Education
MS Applied Physics | BS Physics | Self Study

University of Oregon - KCGIP

June 2021 - September 2022

Master of Science in Applied Physics | GPA 4.0
Focus in Optical Materials & Devices

Fall Coursework

Design of Experiments

There were three areas of focus: design of experiments methodology, statistical analysis, and learning the JMP statistics software package. Beyond the homework assignments, two group projects provided opportunities to apply the course concepts.

For the first project, students designed a 23 full-factorial experiment to determine the best recipe for brewing a cup of coffee. The responses were the coffee concentration, measured as a Brix score, and the MaxDiff rankings from two taste testers. Both responses were modeled against the factors of brew time, temperature and coffee ground amount using JMP. The taste response was the primary criterion for deciding on an optimal recipe, with the Brix score providing a quantitative measure of the recipe's properties.

In the second project I joined a group investigating quantum teleportation by running quantum circuits on IBM's quantum computer servers. The project was spearheaded by my classmate Max Canella, who wrote the project proposal and wrote the Python code for running the circuits. For this experiment we had five factors: circuit layout, entanglement quality, entanglement variability, initial state and pre-optimization. All but the circuit layout had three levels. Our goal was to minimize computation time while maximizing teleportation rate. The complexity of the design space lead us to use JMP's custom design feature to reduce the number of required runs. After collecting data, we modeled the computation time and teleportation rate against the factors. Teleportation rate depended primarily on the circuit layout, while computation time was most affected by a factor outside of our control: the quantum server selected to run the circuit.

Electron Microscopy Fundamentals

This course provided the opportunity to work with a Thermo Fisher Apreo 2 SEM and an FEI Tecnai F-20. Fundamentals concepts for both types of electron microscopy were covered as well. In addition to the coursework, I also imaged several types of paper prepared with sputter coating using the SEM.

Scanning Electron Microscopy, Transmission Electron Microscopy, Paper Imaging

Optical Modeling

The focus of this course was learning how to use the optics modeling software Zemax OpticStudio. Between lectures and Zemax tutorials, we created several optical systems and evaluated them in two technical reports.

Zemax Papers

Image Processing Independent Study

This was a self-guided research course focused on learning image processing and analysis using ImageJ, an open-source Java program. Readings and exercises for the course came from Principles of Digital Image Processing Vol I - Fundamental Techniques by Wilhelm Burger and Mark J. Burge. Students presented their work on each exercise in weekly meetings with the instructor and fellow classmates.

Most of the exercises involved writing plugins for ImageJ to process or analyze an image, or both. The plugins demonstrate use of important concepts for image processing and analysis such as histograms, point operations, filters, greyscale images, and RGB images.

GitHub Link

Summer Coursework

Theory

3 and 4-level lasers, Acousto-optics, Fiber optics, Gaussian beams, Interferometers, Nonlinear optics, Optoelectronics, Quantum mechanics, Ray optics, Wave optics

Labs

Labs began in PHYS 626 with 6 exercises which each took about half a week. Work and analysis was recorded in lab notebooks. In PHYS 627 there were 3 larger assignments which each took a week to complete. Formal reports for 2 of the 3 labs were required. Lab work culminated with a month-long Advanced Project as its own course. All labs were completed in groups of 2-3.

626 Labs: Optical Imaging, Polarization, Michelson Interferometer, Spherical Aberration, Fabry-Pérot Interferometer, Diffraction

627 Labs: Fiber Optics, Acousto-Optics, Optoelectronics

626 Notebook Sample, 627 Report Sample, Advanced Project

Boise State University

August 2015 - December 2019

Bachelor of Science in Physics, Applied Emphasis | GPA 3.998
Minors in Computer Science, Materials Science & Engineering, and Applied Mathematics

Raman Spectroscopy Research

I was introduced to Raman Spectroscopy by Dr. Dmitri Tenne while volunteering in his lab over the summer. I went on to take two research credits with him from Fall 2018 to Spring 2019.

Over the course of the research I became acquainted with the equipment used in the lab and the underlying physics of Raman Spectroscopy. The equipment included high-powered lasers, two different spectrometers, and a low pressure helium cooling system. I also had the chance to mount samples and perform data collection with the spectrometer software.

Raman Spectroscopy Research

Course Highlights

Physical Methods of Materials Characterization

Introduced to methods of characterizing materials and the underlying physics of the methods. Topics included diffraction analysis, optical microscopy, electron microscopy, spectroscopy techniques, ion-beam techniques and scanning probe microscopy.

Scientific Computing

Applied concepts including Monte Carlo simulations, Runge-Kutta methods and random walk algorithms to programs in Python. The concept of random walks was used as a basis for simulate diffusion-limited aggregation for the course project.

Project: Diffusion-Limited Aggregation Simulation

Data Structures

Implemented data structures in Java such as B-Trees, hash tables, heaps and priority queues. Final project used a B-Tree to sort and search through the human genome.

Project: Genome Sort & Search

Intro to Systems Programming

Learned the basics of the C programming language including compilation with header files, creating structs, managing pointers and allocating memory. Applied knowledge to problems such as forking processes, handling signals and creating pipes.

Computational Mathematics

Applied numerical methods in MATLAB with an emphasis on utilizing matrices and vectors.

Physics Senior Seminar

Demonstrated research and technical communication skills with a paper and presentation on the topic of negative absolute temperature.

Project: Negative Absolute Temperature Research

Self Study

MATLAB Course Certificates

Courses home on Mathworks

German