KENNESAW, Ga. | Jul 31, 2026

In March of this year, Kennesaw State University joined the Oak Ridge Associated Universities, a consortium of more than 170 universities that collaborate on research initiatives, share resources, and help place students in federal research opportunities at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee.

Junior chemistry major Miriam Raggs is spending this summer conducting research at Oak Ridge, through the lab’s Research Student Internship (RSI) program, thanks in part to this association but also thanks to her research mentor, Assistant Professor of Chemistry Madalynn Marshall. Before arriving at KSU in 2023, Marshall worked at Oak Ridge as a post-doctoral research associate and has continued her association with the lab.

Raggs recently took a break to talk about what she’s working on this summer, her KSU experience and why she loves chemistry.

Q: What are you working on this summer?

A: I'm working on helping optimize the process for copper can sealing, which is like creating the cans that they put their powder samples in for low-temperature measurements. We’re measuring the powder for conductivity so it can be used in technology, like sustainable or renewable computer chips.

Oak Ridge is such an interesting place, has a million different things going on. And I'm over at the high flux isotope reactor campus, which is a type of nuclear reactor. I got to go tour the reactor and get to look in, like from the third story, look down to where like the reactor pool is. And overall, it's so fascinating.

I’ve also enjoyed learning about the history of Oak Ridge, how they helped with the Manhattan Project, and we also make isotopes that help with cancer treatments. I think that Oak Ridge is so important, and it's been interesting to learn so much this summer in such a short period of time. This has been such an amazing opportunity.

Q: What does a day in your life look like?

A: I help with the optimization of measuring these powder samples by using an ultrasonic welder to test these welds that would help with their copper can sealing. I go into the lab, and I use this ultrasonic welder, and I'm testing for different parameters that they could possibly use to make the system fast and reliable.

The ultrasonic welder uses sonication, which means it's moving back and forth really fast and creating vibrations that separate materials. So, there’s no sparks, no open flame or anything like the welding you might think of. I'm just wearing leather gloves and sometimes headphones because it's a squeaky noise, and sometimes if I'm doing a bunch of welds in one day, it can kind of get annoying. So, it’s much, much safer than the other kind of welding.

Q: How did your work at KSU prepare you for this experience?

A: I think that the work with Dr. Marshall prepared me for this opportunity at Oak Ridge because I learned a lot of the background in magnetic crystals, even though at Oak Ridge we use a couple of different techniques of analysis. The theory overall is the same, so I feel like I knew more than enough going into this summer.

Q: How did you decide on chemistry?

A: I decided on chemistry in junior year of high school because at first I didn't know what I wanted to do. When I was deciding which colleges I would apply to and what I’d major in, I thought, ‘What class did I really love? What did I have fun in?’ I felt that I had so much fun in AP chemistry with the different experiments that we did and all the theory. I thought it was so much fun. So, I was like, why not do it?

Q: And how did you end up working with the Marshall lab?

A: I started with the First-Year Scholars Program at KSU, and I had applied to a bunch of different labs. When I interviewed with Dr. Marshall, the sustainable and renewable materials science sounded so interesting. I didn't know as much of the research side of chemistry, so just hearing the project and things that she worked on in the past, it was so fascinating. I decided I would love to be in this lab.

Q: Will you continue with the Marshall lab at KSU? And what will the future hold after you graduate?

A: It's been beyond amazing to be in her lab, and I think it's been so much fun and something I definitely want to continue. Hopefully, when I go to grad school, maybe I’ll continue to collaborate with the lab.

I definitely want to go to grad school in the future. What exactly my focus would be, I'm not sure yet, but I think that this experience at Oak Ridge helped me solidify that I definitely want to go into quantum materials, the chemistry side of things, and so far this summer I’ve gotten a little clarity of where I should go for my next steps.

– Story by Dave Shelles

Photo “Isotopes” by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, CC BY 4.0

 

A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees to its more than 51,000 students. Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia with 11 academic colleges. The university's vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties, and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country and the world. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 8 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.