Q & A with physics alumni: Kiera Bolduc and Zachary Robinson | College of Natural Sciences | Colorado State University

Q & A with physics alumni: Kiera Bolduc and Zachary Robinson | College of Natural Sciences | Colorado State University
Kiera Bolduc ('19)
Major:
Physics and Mathematics (B.S.)
Hometown:
Thornton, Colorado
Job:
Optical Engineer at BAE Systems
Zack Robinson ('14)
Major:
Physics and Mathematics (B.S.)
Hometown:
Flower Mound, Texas
Job:
Staff Scientist
at Los Alamos National Laboratory
Why should students study physics?
Zack Robinson (ZR):
Physics is
the most fundamental of the natural sciences
it’s
how we make
sense
of the world around us. A
s a physic
st,
I’m
curious about how the world works and how to solve problems.
We do
experiments and
try to model those through mathematics to predict other things.
ver
day things
such as cell phones
are governed by
physics
principles discovered in the last century
With a physic
degree, you also get a solid background in most of the natural sciences, like mathematics and chemistry, and you can really
take those skill sets anywhere
Kiera Bolduc (KB):
What I learned the most in my physics c
asses was not necessarily
physics
but problem
solving skills and mental toughness
So, while
I’m
not using quantum mechanics every
day, I have the skills to approach d
ifficult
problems and not panic.
For example,
I write a lot of MATLAB code, but
I’m
by no means a programmer
. F
or me, coding is like trying to understand a different language – it just
doesn’t
come natural
ly
to me
In my current job,
I’m working on this really
tough
scripting
project
, and I feel like it’s one of those problems where I could easily get in my head and think, “Oh,
I can’t do this,
I’m not smart enough,” but physics has taught me to approach it
as
more of a challenge that is achievable
just have to stick it out.
You both worked in research laboratories as undergraduate students – tell us about that experience!
Kiera stands next to her research poster detailing the magnet research she did in Dr. Kristen Buchanan's lab.
KB:
I worked in Dr. Kristen Buchanan’s lab, and as a female student, I wanted to work under a female faculty member because I wanted her perspective on working in the field of physics. I chose her as a mentor and I’m so glad I did. Working in her lab I worked on a project focused on magnets and studying their properties. I was tasked with making teeny-tiny magnets that could be used in technology to improve energy efficiency in battery-dependent devices, or even micro-scale robotics used for minimally invasive surgeries. Funny enough, the main reason I got a job before I even graduated was because of the work I did in her lab. It totally changed the trajectory of my career.
I learned a lot outside of physics, too, thanks to Kristen. When I was in high school and college, I was extremely shy and quiet. CSU hosts poster sessions where students can present their research. That was so intimidating to me, and I didn’t want to do it, but Kristen encouraged me to go outside my comfort zone and make a poster.
ZR:
I worked with Stuart Field
and I was doing a lot of machining and basic e
lectronic
stuff
really
just getting my feet wet
working in a lab.
And I’m sure he will tell you, I was absolutely terrible
, b
ut I was learning from the ground up, and he was
really
supportive of that.
In a lab,
you’re
solving problems, doing experiments, fixing broken pieces of equipment,
and
analyzing data
An experimental scientist spends
the vast majority of
their time
building and fixing experimental setups
rather than
using the pure theory covered in coursework
, and learning these hands-on things
as an undergraduate is part of the
reason
I’m
still
in research today
What did you like most about the physics program at CSU?
ZR:
My favorite thing about the physics program was, by far, the people and the close-knit community. You start in these large lecture hall courses, but by your sophomore year, you’re taking classes with the same 10-15 people for three years. When I was going to school, there was a room where all the undergraduate students would hang out between classes – as a sophomore, I was talking to juniors and seniors and learning from them, and as an upperclassman, I was teaching things to the underclassmen. We’d all study together and bounce ideas off one another. I still keep in touch with a lot of the people I went to school with.
KB:
The physics program at CSU really taught me to be comfortable being uncomfortable. I was intimidated because I often felt like I wasn’t smart enough or ready, but through the program, I learned that you have to just throw yourself out there and see what happens. Also, the people that surround you in your physics program will be there for life, and the connections you make during your program will be strong! Like Zack, I still talk to many of the people I went to school with at CSU.
What do you do for work now?
KB:
When I first graduated, I worked for a company coating optics, mainly for space applications. Think of optics like a telescope – they have all these lenses and mirrors inside them. Coatings provide protection and make materials more scratch-resistant or enhance how the light passing through behaves. I did that for a year, and then I got a job at Ball Aerospace in the Tactical Solutions department, where I built and aligned optomechanical systems. I’ve transitioned roles a bit since my first day at Ball, and now I design and manufacture specialty optics at BAE Systems (formerly Ball Aerospace). I wanted to get back to coating optics because I’m really passionate about it. It wasn’t something I even thought about when I was going to school at CSU, but it’s funny how you weasel your way into a niche that supports your passion but it’s maybe not what you initially envisioned. In my case, I started in optics, did something else for a while, and decided I wanted to go back to it – your vision matures with time, I suppose!
ZR:
I am a physicist at Los Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico, part of the Department of Energy, which I came to after doing a Ph.D. in physics at the University of Minnesota. The National Labs are sort of a mix between academia and industry, serving essentially as the scientific arm of the Federal government. At LANL, there is research on everything from nuclear weapons and large-scale synchrotrons to fundamental science, such as quantum computing and nanotechnology. Currently, my work seeks to understand the electronic and optical properties of various materials. Essentially, I’m working to understand how electrons move through materials to assess their stability, conductivity, and luminescence properties for everything from LEDs to quantum photon sources.
What did you love most about CSU? Why should students go to school here?
KB:
One of the things I liked the most was that the professors who taught the classes cared a lot. They’re very involved with their students, so it didn’t matter when their office hours were – if you had a question, they always made it a point to help you. I remember I had a professor whose classes were pretty difficult, and we would go to his office after class for help and he would stay with us until we figured it out, even if we were there until 9 p.m. That was pretty much how it was for many of the professors I had – just very caring and wanting every student to be successful.
ZR:
Fort Collins and the CSU campus are great. I’ll never forget when I came out and toured campus how beautiful it was – how you can see Long’s Peak right from the quad, and the Oval is just outside the physics building. I remember in some of my math classes, we’d do our lectures outside on a whiteboard. Overall, the culture and people at CSU are great.
Any other advice?
KB:
I fought tooth and nail to graduate because physics was really hard for me – I even failed calculus and had to retake it. You shouldn’t let your failures define you – you can always grow from them. I think a lot of students struggle with trying to be perfect – they fail once and they’re like, oh, this is too hard, but I would encourage you to push through and pursue your dreams, no matter how daunting they may be!
ZR:
If there’s any advice I could give to prospective students, it’s get involved in undergraduate research as soon as possible! Also, following Kiera’s answer, learning how to fail is a critical part of becoming a scientist. No experiment or theory ever works the first time, and learning how to overcome adversity with difficult undergraduate courses helped me develop the fortitude to become a successful scientist. In graduate school and the professional world, I’ve found that many of the students who
coasted
through undergraduate coursework generally struggled heavily when they encountered problems beyond their natural skill set later in their careers.
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