Name: Elizabeth Isaac
Class Year: 2018
Major: Chemistry
Internship Site: University of Central Florida-Chemistry Department
In the photo I am working with a small laser setup. I am
practicing aligning and focusing the laser before using the larger laser in
lab.
Internship Responsibilities: This summer I was excited to be a part of the Preparing
Future Researchers program at the University of Central Florida. I was assigned
to intern with the Kuebler group in the chemistry department. Alongside a
graduate mentor, I assisted with the fabrication of micro scale devices called
waveguides. These waveguides were created with a Ti:Sapphire femtosecond laser,
and it was super fun to work with. The purpose of the waveguides we created is
to transfer data via light rather than electronically, thus making chip to chip
interactions in computers much faster.
What I Learned: It was very exciting to join a group
doing such ground breaking work. Through this experience I learned what it
truly meant to be a scientist. There is a lot of failure involved in research
before a successful outcome is achieved. For the first couple of weeks our
waveguides weren't fabricating properly. Instead of being disheartened by the
lack of results, my graduate mentor and I tried different methods until we
finally found one that worked. It took nearly a month before we had any
waveguides, but it was an extremely satisfying feeling to look in a microscope
and see them on the slide. Through research I've learned that one must
persevere instead of giving up when things don't go exactly as planned. There
is often another route or direction to take to get your desired outcome rather
than the one you originally undertook.
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