When Val Grafton attended the Physics of Atomic Nuclei (PAN) camp while in high school, she spoke with doctoral-level physicists from large universities about the types of class projects that someone studying the subject in college could expect.
“They said you don’t really get to do anything fun until you’re a grad student,” said Grafton, a 2018 physics alumna.
She didn’t want to wait that long, so she chose Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology for her undergraduate education.
As a physics major and math minor at Rose-Hulman, Grafton found opportunities to engage in undergraduate projects that took her from various elevations on campus to a trip to the other side of the planet.
She traveled with another Rose-Hulman physics alumna and professor to install a telescope in Australia. She completed independent research using a laser rangefinder. She presented a poster regarding the laser rangefinder results at a conference for undergraduate women and gender minorities in physics (APS CU*iP). She helped revamp the campus radio station.
And, she worked around the clock to solder and program her own muon detector that showed how muon particle numbers differed at various altitudes. This was something she achieved in 7-weeks during her senior year in the Advanced Physics Laboratory II (PH425) class.
“It was the most fun I’ve ever had in physics,” Grafton said of building and using her muon detector, for which she later created a how-to manual.
Grafton’s work creating a muon detector during her senior year at Rose-Hulman showed her how much she enjoyed project work. This interest led her to pursue a career as a project engineer and then go on to earn a master’s degree in Systems Engineering from Penn State University.
She now works as a senior mechanical systems design engineer at Collins Aerospace in the Hartford, Connecticut area. She is working toward becoming a subject matter expert in testing fuel systems for commercial and military airplanes. She is currently writing a design verification test procedure for a new fuel pump and then will be involved in overseeing the success of the testing program. Grafton was also selected and is involved in three additional technical programs in her department that are working to develop new products and to progress technical knowledge advancement at the company.
Rose-Hulman’s strong reputation has helped open doors for her, Grafton said, but her own experiences as an undergraduate have been just as valuable in her day-to-day duties helping to ensure air safety.
“The education you get there is so world-class,” she said of Rose-Hulman. “Being around the people you’re around every single day who are so smart and so good at what they do just elevates you. Everyone around you is just living and breathing science, math, and engineering, and everything’s a cool idea.”