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An invitation by her advisor and a chance to do research no one has done before led to a senior honors thesis in electrical engineering for Lindsey Alexander ’02 (Fairport, N.Y.). “It is a chance to use what I’ve learned in the classroom and be able to apply theories, my own ideas, and more to develop and conduct experiments,” says Alexander, an electrical engineering major and mathematics minor.
Lafayette gives students the opportunity to explore a topic of interest in a sequence of two thesis courses. Candidates for honors must have and maintain cumulative averages of 3.00 and averages of 3.20 in the honors department and must fulfill other requirements as may be established by the department.
Alexander’s thesis is entitled “Influence of Bending on the Model Power Distribution in Few Mode Optical Fibers.”
“An optical fiber is composed of a core of glass and a surrounding cover, the cladding, which is also made of glass,” explains Alexander. “Light travels, or propagates, in the fiber core by reflecting off this core/cladding boundary back into the core. However, this light travels in what are known as ‘modes,’ which are different intensity distributions. Based on this, we can also look at the modal power distribution which describes how the optical power is distributed among the modes that propagate.”
“My thesis has two main objectives,” says Alexander. “First, I’ll investigate possible modal power distributions in multimode fiber, specifically looking at the approximation most often used, equal modal power distribution, to determine if it is experimentally possible. Second, I’ll observe and explain changes in the modal power distribution in curved dual mode fiber, looking at how the modal power distribution changes when the fiber is perturbed.”
Alexander did limited research during her summer internship at Corning, Inc. in Corning, N.Y., and is excited about this academic research opportunity. “There is no documented research on the two objectives I’m investigating in particular,” says Alexander. “”Conducting such experiments and obtaining results, which could promote more research and add to what we know about this growing field, is exciting.”
She says that work on her thesis is progressing quite well. “The photonics lab has all the equipment we need, and what it doesn’t have, we are in the process of obtaining,” says Alexander.
Kim Bennett, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering and Alexander’s advisor, testifies to the distinctive research opportunity this will provide her. “Lindsey is working on material which, unquestionably, would be done at the graduate level in any ordinary institution,” says Bennett. “She’s working on real research, not just doing a design that’s been done. She’s probing into the unknown and could potentially end up with publishable results.”
Bennett describes the superior research labs available to Alexander. “Lafayette, compared to any institution, is far better equipped,” says Bennett. “The labs that every student will go through are newer and more up-to-date. We get new equipment every two years and students get to work on equipment and instrumentation that is not ordinarily available to them at other institutions. This equipment is entirely at the disposal of the students, which is unlike other schools.” He says the real difference is that the proportion of students who get this opportunity at Lafayette is much greater than at other colleges.
In addition to extensive research, work on a student thesis provides a learning opportunity that includes one-on-one interaction with faculty.
“I’m very happy to be working with Dr. Bennett,” says Alexander. “He has been my academic advisor since freshman year, and we have gotten to know each other over the time since. He is very knowledgeable in the field and more than willing to help me with almost anything. He is as excited about the thesis as I am, which is great for me.”
“Dr. Bennett has been great in getting me up to speed with intensive ‘study’ sessions and work over the summer in preparation so I could start right in the fall,” continues Alexander. “He is always caring, inquiring, and is simply great to work with.”
Bennett says Alexander has what it takes to do the research for an honors thesis. “To succeed in doing research it requires a fairly high degree of discipline to pace yourself with your work,” explains Bennett. “Lindsay has that in spades. She’s probably the best and most disciplined student I’ve ever worked with.”
Students must master working on their thesis along with their normal course load. “It is true that there is a correlation between the amount of time you spend and the results you get,” continues Bennett. “If you work steadily at it you will get some results. I fully anticipate that Lindsey will get good results.”
“Lindsey is well organized and very even tempered, which means when she sets out to do a job she gets it done very systematically,” says Bennett. “In any research project working systematically is very important.”
One example of her organization is the result of work she did over the summer. Asked to do a literature search, Alexander returned with two three-inch binders. “It was beautifully organized with clear photocopies, indexes, and tabs,” says Bennett. “I’ve never seen anything like it in my life!”
Faculty involvement does not stop at the door of the advisor at Lafayette. Alexander appreciates the support system of faculty in the department. “All of the professors are kind, helpful, and inquiring,” says Alexander. “All the professors in the department know what I’m doing and are always inquiring as to how things are going. Even professors I have in other departments want to know what I’m doing.”
“They will always make the time to sit down with you and work it through – no matter what it is,” she says. “The electrical engineering department is wonderful to be associated with and I’m happy and proud to be doing an honors thesis.”
Alexander made dean’s list her first five semesters. She serves as Activities Director and Head of Fundraising for the Society of Women Engineers, and is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and Eta Kappa Nu, the electrical engineering honor society. She is also a costume technician with the Marquis Players, a Writing Associate, and a big fan of Lafayette’s varsity baseball team, for which her brother, Craig Alexander ’04, was starting catcher last season.
A National Leader in Undergraduate Research. Lindsey Alexander ’02 made a presentation on honors research she did with Kim Bennett, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research.