Second-year medical physics student Emma Pesce received $1,000 to work in Dr. Steven Rehse’s laser spectroscopy lab. (Photo courtesy of Emma Pesce/University of Windsor)
By Sara Elliott
Two University of Windsor physics undergraduates are gaining early research experience thanks to scholarships funded by professor emeriti.
Distinguished University Professor Emeritus William Baylis and his wife, Bobbye Baylis, launched the Baylis Physics Research Internship in 2021. It offers an annual opportunity for a student to engage in advanced research with a faculty mentor.
Second-year medical physics student Emma Pesce received $1,000 to work in Dr. Steven Rehse’s laser spectroscopy lab.
“I am working toward becoming a clinical medical physicist and this experience provides a strong foundation for my future,” says Pesce.
“It allows me to directly apply what I am learning in my courses, which strengthens my understanding.”
As part of a team, Pesce operates the laser system to gather data and identify different types of bacteria, including streptococcus, staphylococcus and Escherichia coli (E. coli).
“Being involved in this type of meaningful research at this stage in my degree is a valuable opportunity and has further motivated me to continue in this field,” she says.
Dr. Baylis says he offered funding to encourage undergraduates early in their careers to engage in work with senior research teams.
“The amazing advances in science and technology over the last 500 years have been propelled by fundamental studies in physics, and our relatively small physics department at the University of Windsor has played an out-sized role in encouraging research and education, especially in the areas of atomic and molecular physics,” he says.
“The internship work not only helps advances the research project but also inspires the younger student to study and better appreciate the physics involved.”
Nayanika Ghosh began her academic career in medical physics this year. As the current recipient of the Tom and Mylo Drake Entrance Award, she receives $1,500 and the opportunity to work in a researcher’s lab.
Medical physics undergraduate Nayanika Ghosh is the current recipient of the Tom and Mylo Drake Entrance Award. (SARA ELLIOTT/University of Windsor)
“One of the reasons I chose to go to the University of Windsor in the first place was because I'd seen how actively undergraduate students participated in research during summer orientation,” says Ghosh.
The award was endowed by Distinguished University Professor Emeritus Dr. Gordon Drake and his wife, Dr. Mary Louise Drake, in honour and memory of his parents, Tom and Mylo Drake.
"Tom Drake was obliged to leave school at grade 11, but he became a highly educated man and senior banking executive through his own initiative,” says Drake. “Both Tom and Mylo Drake highly valued education in the general sense of forming the well-rounded person, and this scholarship is in honour of their memory."
Ghosh learned about the scholarship at a departmental event, where she also met Dr. Dan Xiao, who runs an MRI research lab.
“I spent a few hours each week shadowing upper-year students, which gave me a chance to learn about their projects and better understand how the lab operates,” she says.
“I learned about the fundamentals of MRI and the different components everyone was working on.”
After a few weeks of shadowing, Xiao introduced a project to build a spectrometer.
“This has been one of the most exciting parts of my experience so far, as it involves a lot of hands-on, technical work, and working with new tools,” says Ghosh.
“I have learned how to use a 3D printer, a soldering station, and how to use a digital multimeter to debug an electronic circuit.”
Ghosh says getting involved in research early has given her unique opportunities and strengthened her interest in pursuing research.
Rehse, head of the Department of Physics, says the University of Windsor stands out for engaging students in research early in their studies.
“I am absolutely blown away that a department of our size has not one, but two, internships specifically endowed to excite first-year students to start doing physics research,” says Rehse.
“That the internships were endowed by two of our most internationally recognized and respected professors and their families is a testament to the care for our students and the commitment to our department that all the faculty in the Department of Physics have.”