Rachel K. Berg, Physics and Astronomy
The objective of my undergraduate research at Brigham young University was to adapt a numerical algorithm known as the piecewise parabolic method to solve problems of interest in the study of trapped non-neutral plasmas. The project took the better part of a year, but ultimately I was successful.
The plasma group at BYU has been doing extensive computational studies of confined electron plasmas in recent years. However, to date, the simulations they have used treat the plasma as a collection of particles. An alternative way of simulating the motion of the plasma is to treat it as a fluid. This technique is superior to the particle technique for some problems, but most numerical algorithms that take the fluid approach have problems that introduce intolerable errors when they are actually run on a computer. The piecewise parabolic algorithm eliminates these problems. I took tbat algorithm, adapted it, and prograrmned it to solve tbe problems we wanted to study as part of the plasma groups investigation of trapped electron plasmas. The algorithms I developed will be used by other professors and students to investigate many of the questions that are still unanswered about trapped plasmas.
The process of doing research was a great education for me. First I discovered that even though I’m in a very quantitative and objective field, in research there are very few right answers. There are just good answers- ideas, techniques, or methods tbat help you understand the phenomena you are trying to study. Any tool you use will necessarily be limited and approximate. Thus research problems, unlike homework from a text, doesn’t yield an exact, complete answer, but rather a useful and elucidating answer. I also found that good answers usually follow several had ones. Many times after days or weeks of work on a particular problem, I would find that the techniques I was using just wouldn’t work. I would have to abandon the work I’d done and start over, trying something else. This was always frustrating, but the good answer was that much more exciting and satisfying when I finally found it.
I very much enjoyed working with my advisor, Dr. Ross L. Spencer. He was an example to me not only of a good scientist, but also of a valuable colleague, a concerned and effective teacher and mentor, a loving and attentive father and husband, and a man who lives the gospel. The time, attention, and encouragement he gave me as I pursued tbis research was probably the most important factor in my success. I hope that some day I will be able to serve tbe next generation of students in a similar manner.
Finally, I feel that this research project was the single most important aspect of my undergraduate experience in preparing me for my future work as a Ph. D. student at the University of Michigan. Not only have I learned some of the methods and techniques of successful research, but I have also discovered how fun, frustrating, and rewarding creative research can be. I thank the University for its support and hope that scholarships for creative work will be a permanent program at BYU.