During this summer, I worked under Professor Johnson at a physics laboratory on the basement of David Rittenhouse Laboratory. I have always wanted to do some research while studying at UPenn and was looking for a topic that I would be interested in. While looking through various research topics, I was fascinated by nanotechnology and decided to study graphene specifically and its application in real world. My goal at the start of the research was to get hands-on experience at the lab, gain more knowledge about graphene technology, and to build connection and get familiar working with others in research community. During the 10 weeks, I learned what graphene is, how to synthesize graphene and optimize the graphene growth to desirable size and density, how to transfer synthesized graphene on to silicon wafer for application, graphene’s utilization in medical field, how to run Raman analysis, and various computer programs and techniques that are useful in research. By conducting diverse experiments, I was able to enhance critical thinking ability. In addition to acquiring basic knowledge and research skills, I also learned how to communicate with others professionally in research field. I previously thought that it would be very strict and somewhat hard to communicate with others. However, people were very friendly and helped me out during the ten weeks. In addition, Dr. Johnson was very easy to reach to when I needed help or was confused with research path. Overall, I am very satisfied with the research experience and believe I have accomplished my goal that I set out at the beginning of the summer.
During this summer, I worked under Professor Johnson at a physics laboratory on the basement of David Rittenhouse Laboratory. I have always wanted to do some research while studying at UPenn and was looking for a topic that I would be interested in. While looking through various research topics, I was fascinated by nanotechnology and decided to study graphene specifically and its application in real world. My goal at the start of the research was to get hands-on experience at the lab, gain more knowledge about graphene technology, and to build connection and get familiar working with others in research community. During the 10 weeks, I learned what graphene is, how to synthesize graphene and optimize the graphene growth to desirable size and density, how to transfer synthesized graphene on to silicon wafer for application, graphene’s utilization in medical field, how to run Raman analysis, and various computer programs and techniques that are useful in research. By conducting diverse experiments, I was able to enhance critical thinking ability. In addition to acquiring basic knowledge and research skills, I also learned how to communicate with others professionally in research field. I previously thought that it would be very strict and somewhat hard to communicate with others. However, people were very friendly and helped me out during the ten weeks. In addition, Dr. Johnson was very easy to reach to when I needed help or was confused with research path. Overall, I am very satisfied with the research experience and believe I have accomplished my goal that I set out at the beginning of the summer.