2022年8月9日

卡尔•福斯特, chair and associate professor of 物理, assists 汉娜·李约瑟，23岁 in the lab.23岁的格温·康利和23岁的汉娜·尼德姆进入了 萨斯奎哈纳谷本科生研究研讨会 在高音上. After spending the summer building a research device that could be used by their counterparts in 心理学，他们自豪地展示和描述他们的最终产品. Feelings of accomplishment turned to bewilderment upon their return to the lab, 当他们发现设备停止工作时.

“我们什么都没碰，”宾夕法尼亚州康诺特湖的康利说. “我们没有碰代码或电路，现在它不起作用了.”

Many experimental 心理学 studies involving animals make use of equipment designed to produce small electrical stimuli to investigate various responses. Much of this equipment, along with the software that runs it, can be expensive. 与 詹姆斯·布里格斯, 心理学教授兼副教授, Conley and Needham have been building an alternative device using inexpensive open-source processing boards to accomplish the same effect.

Plans are for the customizable device to allow for experimentation options beyond what might be available with standard commercial equipment. However, instead of fine-tuning their device, they’re currently trying to determine what went wrong.

“我们将把它一块一块地拆开，重新开始,“李约瑟, 的新城, 宾西法尼亚, 解释. “We’ll add one relay switch at a time and hopefully determine where the problem is.”

虽然打嗝可能很恼人， 卡尔•福斯特他说，这是一个很好的教训.

“This is what research is all about, and learning to troubleshoot is a valuable skill,” he said. “你会产生这种物理直觉, 但这是你随着时间积累起来的东西，这是一个很好的方法.”

康利和李约瑟都是 物理 专业与 数学 未成年人, said their time in the lab this summer has opened their minds to the career opportunities ahead of them, 这件事开始压在李约瑟的心头.

“You take all of these classes and they’re super fun and you have a great time, 但是你想知道, 我如何将其应用到职业生涯中,李约瑟说. “Now I’m considering three separate tracks — maybe a master’s in electrical engineering or general 物理 or possibly going into STEM education.”

康利也在考虑各种途径——从天体物理学到工程学.

“我曾经死心要在NASA工作,”她说。, 但这次经历开阔了我的视野.”