Interests & Goals
My interests are focused on the pursuit of learning more about computational and plasma phsyics. The field of plasma physics is extremely interesting because of the various backgrounds used. Which include RF engineering, computational modeling, and the study of non-linear models. My goals include obtaining a PhD in plasma physics, so that I will be able to study plasma physics at a national laboratory and university.
Research Summary
During my first summer at UTK, in 2018, I had my first internship through the DOE program, SULI at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). At ORNL, I worked in the Energy and Transportation Science Division. My internship was based around a(n) mechanical/industrial engineering perspective. My main project there was based on research for Electro-technologies that could replace fuel-fired process heating. However, I was also working with my group on two other projects involving smart manufacturing and industrial remanufacturing.
In summer 2019, I worked again through the SULI program, but I was working for Jeffrey Holmes in the Accelerator Physics Division at ORNL at the Spallation Neutron Source. My project for this summer was focused on a codebase framework called PyOrbit. PyOrbit is a simulation framework used to study particle accelerators with a node based structure. I made three major contributions for the framework: a model node for ‘uniform focusing’ and two beam envelope solvers for different situations.
Academic Summary
Starting college at Walter’s State, I found myself in a situation where it would take 5 years to graduate from an undergraduate institution. I was always planning on majoring in electrical engineering, but because of how credits transfer, it was going to be difficult. Seeing it was going take me 5 years regardless of what I did, I decided to take extra courses each semester to be able to double major, adding physics as a suitable option for my career, or at the very least a way to enhance my career as an electrical engineer.
As a result of being a double major, I have had to be taking 20+ credits consistently while in school. It was extremely stressful at certain points in my academic career, but I believe my experience made me a stronger and better person, who is more equipped with dealing with deadlines, hard choices, and objectives that require serious time management.