Meet Some of the Dedicated and High-Achieving People of LSU Featured in 2024

Mathematical Milestone

LSU sophomore Calcea Johnson on campus.

LSU’s Calcea Johnson Earns Accolades for Groundbreaking Research on Pythagorean Theorem

LSU sophomore Calcea Johnson has a simple explanation for her year of accolades and recognition: “If you let your work lead you, it may evolve into something more impressive than you anticipated.”

The world first took notice after Calcea and her former high school classmate Ne’Kiya Jackson discovered of a new way to prove Pythagorean’s Theorem using trigonometry as part of a high school math contest. That led to their story being featured on "60 Minutes" in May. Then, in October they published their work in The American Mathematical Monthly, one of the field’s most respected journals. And in November, she and Jackson were named to the prestigious Ebony Power 100 list, spotlighting influential Black leaders shaping the future.

‘Home Team’ Defenders

Micah Champagne and Easton Kling

LSU Cybersecurity Students Defend Their State and Nation Together on Two Fronts

Micah Champagne and Easton Kling first met as LSU cybersecurity students serving in the Louisiana Army National Guard and working in LSU’s Security Operations Center to protect all colleges and universities in Louisiana from cyberattacks.

LSU’s SOC works to protect higher education in Louisiana by detecting and resolving cyber threats to universities while providing cyber experience to the students who work there.

Just like Champagne and Kling straddle military service and cybersecurity, so does the defense priority of LSU’s Scholarship First Agenda as it helps to secure Louisiana’s future.  

50 Years at LSU

Leonard Richardson

Professor Keeps Focus on Students and the ‘Eternal Truth’ of Mathematics

Leonard Richardson, the Herbert Huey McElveen Professor of Mathematics, was among the faculty and staff members recognized at the end of the 2023-24 school year for milestones in their service to LSU, in his case 50 years.

“I don't think of my work as service.  It is simply what I was meant to do,” he says, adding that he is guided by the integrity of mathematics and dedicated to help every student appreciate its "amazing beauty."

As a distinguished scholar in the field of mathematics, Richardson specializes in Harmonic Analysis, Nilmanifolds, and Representation Theory. He has authored two well-regarded textbooks.

Students Saving Lives

Mihir Babbar and Corinne David

LSU Red Cross Club Giving Back to the Community, One Smoke Alarm at a Time

When LSU students Corinne David and Mihir Babbar founded the LSU Red Cross Club in 2022, they extended their passion for helping others beyond the classroom and into the neighborhoods of Baton Rouge.

Through volunteer efforts like the “Sound the Alarm” campaign, a national Red Cross campaign focused on fire safety education and smoke alarm installation, they’ve made a lasting impact.

“The response from LSU students has exceeded our expectations,” Corinne says. “It fills me with joy to witness the extreme dedication of LSU students as they volunteer through our club.”

Ultimate Team Player

In Football and Sepsis Research, LSU’s Jake Davis Values Precision and Teamwork

LSU student Jake Davis is a true team player. Not only is the Austin, Texas, native a member of the LSU football team, but he is also part of the team transforming healthcare for the better as part of the research behind a new test that diagnoses sepsis in minutes.

As a long snapper, Davis must snap the ball precisely to the punter or holder so they can do their job well. That level of precision and innate teamwork translates well to research.

“A very small miss, like something being off by about a centimeter, could cause the snap to go awry," he says. "That has helped my focus and research be precise and picky about how I am pursuing things, knowing that it'll have large implications in the future.”

Extraordinary Internship

Reagan Courville

LSU Engineering and French Student Relishes ‘Small Role in World Peace’ as Intern at Renowned Los Alamos Lab

Reagan Courville’s academic path at LSU for the past four years allowed him to pursue both engineering and French degrees at LSU. Over the summer, that path took him to the Los Alamos National Lab (LANL) in New Mexico to participate in the Department of Energy's Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship program.

His project at LANL involved making it easier to measure the atomic makeup of radioactive samples, which would aid governments and nuclear authorities to better understand the risks and level of safety of a variety of radioactive materials in the field. 

"I would most likely not have been offered this position if it weren’t for my experience ... at LSU," Courville says. 

Policy Pioneer

Colin Raby in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

AI Meets Public Policy: LSU Graduate Plays Groundbreaking Role in D.C.

Colin Raby’s commitment and service to the LSU campus led him to become one of the first congressional artificial intelligence (AI) specialists in the nation, tasked with pioneering AI-powered tools to help Congress do its work. 

“I have the opportunity to build AI-powered tools that enable Congress to run more effectively, efficiently, and transparently while helping shape the direction of AI policy to balance fostering innovation with ethical considerations and societal needs,” Raby says.

Raby is also CEO of an LSU student- and alumni-created AI-powered tool called FarmSmart that leverages decades of LSU AgCenter research to help farmers best manage their crops.

Predicting the Future

Dylan Wichman

LSU Graduate’s AI-Powered Path to Solving Problems and Improving Lives

Growing up in Montana, LSU graduate Dylan Wichman is familiar with wildfires. But his interest in trying to stop them set him on a path of working with artificial intelligence.

At LSU, Wichman become a research assistant under Supratik Mukhopadhyay and part of the DeepFire team using AI to build a system to predict and detect wildfires. Wichman graduated in December 2023 and returned to Montana to continue his work in AI.

“The research experience I gained at LSU has been invaluable in preparing me for my current role as a research engineer," he says.

Shaping Young Minds

Caroline Hargrave teaching in East Baton Rouge Parish.

LSU Early-Childhood Education Graduate Committed to Shaping Louisiana’s Future Leaders

LSU graduate Caroline Hargrave credits her previous teachers as her inspirations to pursue a career in education herself. The New Iberia native earned her LSU degree in early childhood education in 2023.

Hargrave was offered a graduate assistantship through LSU’s Early Childhood Education Laboratory Preschool, where she is focused on teaching the youngest Louisianans while gaining experience and pursuing her master’s degree at LSU.

“The early age is such an influential time in a child’s life,” Hargrave said. “No one truly knows what goes on at home for a student, so creating a welcoming and nurturing classroom is a top priority of mine.”

A Career in Foreign Service

Ambassador Nicole Theriot, center, with U.S. Embassy Guyana staff members.

U.S. Ambassador to Guyana: How LSU and Her Louisiana Parents Helped Make Her a Better Diplomat

Growing up in Baton Rouge, LSU alum Nicole Theriot picked up two key characteristics from her parents that have served her well in life — up to and including her current role as U.S. Ambassador to the Co-operative Republic of Guyana. 

“I had a rather charmed childhood,” she says, “with two loving, hard-working parents who instilled in me a strong work ethic and deep respect for others, regardless of their religion, race, or other attributes.”    

Theriot, a 1993 LSU graduate in political science with a minor in French, has carried her parents’ ideals with her on a journey that has taken her to the highest levels of the U.S. Department of State’s Foreign Service.

Inspirational Figure

In her 108 years, LSU Alumna Julia Hawkins Proved That Age is Just a Number

In October, the LSU family was deeply saddened by the loss of alumna Julia Hawkins. A 1938 graduate, Ms. Hawkins was 108. Known as the “Hurricane,” she served as an inspiration to many with her positive and competitive spirit, never letting age get in the way of living her best life.

While a student studying education in the 1930s, she witnessed some amazing things: from LSU’s first live tiger mascot to a campus visit by Eleanor Roosevelt.