Axel Jacquesson, a junior physics major at Angelo State University, has been awarded a summer internship at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, Calif.
He will spend eight weeks this summer at the Berkeley Lab, conducting research on quantifying DNA and cell damage caused by cosmic rays. The research was commissioned by NASA for potential future reference in the case of long-duration trips to the moon or Mars.
More specifically, Jacquesson’s research will include:
X-ray irradiation of cells to gauge cell reaction
Implementation of a microfluidic device to isolate white blood cells and test radiation levels
Construction of a microfluidic syringe
Axel Jacquesson A native of Cesson-Sevigne, France, Jacquesson came to ASU on a track and field athletic scholarship after already completing a two-year civil engineering degree in France. He competes in the high jump for the Rams and has been selected to “Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges.” Scheduled to graduate in spring 2018, he plans to continue on to graduate school with the ultimate goal of a career in space engineering or astrophysics.
“I have appreciated my studies at ASU so much and found the resources for students, the academic programs and the athletic department all incredibly helpful as I adjusted to life in the U.S.,” Jacquesson said. “Professors and my coaches at ASU have been particularly supportive of my academic goals.”
The Berkeley Lab was founded in 1931 by Ernest Orlando Lawrence, winner of the 1939 Nobel Prize in Physics for his invention of the cyclotron particle accelerator, and is a member of the national laboratory system supported by the U.S. Department of Energy through its Office of Science. It is managed by the University of California, employs more than 3,232 scientists and support staff, and is charged with conducting unclassified research across a wide range of scientific disciplines.
