Author: Jade Thomas | Majors: Mechanical Engineering (Aerospace) and Physics (Astronomy) | Semester: Spring 2023
My name is Jade Thomas and I am a part of the College of Engineering and the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. I am double majoring in Mechanical Engineering (Aerospace Concentration) and Physics (Astronomy Concentration), with a minor in Nanotechnology. My mentor is Dr. Wan Shou of the Mechanical Engineering Department. This blog is for the Spring 2023 semester of funding. My future plans are to attend graduate school for my Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering.
I took Introduction to Materials with Dr. Shou in Fall 2021. Shortly after, in Spring 2022, we began discussing my Honors College Research requirement and Dr. Shou became my advisor. Following that, I began working in his lab in Fall 2022. I started out in literature review, reading interesting papers and searching for a topic I was interested in, while assisting graduate students with work where needed. Halfway through the fall semester, I found my topic, Shape Memory Polymers (SMPs). I read several papers about SMPs and was intrigued by their properties and potential applications in the aerospace community. After discussing them with Dr. Shou, he informed me about an under-studied SMP that I could begin testing. Towards the end of the fall semester, I began extensive testing of the specific SMP, focusing on pushing the limits of its abilities and investigating how its properties change with different manufacturing methods. I continued this research into Spring 2023, when I received Honors College funding.
There were many hurdles to jump throughout my research, especially at the start. The biggest of these hurdles was understanding how to conduct effective, consistent, and repeatable research. I had no independent research experience before I started working in Dr. Shou’s lab, and it was difficult to create a clear, executable plan without heavy guidance from Dr. Shou. Determination and time helped me to grow into a more independent researcher, leading to faster results and clearer goals. Another large challenge appeared when the research required me to change my experimental setup to achieve higher-quality results. Building a new setup meant I had to directly utilize and build upon skills I had learned in my courses, especially mechanical design, CAD, and mechatronics. Through assistance from a graduate student in Dr. Shou’s lab, I created a new system utilizing a mechanical stage, heating pads, an Arduino, and a circuit.
This semester was a crucial learning experience for me, not only as a student, but also as a future graduate student, and it would not have been possible without the help of Dr. Shou, graduate students in the lab, and the Honors College Research Grant. I met with Dr. Shou and the rest of the lab once per week to discuss progress and goals for the following week, as well as talked with Dr. Shou and other graduate students multiple times throughout the week. These conversations were vital to planning my research and were the foundation of my growth as a researcher. I plan to continue this research for at least one more semester, but possibly two. Following this experience, I am confident in my decision to pursue my Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering after I graduate.