Learning the ropes of a research career

At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a unique program in the Department of Nuclear Engineering & Engineering Physics is preparing students to launch successful careers in engineering research. 

The Engineering Physics (EP) major is a cross between engineering and physics with the addition of an undergraduate research thesis, describes Walter Van Dyke, a senior in the EP program. While many other engineering degree programs culminate in a design capstone project, Van Dyke is rounding out his final year in the major by writing a research thesis.    

“I’ve always been very motivated by curiosity,” Van Dyke says, explaining that the program’s heavy research focus is what drew him to the engineering physics major. “I see a career in research as a way to be a lifelong learner.”

Students in the EP program prepare to write their thesis by taking a series of four courses over four different semesters, known as the EP research sequence. The sequence starts with an introduction to engineering research. Then, students select a research lab on campus, propose a research project, and conduct their research over the course of two semesters. 

“The EP major attracts fantastic students like Walter who immerse themselves in research and gain a variety of critical skills in the process,” says Professor Emeritus Wendy Crone, who developed the EP program and authored the course textbook, Introduction to Engineering Research.

The three major focus areas within the program are nanoengineering, scientific computing, and plasma science and engineering. Each student selects a focus area and is paired with a research advisor to mentor them as they complete the sequence. 

“Teaching the EP Research sequence has been incredibly rewarding because I get to see students grow into confident young researchers,” says Teaching Faculty Carolina Quintana-Kuether, who now leads the program. “This growth is made possible through the unique nature of our Engineering Physics program and the outstanding mentorship provided by the research mentors and labs that welcome and support our students.”

Van Dyke is mentored by Jennifer Choy, an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Choy heads the Laboratory for Quantum and Photonic Engineering where Van Dyke is completing his research project: building an atomic sensor for magnetic field diagnostics in a fusion device. 

Fortunately, the lab is located right across the street from a fusion device—an optimized stellarator called the Helically Symmetric eXperiment (HSX)—allowing for efficient collaboration between the two labs. Assistant Professor Benedikt Geiger is the co-investigator of HSX and Van Dyke’s faculty advisor. 

The structure of the EP program provides students with one-on-one mentoring from both a faculty advisor and a research advisor. They also receive informal mentoring from other scientists, graduate students, and technicians in the lab. This variety exposes students to a wider range of research interests and career paths while broadening their professional networks early in their undergraduate careers.

“The research that I do as part of the major gave me the opportunity to build relationships with graduate students and professors inside and outside of my department,” says Van Dyke. “It’s been a great source of mentorship, not just for research, but also—thinking ahead for grad school and finding jobs—getting input from people at different points in their academic careers has been valuable.” 

Additionally, EP students get to interact frequently with other undergraduate students further ahead in their degree program. Students can start the research sequence in either their sophomore or junior year, so various academic levels are combined in each of the four sequence courses.

“It’s like built-in peer mentoring,” says Van Dyke. “A lot of the assignments are collaborative, and you give peer reviews of your writing to each other. We’ve gone through a lot of difficult coursework together which creates a really strong network.”

Van Dyke attributes that culture of collaboration and sharing ideas to helping him land an internship in Hanover, Germany last summer. One of his classmates and close friends told him about the opportunity after discovering the academic exchange program in their course textbook.

Through the exchange program, he was matched with a professor and a graduate student at Leibniz University, working with trapped ions as a quantum computing medium to build qubits. His role in experimental control involved Python programming and signal processing radio frequency engineering.

“I think it’s the most I’ve ever learned in such a short amount of time,” he says, “It was a really good way to practice asking effective questions, gain some technical skills, and build confidence as an undergraduate in a research environment. I think there’s something really powerful about being able to apply yourself to a new project in a new lab, taking the opportunity to network and make new connections.” 

Van Dyke recently finished his undergraduate research thesis which he defended in front of a faculty panel. Now graduated, he looks forward to a career in atomic physics, with the hopes of continuing his work in quantum computing at an Atomic, Molecular, and Optical (AMO) lab.

As he reflects on the value of his undergraduate studies in the Engineering Physics program, Van Dyke says, “It goes without saying that there are a lot of technical skills I hope to bring into my work. But also, being able to work in labs and interact with so many people at different stages of a research career has given me a lot more confidence in my ability to learn. I can try my best and mess up. There’s a big network of people here all working together to do successful research.”