通过火博体育物理系获得动力
When I applied to college, I had a lot of potential majors in mind but no idea which 选择的道路. On one hand, 英语 and history classes had been my favorites in 高中. But on the other hand, I had a lifelong passion for science, and I had 最近发现了我对物理的热爱. 但我并不担心——我知道我会有一个 不管我选了什么，在火博体育都是很棒的经历.
During my 第一年, I took classes in 英语, sociology, history, math, physics, 还有跳舞——老实说，我都喜欢. 然而，物理学是一门新的、令人兴奋的学科 对我的挑战.
All the students and professors I met at Skidmore were so positive and encouraging. Before college, I never would have thought I could find success in physics, and I had no idea what post-graduation opportunities a physics degree could offer. 然而, all the faculty were so supportive, and they helped me build my confidence as a scientist. 因此，到了选择专业的时候，我选择了物理!
One of my favorite parts of the Skidmore Physics 部门 is the community I’ve found through the Physics Peer Academic Coaching (PAC) program.
PAC is a student-run accountability and tutoring group that meets every weeknight 从7点到9点，它是火博体育物理学的支柱. 而这个的主要目标 program is to offer support for the introductory and intermediate courses in the major, Physics PAC has also just become a communal study space for all physics students. Upperclassmen and underclassmen come every weeknight to work, chat, and study. It is also a space where we discuss what opportunities are possible outside of our classes 就像我们计划未来一样.
I first heard about Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REUs) while at PAC my 第一年. These programs are designed to give students who attend smaller schools like Skidmore access to R1 research facilities and show them what doctoral programs 就像. They are sponsored by the National Science Foundation and take place at 遍布全国的大学和实验室. 火博体育的学生是理想的人选 for these positions because we are highly motivated students from schools where research 难道不是学校的头等大事吗.
This past summer, I was selected to participate in an REU at the Cornell Laboratory 为康奈尔大学加速器科学(CLASSE). 和我一起工作 the Tomographic Ionized-carbon Mapping Experiment (TIME), a telescope instrument currently 正在康奈尔大学进行设计和测试. 最终，TIME将被安装在亚利桑那州 射电天文台和将被用来成像古老的星系. 具体来说，时间衡量的是 the cosmic emissions from a specific time period called the Epoch of Reionization.
In this photo, I'm making adjustments to the cryostat in the Cornell Laboratory for 康奈尔大学的加速器科学.
My job for the summer was to combine existing code from the project with new code I wrote to make a file that could analyze the performance of the instrument’s sensors 在测试过程中. I also worked to make the code modular, so we could easily analyze each facet of the sensor’s performance by itself or all together at once. 我从来没有 done a serious coding project like this before, but my advisor, Dr. 阿比盖尔暴击, 是一位了不起的导师. She showed me how to read and debug the existing code and helped 我把我的项目分成易于管理的步骤.
As I was coding, we were also testing new hardware for the instrument. 类型 《火博体育官网》使用的传感器叫做辐射热计. 基本上，它就像一个温度计 当来自星系的辐射击中它时，它会变热. 然后，看看有多少 the temperature changes, we can see how intense the emission was and assign it an 强度值. This is how we tell when the galaxy whose emissions we are measuring 最初形成的. To see this temperature difference, all the machinery is kept inside on a cryostat, which keeps the sensors a quarter of a degree above absolute zero!
My program covered my transportation to and from the lab, housing, and a stipend for 我的工作. This meant I was living just down the hall from the other college students 在程序中! It was amazing to meet other students from across the country and 听听他们作为物理专业学生的经历. 我们很快就成了朋友 a lot of our free time together exploring Ithaca and the Finger Lakes region.
While participating in the National Science Foundation-sponsored program at the Cornell Laboratory for Accelerator 科学, I met other students from across the country and learned about their experiences as physics majors at other schools.
小组中的一些人一直在计划攻读博士学位.D. 多年来，而其他人(喜欢) 我)刚刚开始看到这种可能性.
I also realized how lucky I was to have the support of the close-knit Skidmore Physics 部门. Here at Skidmore, 我有多位教授 who know me well enough to 给我写推荐信，谈谈我的技能. 我有多位教授 谁能告诉我该选什么工作，该上什么课. 我所有的教授都很积极 相信我有能力在这个领域取得成功. 这并不是一个普遍的经验 在所有学校.
I was fascinated by every aspect of my summer project — specifically the physics instrumentation 我所做的工作. And I got to learn all about the work my peers were doing and speak with 他们的导师. By the end of the summer, the idea of graduate school became less nebulous 更切实的.
I am now able to put words to the types of projects and work I want to pursue, and I gained valuable experience and knowledge in the field that I am using to apply to 这个即将到来的夏天的新节目.