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Third-year medical physics student Shermiyah Baguisa is helping find ways to make airport security technology more effective.

In her co-op work term placement at the historic Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in New Mexico, Baguisa is working with postdoctoral students, scientists and technicians on a project that uses MRI technology to detect liquid explosives. The project is funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and it's hoped the technology can be used for airport screening.

"The experience has been really good at Los Alamos. I've been able to do a lot of things that I probably wouldn't have done in a field outside of academia. It's interesting to see what it takes to be a scientist in medical physics," Baguisa said.

Her work at the lab earned her the 2010 LANL Distinguished Student Performance Award.

Baguisa's interest in MRI technology began at Ryerson but LANL's specific focus on ultra-low-field MRI research has narrowed her studies. Standard MRI technology is used for medical diagnostic imaging; in recent years ultra-low-field MRI has found a range of uses, including as a tool for airport security.

Baguisa will complete her 12-month placement in January, 2011. She is working with a team of 15 scientists and technicians and even though she felt intimidated when she first started at the lab, she says she feels fortunate because the team went above and beyond to integrate students into the working environment.

"They want you to learn," Baguisa said. "They're accommodating and made the transition easy. They even organized a Matlab (technical computing software) course for students - something that will really benefit me and probably wouldn't have had an opportunity to do otherwise."

Looking ahead to her return to Ryerson, Baguisa said, "it has been motivating to see theory put into practice. A problem that some undergrads have is this disconnect with theory and its application to real-life problems. Working at LANL tied everything together and has given me more insight into what types of projects I'd like to pursue."

Baguisa is the third Ryerson student to work at Los Alamos over the past two years. Physics professor Carl Kumaradas established the co-op placement link with the lab and has coordinated an annual work term at LANL, available to a student in the undergraduate medical physics program. The position is sponsored by the Los Alamos lab.