31. Discuss any special skills you would like to exercise or develop during your SULI appointment.
In my undergraduate research I have focussed on the analysis of data involving particle interaction events, using primarly the Root data analysis framework to identify and characterize events recorded in the Crystal Barrel detector at CB-ELSA in Bonn. I would certainly have no reservations about continuing to work in analysis, but at this point I would really like to get some hands-on experience with beamline and detector hardware and data collection systems, and with the approaches used in designing experiments.
32. What are your areas of interest and what type of research activities would you like to be involved in at the Lab?
I feel that the most challanging and interesting aspect of physics are those experiments that reveal the fundamental nature of matter. My work to date involves proton-photon interactions at medium energy, however I am particularly interested in Dr. Ernst Rehm's low-energy studies involving the interactions of unstable nuclei important in stellar processes.
Another reason I would like to work at Argonne is that, from what I have read, some of your facilities are quite similar to what we have at FSU, but more powerful and better funded. For example, our tandem-linac (parts of which actually preceded Paul Dirac's tenure here) is being used for experiments with unstable nuclei in the RESOLUT beamline experiment, but your facility appears superior in both beamline quality and detectors. Similarly, our Clover detector has rather limited coverage, while Gammasphere has the full 4-pi, which I have learned to appreciate in my work with the Crystal Barrel experiment.
While experimental nuclear physics is definitely my career goal, I don't want to suggest that it is my only interest. I am aware of the broad spectrum of your research, and would be happy to try other areas. For example, I spent one summer at Kennedy Space Center working with molecular simulation software (Towhee) in an attempt to model the colloidal aggregation of proteins in amyloid fibers. All of your activities provide the opportunity for learning, and anything I can learn during my time at Argonne will be useful.
33. The unique experiences and cultural backgrounds of the participating students influence the quality of SULI. What do you think you would bring to the program?
I have traveled alone or with a friend in Europe, Southeast Asia, and South America and have worked several summers in aviation and at a flying school with many international students. All this has left me with a wide appreciation of the diversity of cultures and the need for scientists and engineers to work with colleages throughout the world.
At FSU I have become President of the Society of Physics Students (SPS), director of fundraising and captain of the SPS intramural soccer team. I have to inspire the members of the group, plan and coordinate activities, and find resources, all with the object of building interest in physics in college students and enthusiasm for science in general in the community. While this is only a student organization, I have never before found myself in a position in which fellow students look to me for leadership. At times I have found it a bit frightening, but ultimately I believe I have met the expectations of the group, and I have found the experience personally rewarding and essential to developing a sense of teamwork and self-confidence.
34. At this point in your education, what will your chosen profession be and why?
I hope to begin a career involving both research and teaching in the field which I find inescapably fascinating, particle and nuclear interactions and their relationship with the standard model itself. I am fully aware this career choice is a challange; academically, in mastering the current research, professionally, in finding a position, and ultimately in finding grants and sources of support for my own work. This has, however, been my goal for many years and I approach it with, I believe, a realistic understanding of the demands of the field and a sense of complete commitment. I believe my work so far has demonstrated that I have at least the potential to succeed.
35. What was the most rewarding educational experience you have had in science and /or technology? Why?
My most rewarding experience as an undergraduate has unquestionably been my work for Dr. Volker Crede at Florida State University on missing proton resonances. This project has also presented major challanges. The study has evolved over many years, and it was my task to modify and update the Root-based data analysis programs and use them to analyze a large collection of data on meson photoemission, sort and identify specific particle events, remove noise, track down missing detector calibration data, compare experiments with Mote Carlo models, and finally prepare a preliminary analysis of the total cross-section for eta particle photoemission. When I began this project I had no experience with particle physics and almost none with c++. I was confronted with a complex program within a more complex object-oriented environment, and had learn c++ and Root on the fly and trace through the software, while at the same time coming to grips with the physics involved in the experiment.
I am well aware that I could not have done anything useful without Dr. Crede's patient and effective instruction, and through this I have gained a much better understanding of the learning process as well. At first I felt overwhelmed by the vast areas of my own ignorance, but I've found that with the help of classes, texts, instructors, fellow students, the internet, and even my frazzeled dad, who is a doctor but knows a little c++, I can pull it all together, understand the interactions, and present the data in a meaningful way that brings us a little closer to understanding the structure of something as fundamental as the proton. This is a path I intend to continue as far as I am capable.
7. What are your future plans and how will this internship enhance them?
I plan to continue my education in physics, completing a graduate program and then one or more portdoctoral research appointments along what I hope to be a traditional path to a position in research and teaching at an institution with an interest in experimental nuclear physics. Obviously a work experience at Argonne is a significant step toward this goal.
But at the moment what's really important to me is this: the work I've done so far has all been computational analysis of data that's already been collected. Before I go to graduate school I feel it is essential to get some hands-on experience. Some of the people I work with will spend their whole PhD programs doing analysis, because the hands-on work is done by the people that know how to build stuff. I want to be the person that knows how to do both. Argonne provides an ideal opportunity for this, while your close relationship with universities with prominent graduate programs would give me a chance to see where I would fit in and might logically continue my career.