physics and physics/engineering dual-degree · 2019-07-30 · physics and physics/engineering...
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Physics and Physics/Engineering Dual-Degree West Virginia Wesleyan College
G. Albert Popson, Jr., Chair 304-473-8070 [email protected] https://www.wvwc.edu
Here is information on employers, internships, our
schedule of classes, our NASA affiliation, labs, new
equipment, and student projects.
Our hands-on approach emphasizes labs. In recent years,
we have benefited from grants from the U.S. Department
of Education, NSF, NASA, Dominion Resources, and the
Naylor Foundation. These grants fund student projects
and help us keep our labs up-to-date.
Our graduates report satisfying professional careers. Our
graduates often pursue an M.S. or Ph.D., and in the last
five years, our acceptance rate into these programs is 94%. Our senior class with the faculty, February 2019.
What is the Physics/Engineering Dual-Degree program? These are agreements with West Virginia University,
Marshall University, Virginia Tech, and the University of
Virginia. Students study three years at Wesleyan followed
by about two years at one of the universities. Students earn
toward our physics degree. Students benefit by starting their engineering studies in our smaller classes. And students find
that a strong physics background enables them to better
understand the theory behind engineering practice.
two degrees — Wesleyan’s
physics degree and the univer-
sity’s engineering degree.
Students can finish these in
about five years because many
of Wesleyan’s courses count
toward the university’s engi-
neering degree, and many of
the university’s courses count
Meet our faculty—Dr. Reynolds, Dr. Popson, Dr.
Wiest, Dr. DeLaney, Mr. Grose (technician)
The physics background
is especially valuable to
engineers who are working
on projects at the forefront
of the profession. In addition,
many of our students success-
fully participate in sports,
student government, theatre,
and music.
We welcome our 2018 freshman class
Where do our graduates work?
Alliant Technical
American Electric
BAE Systems
Ball Aerospace
Bell Helicopters
Bechtel-Bettis
Cabot Oil & Gas
Caterpillar
Corhart Refractories
Cutler-Hammer
DuPont
EPIC Systems
Fischione Instruments
General Electric
General Motors
Hermes Abrasives
Hewlett-Packard
Huntington Medical
Physicists
Jacobs Engineering
Kettering Cancer
Center
Johnson & Johnson
Lockheed-Martin
Mercy Cancer Center
Mitre Corporation
Morton-Thiokol
Monongahela Power
Motorola
Mylan Labs
NASA-Glenn
NASA-Langley
NASA-Marshall
National Energy
Technology Lab
Omnia Medical
PDC Energy
Pratt and Whitney
Raytheon
Rockwell Automation
Schlumberger
Shell Oil
Siemens
Thrasher Engineering
Tower Engineering
Toyota
United Hospital Center
U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers
U.S. Naval Air Station
U.S. Well Service
Vantage Oncology
Weatherford
WV Division of
Highways
Summer internships B.S. in Applied Physics This major is designed for students who are interested in
physics applications to help meet the society’s needs. It is
a four-year program that includes the courses in our Dual-
Degree Physics/Engineering and B.S. Physics programs.
The program has all the components of modern experi-
mental and theoretical physics. Our hands-on system has
one or two labs each semester. Students succeed at sum- mer internships and graduate school. They have obtained
professional employment at national labs and industry.
Typical class schedule
Antero Resources
Cleveland Clinic
Corhart Refractories
Cornell University
Energy Corporation of
America
Johns Hopkins University
LEAM Drilling Services
NASA-Fairmont
NASA-Glenn
NASA-Goddard
NASA-Langley
National Energy Tech-
nology Laboratory
National Institute of Stand-
ards and Technology
National Radio Astronomy
Observatory
Jefferson National Lab
Oak Ridge National Lab
Pennsylvania Department of
Transportation
Pickering Energy Solutions
Raytheon
Penn State University
Rutgers University
Thrasher Engineering
Toyota
University of Florida
University of Utah
Virginia Tech
Walter Reed Medical Center
West Virginia University
Weyerhaeuser
WV Division of Highways
WV Wesleyan College
Year 1, Fall General Physics I 4
Calculus I 4
Composition I 3
Freshman Seminar 4
Total 15
Year 1, Spring
General Physics II 4
Human Communication 3
Composition II 3
General studies 6
Total 16
Dylan’s superconductivity project at Wesleyan
Graduate schools
Year 2, Fall Engineering Mechanics 3
Light & Atomic with Lab 4
Chemistry I with Lab 4
Calculus II 4
Technology for Calculus 1
Total 16
Year 2, Spring Mechanics of Materials 3
Nuclear with Lab 4
Chemistry II with Lab 4
Calculus III 4
Laser Lab 1
Total 16
Year 3, Fall Digital Electronics & Lab 4
Differential Equations 4
Scientific Programming 3
Humanities 3
General studies 3
Total 17
Year 3, Spring
Materials Science & Lab 4 Thermodynamics 3
Analytical Mechanics 3
Fluid Mechanics 3 General studies 3
Total 16
Year 4, Fall Analog Electronics & Lab 4
Electromagnetic Theory 3
Engineering Lab 1
Research Seminar I 1
General studies 6
Total 15
Year 4, Spring Solid State & Lab 4
Quantum Mechanics 3
Engineering Mathematics 3
Research Seminar II 1
General studies 6
Total 17
West Virginia University
University of Virginia
Virginia Tech
Marshall University
Boston University
Case Western Reserve Univ.
Clemson University
Colorado School of Mines
Duke University
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical
University
Florida Tech
Georgia Tech
George Mason University
George Washington Univ.
Hofstra University
Lehigh University
Ohio State University
Penn State University
Purdue University
Stanford University
University of Arizona
University of Cincinnati
University of Delaware
University of Florida
University of Kentucky
University of Kansas
University of Maryland
University of Nevada
University of New Mexico
University of North Carolina
University of Oregon
University of Pennsylvania
University of Pittsburgh
University of Wisconsin
Vanderbilt University
Spectra of sodium, mercury, helium, and hydrogen
Freshman Engineering Design
NASA Fellowship winners
Faculty congratulate 2018’s NASA Fellowship winners.
Each October, we offer NASA Fellowships to eleven
students (freshmen preferred) to help pay for college. NASA also provides funding for summer research.
Wesleyan students have priority for summer internships at
sites such as NASA-Langley. And NASA provides expertise
for our Space Club to build payloads to be launched from
NASA sounding rockets.
Josh’s NASA picosatellite electronics must fit in the can.
Physics/Engineering Dual Degree—typical class schedule
Aerospace, Civil, Industrial, Mechanical
Year 1, Fall Engineering Design I 1
General Physics I 4
Calculus I 4
Freshman Seminar 4
General studies 3
Total 16
Year 1, Spring
Engineering Design II 1
General Physics II 4
Composition II 3
Humanities 3
General studies 6
Total 17
Year 2, Fall Engineering Mechanics 3
Light and Atomic & lab 4
Calculus II 4
Analog Electronics & lab 4
General studies 3
Total 18
Year 2, Spring
Mechanics of Materials 3
Electro-Optics Lab 1
Calculus III 4
Technology for Calculus 1
General studies 9
Total 18
Year 3, Fall Chemistry I with lab 4
Differential Equations 4
Electromagnetic Theory 3
Scientific Programming 3
General studies 3
Total 17
Year 3, Spring
Chemistry II with lab 4
Engineering Math 3
Analytical Mechanics 3
Thermodynamics 3
Engineering Lab 1
General studies 3
Total 17
Years 4-5 — Engineering at chosen university
General Physics Lab
Aerospace Engineers design airplanes, spacecraft, rockets, fuel-efficient
cars, propulsion systems, and guidance systems.
Will George (2014 internship at NASA Langley;
B.S. Wesleyan, 2015; M.S. Virginia Tech, 2017) emails,
“My work at Pratt & Whitney involves testing designs of
new engines, testing hardware improvements, and FAA
certification tests.”
Will George (white shirt) in Langley’s 20-ft wind tunnel
Robert Vollmerhausen (2014) completed our Dual-
Degree Engineering program at WVU. He works at the
Naval Air Command in California.
Emily Kearney’s 2017 summer internship at NASA-
Fairmont involved the Commercial Crew Program, a
partnership with companies to develop safe and reliable
access to the International Space Station. She is completing
the Physics/Engineering Dual-Degree program at WVU.
In 2019, sophomore student Baylee Senator had a
summer internship at the University of South Florida to
improve smart sensor technologies for space research and
aerospace applications. The students visited the Kennedy
Space Center, where they toured the Swamp Works.
Russell Gillespie (2018, M.S. Embry-Riddle Aeronauti-
cal University) is a software verification engineer at the
U.S. Missile Defense Agency in Huntsville, Ala.
Alexa Mortenson (2018) is pursuing an M.S. at New
Mexico State University, where she is specializing in
attitude control of satellites.
Cody O’Meara (2016; M.S. at Ohio State) is a research
engineer at NASA-Glenn. While at Wesleyan, Cody had a
summer internship designing diffusers at NASA-Langley.
Chris Kuhl (M.S., Purdue, NASA Langley) was chief
engineer of the sensors on the Mars Rover’s heatshield to
monitor atmospheric conditions during the rover’s descent.
Josh Keane (M.S., George Washington University). “I
work at Bell Helicopters on projects such as the UH-1 Huey,
the AH-1 Cobra, and the V-22 tilt rotor helicopters.”
Our NASA affiliation
Wesleyan is a member of the NASA-WV Space Grant
Consortium, which enables us to offer NASA Fellowships
to our students. NASA funds summer research by students
at Wesleyan. And our students have priority for summer
internships at sites such as NASA-Langley.
Science Public Outreach Team
This is an organization of college students who travel
to schools to give science presentations to students K-12.
SPOT members are also giving Universe in the Park
presentations at Stonewall Resort, which include talks on
research at the Green Bank Observatory and backyard
astronomy. In addition, participants can observe planets
with our large Dobsonian telescope and hike through our
Planet Walk, which is a scale model Solar System.
Skype downlink from the
International Space Station
Jan. 25, 2018—The SPACE Club invited students K-12
to participate in a live conversation with astronauts.
Space Club
NASA supports our
Space Club. Members are
working on this year’s
NASA Space Flight Design
Challenge. Their objective
is to design and build a
payload to detect cosmic
rays during a sounding
rocket’s flight.
Members participate in
regular design reviews at
NASA-Fairmont, just like
NASA engineers. This
summer, two members of
the club will go to the NASA
facility at Wallops Island
for their payload’s launch.
Applied Physicists work with lasers, nuclear power, quality control,
radiation safety, solar panels, airport security
systems, electron microscopes, and robotics.
James Abraham is the radiation safety officer at
Colorado State University.
Joe Zambelli is a physical scientist at the National
Energy Technology Lab in Morgantown.
Wes Hughes (B.S. Wesleyan, M.S. in Applied Physics,
University of Oregon): “I work at Fischione Instruments
as a designer of ion milling equipment that prepares
specimens to be used in electron microscopes.”
Wes returned to Wesleyan to give a presentation.
Jason Martin (B.S. Wesleyan; M.S. U.Va.) teaches at
the Naval Nuclear School in Charleston, SC.
Michael Scruggs (B.S. Wesleyan 2011; M.S. Optical
Physics, University of Arizona) is a laser physicist at the
Naval Surface Warfare Dahlgren Division.
Aaron Weaver (B.S. Wesleyan 2016, M.S. Physics,
WVU) is the Physics Lab Manager at the State University
of New York in Brockport.
Olivia Rycroft (2019): “I have accepted a position
as a Software Systems Engineer with Aerodyne at NASA-
Huntsville. I will be writing the requirements for the flight
software on the Space Launch System.”
Paige Stinson (2019) is studying for a Ph.D. in Optical
Science at the University of North Carolina—Charlotte.
Hunter Lowe (2018) performs abrasive studies on
bonded abrasives at Hermes Abrasives in Virginia Beach.
Hunter travels to Hermes locations in the U.S. and beyond.
Robert Hardin (B.S. Wesleyan; Ph.D. Physics, WVU)
works at Oak Ridge National Lab.
Tom Damiani (B.S. Wesleyan; Ph.D. Physics, WVU)
designs propulsion systems for submarines and aircraft
carriers at the Bechtel-Bettis Nuclear Lab in Pittsburgh.
Robert Powell (2010 summer internship, Jefferson
National Accelerator; B.S. Wesleyan, 2011) is a field
engineer at the Bechtel-Bettis Nuclear Lab in Pittsburgh.
Corey Rhodes had a summer internship (2016) at NIST
studying the sensitivity of atomic force microscopes.
Engineering Lab
Air conditioner
Heat pump
Steam engine/generator
Wind tunnel Tensile tester
Biomedical Engineers design and implement neural repair, pacemeakers,
hip replacements, and genetic manipulations.
Physics/Engineering Dual
Degree—Biomedical Engineering Students study three years at Wesleyan, followed by
about years at an articulation university. Students earn
two degrees—Wesleyan’s physics degree and a B.S. in
Biomedical Engineering from the university.
Typical class schedule
Summer biomedical internships Rebecca Davis studied spinal cords at Rutgers Univer-
sity.”I used a clearing agent called Visikol to clear soft
tissue surrounding the spinal cord, which made the spinal
cord visible using light sheet microscopy.”
Lauren Cronise studied
the standard for lung tissue
at the National Institute of
Standards and Technology
to improve accuracy in
diagnosing emphysema.
Paige Rutter studied silver nanoparticles at WVU.
“If these are put into the cement at a joint replacement,
the result could be lower infection rates and faster healing.
I investigated the correlation of particle size to toxicity.”
Taylor Price had a summer internship at WVU to study
photonic crystals to be used as optical biosensors.
Dillon Huffman worked at WVU to understand path-
ways in the human sensorimotor system and to design
rehabilitation to help people to recover from damage.
Graduate schools Troy Schifano earned an M.S. at the University of
Alabama. He works at Omnia Medical in Morgantown.
The company provides medical and surgical products for
spinal pathology and neurological and orthopedic trauma.
Dillon Huffman is pursuing a
Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering
at the University of Kentucky.
“I work in the Neural Systems
Lab on signal acquisition and
machine learning to build com-
putational models of brain states
from EEG data. It’s satisfying to
see how your work translates to
a clinical setting in a field that is
innovative and growing.”
Lauren Cronise is a student at the WV School of Osteopathic Medicine. She is in her third-year rotation in
Labor and Delivery at United Hospital Center.
Paige Rutter earned an M.S. in Health Science at WVU.
She works at West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh, where she
is involved with research on gastrointestinal disease, lupus,
pulmonary disease, kidney transplants, and diabetes.
Year 1, Fall Engineering Design I 1
General Physics I 4
Chemistry I with Lab 4
Composition I 4
Calculus I 4
Total 17
Year 1, Spring
Engineering Design II 1
General Physics II 4
Chemistry II with Lab 4
Composition II 3
General studies 6
Total 18
Year 2, Fall Princ. Biology I & Lab 4
Calculus II 4
Technology for Calculus 1
Analog Electronics & Lab 4
Light & Atomic with Lab 4
Total 17
Year 2, Spring Princ. Biology II & Lab 4
Calculus III 4
Electro-Optics Lab 1
Humanities 3
General studies 6
Total 18
Year 3, Fall Anatomy & Physiology I 4
Electromagnetic Theory 3
Differential Equations 4
Scientific Programming 3
General studies 3
Total 17
Year 3, Spring
Anatomy & Physiology II 4
Analytical Mechanics 3
Engineering Lab 1 Economics 3
General studies 6
Total 17
Years 4-5 — Engineering at the chosen university
Parag Chitnis earned a Ph.D. at Boston University and
is a professor of biomedical engineering at George Mason
University. His research includes ultrasound-assisted drug
delivery systems, ultrasound contrasting agents, and cancer
treatments using combined acoustical and optical methods.
Student projects at Wesleyan Kim Lubic’s objective was to use electrical signals from
electrodes attached to her head to control a servomotor.
Paige Rutter designed a prosthetic arm. Her project
consisted of four parts: (1) creating a design, (2) printing
the design on a 3-D printer, (3) installing the servomotors
and Myoware muscle sensors, and (4) programming an
Arduino microcontroller.
Chemical engineers adapt chemical reactions to produce industrial
quantities of chemicals, fuels, and other products.
Civil engineers design, construct, and operate facilities such as
highways, bridges, and drinking-water systems.
Cayla Collett had a 2017 summer internship at the
National Institute of Standards and Technology. “I worked
on time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry, which
can be used to make three-dimensional maps of surfaces
of organic molecules.” Cayla is pursuing a Ph.D. at
Colorado School of Mines.
Thomas Haines (M.S. WVU, 2019) works at Worley
(previously Jacobs Engineering) in Elkview, WV. “I have
been hired as a process engineer and will also be assisting
the mechanical engineering department. My goal is to take
the FE exam this fall and start working towards my PE.”
Kim Richards Farnsworth (B.S. Wesleyan; Ph.D.,
Georgia Tech). “I work at Dupont in Parkersburg as
Division Engineer for Teflon. I work to improve the
production process and to search for new polymers.”
Our laser spectroscopy apparatus
X-ray crystallography at Wesleyan
Austin Jarrell (2019) has a summer internship
at the WV Division of
Highways. He has been
accepted to the M.S.
program at the Univer-
sity of Florida. Austin’s
senior research studied
the effectiveness of self-
healing concrete made
by embedding cyano-
acrylate adhesive.
Alex Lipscomb (2018) works at Civil and Environmental
Consultants in Bridgeport.
Ben Vance (B.S. Wesleyan; M.S., WVU) is a civil
engineer at the WV Division of Highways
Dustin Schilpp (M.S. University of Maryland) is a civil
engineer at Sabra-Wang in Baltimore.
Amelia Riley (B.S. Wesleyan
2016; M.S. Civil Engineering
WVU) works at the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers in Wilming-
ton, NC. At Wesleyan, Amelia
tested the compressive strength of
different types of concrete (photo).
Jason Jackson (B.S. Wesleyan;
M.S. WVU) is a field engineer at
Kokosing Engineering.
Wyatt Strickler (2017) is pursuing an M.S. at
Cleveland State University.
Thomas Bartleman (B.S. Wesleyan, 2014; M.S.,
Stanford University) works for the software company
Aperia Technologies.
Andrew Cvetnick (2016) is pursuing an M.S. at WVU,
specializing in detecting leaks in fiber reinforced pipes.
Brenton Stone (B.S. Wesleyan; M.S., University of
Virginia) designs bridges at Volkert and Associates.
Ed Hasis (B.S. Wesleyan 2013; M.S. University of
Pittsburgh) is a project engineer at Mascaro Construction
in Pittsburgh. He is supervising construction of two cancer
treatment centers for the Allegheny Health Network.
Electrical Engineers develop communication systems such as cell
phones, control systems such as microprocessors,
and electrical power transmission systems.
Field engineer. Denny Vincent emailed (2017), “I am a
field engineer trainee at First Energy in Fairmont and have
almost completed the three-year training program. I operate computer programs that switch electric circuits on and off.
My job is to strategically select circuits to enable necessary maintenance while minimizing customer outages.”
Tesla coil. For his
senior project (2016)
at Wesleyan, Corey
Rhodes constructed a
400,000-V solid-state
tesla coil. He is work-
ing on an M.S.E.E. at
Virginia Tech. Last
summer, Corey had an
internship at NASA-
Glenn. “I worked on
electric propulsion for
deep-space probes.
They offered me a job
when I finish my M.S.”
Kichler Lighting, Cleveland. Tom Tyson (B.S. Wes-
leyan; M.S. Penn State) works as an electrical engineer.
Rockwell Automation. (B.S. Wesleyan; M.S. Penn
State). David Klebe emailed, “I manage a team in
manufacturing pulp and paper technology for Rockwell
Automation. This is a $900-million business devoted
to large-scale industrial projects. A recent project is a
materials-handling system for a Chicago news press.”
Alexa’s digital counter circuit
NASA-Glenn. Corey Rhodes (M.S. 2019, Virginia
Tech) works on power-processing units for space travel
using electric propulsion technology such as Hall-effect
and gridded-ion thrusters.
SQUIDS. Rebecca Davis (summer 2018) studied super-
conducting quantum interference devices at Cornell with
Dr. Katja Nowak. SQUIDs are highly sensitive detectors
of magnetic fields. Applications include brain scans and
detecting land mines and submarines. Rebecca studied a
procedure to tune SQUIDs for minimized noise.
Avalanche diodes at NIST. Merrik Malin (summer
2018) studied single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs)
with Dr. Kevin Bienfang at the National Institute of
Standards and Technology. These devices provide a
convenient solid-state detector of individual photons.
Merrik investigated a temperature controller to cool the
diode to a low-noise state and circuitry to quench single-
photon-induced avalanches and reset the diode.
M.S.E.E. Kody Tucker is pursuing an M.S. in Electrical
Engineering at WVU. He reported (2018), “Some projects
I have worked on include designing a battery charger for
an electric car, designing circuit boards with MatLab, and
designing a feedback circuit to simulate the motion of a
pendulum as a function of string length and angle. My
thesis project involves low-power sensors using op-amps
and floating-gate transistors with Dr. David Graham. I’m
on path to complete my Master's degree in January 2020.
Wesleyan’s classes were absolutely handy for my M.S.”
Light-emitting diodes. Merrik Malin (summer 2017)
had an internship at WVU involving the efficiency of
gallium-nitride LEDs.
General Motors. Colby Stanley completed his M.S. in
Computer and Electrical Engineering (2017) at Duke Uni-
versity. He works at the GM’s Milford Proving Grounds.
Colby reports, “I mentor new engineers as they rotate
through our team every four months. I train them on the
software and physics behind our work, and I work alongside
them to improve our software capabilities.
“I drive vehicles on the track prior to the public debut.
I write software that runs in the engine-control modules of
vehicles to detect misfire in accordance with government
regulations. My software goes in every car GM makes.”
M.S.E.E. Alex White (2017) is pursuing an M.S. in
Electrical Engineering at WVU with an emphasis in
electronics. His project uses CAD to design MOSFETS.
Electronics lab
Mark programs the Comdyna analog computer.
Josh Tenney’s Lissajous figure
Josh Keane shows us a diode’s characteristic curve.
Physics/Engineering Dual-Degree Electrical and
Computer Engineering Year 1, Fall Engineering Design I 1
General Physics I 4
Calculus I 4
Composition I 3
Freshman Seminar 4
Total 16
Year 1, Spring
Engineering Design II 1
General Physics II 4
Computer Sci. Discipline 3
Composition II 3
General studies 6
Total 17
Year 2, Fall Analog Electronics & Lab 4
Light & Atomic with Lab 4
Chemistry I with Lab 4
Calculus II 4
Technology for Calculus 1
Total 17
Year 2, Spring Calculus III 4
Electro-Optics Lab 1
Chemistry II with Lab 4
Humanities 3
General studies 6
Total 18
Year 3, Fall Digital Electronics & Lab 4
Object-Oriented
Programing I 3
Differential Equations 4
Electromagnetic Theory 3
Differential Equations 4
General studies 3
Total 17
Year 3, Spring
Discrete Mathematics 3
Object-Oriented
Programing II 3
Engineering Mathematics 3 Mechanics 3
Economics 3
General studies 3
Total 18
Years 4-5 — Engineering at the chosen university
Zach is synthesizing a sawtooth wave.
Geophysicists use remote sensing to discover and evaluate
underground resources.
Industrial engineers plan such things as assembly lines, hospital emer-
gency rooms, and amusement park layouts.
Brendan Schwendeman (2019) is a process engineer
at Momentive Performance in St. Marys, WV.
Eric Wooten (2018) is a geophysicist at LEAM Drilling.
Nate Reynolds (2017) is a lead engineer for U.S
Well Services.
From our class of 2017, Ryan Holcomb and Cody
Turner both work at Thrasher Engineering in Bridgeport.
Ryan North (B.S., Wesleyan; Ph.D., Colorado School
of Mines) works the U.S. Army Research Center.
Mark Mattis (B.S., Wesleyan, 2015) works at Systems
Planning and Analysis. Mark is also pursuing an M.S. at
George Mason University.
Chris Ly (2013) works at Raytheon-Solyptis in
Baltimore. Raytheon is paying Chris to obtain an M.S.
at the University of Maryland.
Bryan Corder completed our Dual-Degree Physics/
Engineering program. He reports, “Wesleyan and WVU
provided me with a great opportunity with the Dual-
Degree program. Your careful planning made the transfer
easy.” Bryan works at Bechtel-Bettis in Pittsburgh.
Medical physicists are licensed professionals who use radiation to
treat cancer. They use nuclear medicine, X-ray
imaging, computerized tomography, ultrasound,
and MRIs. The average starting salary is $95,000.
Amy Patrick (B.S. Wesleyan, 2006; M.S. Vanderbilt)
works at the United Hospital Center in Clarksburg.
Tom Holtschneider (B.S. Wesleyan, 2013, Ph.D.,
University of Cincinnati). Tom works at the Kettering
Grandview Medical Center in Dayton, Ohio.
Chera Gainer (B.S. Wesleyan, 2012; M.S., University
of Cincinnati) works at Huntington Medical Physicists.
Mike Curry (B.S. Wesleyan, 2012; M.S. East Carolina
State University) works at the Mercy Cancer Center in
Des Moines, Iowa.
Kate Turner Wagner (B.S. Wesleyan, 2011; M.S. Duke)
is a medical physicist at the Wright-Patterson Air Force
Base in Dayton, Ohio.
2019 summer research
students at Wesleyan
Front row: Dr. DeLaney, Dr. Popson, Dr. Wiest; Middle
row: Nate Reynolds, Rich Calo, Anna Puigvert, Virginia
Martin; Back row: Dylan King, Josh Tenney, Ethan
Randolph, Eric Roy. Not pictured: Paige Stinson
Zach Whiting (B.S. Wesleyan, 2019) is pursuing an
M.S. in Medical Physics from Hofstra University.
Josh Carter (2015, M.S. Duke) recently finished up a
two year medical physics residency at Rutgers. “They were
a great group of people to work with and learn from. I am
working as a medical physicist at HannLeb Physics Con-
sultants at the Medical University of South Carolina.”
Josh’s proton beam project at Wesleyan
Emma Rickels (2018) is pursuing a doctorate in Medi-
cal Physics at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas. Her
classes include Nuclear Physics, Radiation Biology, and
Cross-Sectional Anatomy.
Peter Sandwall (B.S. Wesleyan, 2005; Ph.D., University
of Cincinnati). Chief Medical Physicist, TriHealth Center.
Mechanical Engineers design devices that move, such as cars, heat
engines, and industrial machinery.
Gary Valkavitch (B.S. Wesleyan, M.S. UVa) works
at Bechtel Plant Machinery in Monroeville, Pa., where he
focuses on relief valves on nuclear reactors.
Derek·Johnson (B.S. Wes-
leyan, 2013) works at Pentree
Engineering in Princeton,
WV. At Wesleyan, Derek
designed a device that uses footfall energy from walking
to charge a battery.
Matt Edwards (B.S. Wes-
leyan, 2013; M.S., University
of North Carolina) works at
Cross Automation, Charlotte.
Chad Moore (B.S. Wes-
leyan; M.S., Georgia Tech)
works at General Motors.
Landon Todd (B.S. Wesleyan, 2017) works at Garrett
Container Systems, where he uses AutoCad for technical
drawings of shipping containers. Landon is also pursuing
an M.S. from the University of Maryland.
Valerie Keefer Oldaker (B.S. Wesleyan; M.S., WVU)
is a quality specialist at Toyota in Buffalo, WV.
Pedro Martins (B.S. WVU, 2018): “I obtained a very
good job at Knapp, which designs and installs automation
technology and software involving logistics and production
for the healthcare, textiles, and e-trade industries.”
Randy Corathers (2018) is pursuing an M.S. from the
University of Maryland.
From our class of 2017, Andre Fernandes and Dustin
Kimble are both pursuing an M.S. at WVU.
Ryder Bolin (B.S. Wesleyan 2016; M.S. WVU) works
at the Naval Air Station in Patuxent, Maryland.
Ken Benson (B.S. Wesleyan, 2016) completed our
Dual-Degree program at Virginia Tech and is enrolled in
their M.S. program.
Matt Spicer (B.S. Wesleyan 2015; M.S. Virginia Tech,
2017) works at Blue Ridge Envisioneering. “My work in-
volves high speed computer signal processing and machine
learning. It also involves speeding up computer algorithms
by running them on a graphics processing unit.”
Summer research
Nate’s project in the plasma physics lab
Anna solders a diode. Fracking simulation in geophysics
Paige is studying nuclei using tunable lasers.
Hyperfine spectra of rare-earth elements
Laser lab
Homemade helium-neon laser
Argon plasma
Nitrogen laser fluorescence
Iodine excited by Nd:YAG laser Computerized spectrum
Guest speakers Aerospace Engineering. William George (B.S. Wes-
leyan, M.S. Virginia Tech) spoke on measuring airflow
in jet turbofan engines. He works at Pratt and Whitney.
Atomic force microscope. Student Corey Rhodes
spoke on his summer project at the National Institute
of Standards and Technology. An AFM is capable of
visualizing individual atoms. Biomedical engineering. Student Rebecca Davis
spoke on her summer research at Rutgers on methods
of visualizing spinal cords.
Chemical engineering. Thomas Haines (B.S. Wes-
leyan, 2017) discussed his research to make plastic from
natural gas as a graduate student at WVU.
Civil engineering. Jennifer Morris Cook (B.S.
Wesleyan, M.S. WVU) discussed her work as a bridge
designer at Palmer Engineering.
Electrical engineering. Tom Tyson (B.S. Wesleyan,
M.S. Penn State) discussed his magnetic-resonance
research, which can be used in airport security systems.
Humans on Mars. Dr. Darrel Tenney (B.S Wesleyan,
Ph.D. Virginia Tech) spoke on his work at NASA Langley.
Gravitational waves. Dr. Sean McWilliams spoke on
his work at the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave
Observatory (LIGO). Gravitational waves are ripples in
space-time produced when a very massive object suddenly
slows down, speeds up, or changes direction. Gravitational
waves are a key predication of Einstein’s 100-year-old
theory of general relativity.
Higgs boson. Dr. Gavin Hesketh spoke on the dis-
covery of the Higgs boson at the European Center for
Nuclear Research (CERN). He is a member of the team
that made the discovery.
Medical physics. Dr. Peter Sandwall (B.S. Wesleyan,
Ph.D. Medical Physics, University of Cincinnati) spoke on
his career. He is Chief Medical Physicist at the Tri-Health
Center Cancer Institute.
NASA rocket payload. Student Olivia Rycroft spoke
about her experience at NASA-Wallops Island, in which a
payload that she built was launched on a sounding rocket.
Olivia’s payload measured Earth’s magnetic field, which
recently has been showing surprising changes.
Nuclear power. Tom Damiani (B.S. Wesleyan, Ph.D.,
WVU) discussed his work at the Bechtel-Bettis Atomic
Power Lab in Pittsburgh, which involves nuclear propulsion
systems for submarines and aircraft carriers.
→ For more information, please email or call me. ←
Dr. Albert Popson, Chair, [email protected], 304-473-8070