute, traveled to Boston, Massachusetts for the Third Annual International COMSOL Conference (October 4 - 6, 2007).

The COMSOL MultiPhysics software models real life situations using partial differential equations. This is beneficial because real world phenomenon can be represented mathematically and studied in details with computers.

Mr. Smith, who is working on a defense-related project, presented a benchmark test to analyze how accurately sound propagates through walls in the COMSOL acoustic module. His project is called "Modeling Results for Environmental Acoustic Pressure Obstructions" (Faculty advisor: Dr. Phil Womble).

“I was able to do a lot of networking while I was there, and received valuable feedback about our project from everyone who attended,” said Mr. Smith.

Many participants presented and offered introductory tutorials and mini-courses for use in other COMSOL modules. Yale University, Intel, IBM, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are only a few of the many institutions that presented research at this conference.

• API student researcher Jason Smith attended COMSOL Conference in Boston.

The Applied Physics Institute is a multidisciplinary center performing research and development projects in areas of nuclear physics, nuclear engineering, wireless data communications, homeland security, material science, and electronics. API researcher’s interests cover virtually all aspects of applied science and technology.

For further information, contact Anessia Loveless at 270-781-3859 or anessia.loveless@wku.edu.