A World of Opportunities
By Amy DeLine – Senior in Physics
Central Michigan University

“It looks like we’ll be going to Disney World to present our paper!”

I never expected to hear those words in my undergraduate experience. I decided in high school that I wanted to become a mathematics and physics teacher in secondary education; consequently, research was never on my mind as I journeyed through college. However, during my last day of my junior year, which was my first year at Central Michigan University, Dr. Finck, a professor of Physics called me into his office to discuss research opportunities, and I decided to give it a shot.

As I worked with Dr. Finck, I have been able to work on two distinct research projects. The first one is called “MoNA”, a physics experimental research collaboration that involves undergraduates, graduate students, postdocs and faculty from ten colleges around the country. The second project focused on researching a teaching technique Dr. Finck uses in his college physics class. The latter is what I worked on throughout the past summer, analyzing data, conducting a literature search and preparing to write a paper and present it at a conference. The research and communication skills that I have been studying in college courses were put to use and further developed as I prepared the paper.

I finished my portion of researching and writing the paper at the end of the summer and submitted it to Dr. Finck. We revised it throughout the fall and added finishing touches before the submission deadline. It was an exciting process that showed me how much time and effort it takes to write research papers for submission to an academic conference and journal.

My job was not done when we submitted the paper. The paper writing and deadline for submission seemed effortless compared to the butterflies I had when I thought of presenting my work. After fall semester exams were completed, I worked on the presentation. Dr. Finck made suggestions for the content and I prepared the PowerPoint to address the important issues of our study and make it professional and aesthetically pleasing. The nerves continued to build as I realized I would soon be standing in front of professionals presenting the research Dr. Finck and I had prepared.

Thankfully, Dr. Finck was committed to practicing the talk a few times before leaving with a laser pointer, laptop and projector. This, along with his helpful tips, helped build my confidence for the presentation. The morning of our presentation we practiced one last time.

Then, it came the time to present. The technology worked just as planned and we began. After the first slide, I felt more at ease and calmed my quick words. By the end I was confidently speaking in front of professionals. In fact, afterwards I sat down and the man next to me said that he thought I was a professor until I spoke from the students’ perspective in the presentation. Then, he asked if I was a grad student! Never have I received such a high compliment. After that I was ecstatic when I found out that we received a “Best Paper of the Conference” award.

I never thought I would have the opportunity to present my research at a national conference. As an undergraduate, I never thought I would be in the position to even do research. But the simple invitation by Dr. Finck and his expertise has guided me to learn about how to research and how to prepare to present such research. I still plan on teaching in the high school, but now I feel much more prepared to teach students knowing that the trajectory of their lives could involve undergraduate and graduate research. I look forward to preparing students for that future role in their lives since I now know what it is like to be in that role myself.

But right now I need to get working on a talk about our nuclear physics research which will be presented at a conference in April. “Meet me in St. Louis!”