Navigating a Ph.D.

by David Strohschein

"ÉIt's these changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes

Nothing remains quite the sameÉ" by: Jimmy Buffett 1977

My path toward a Ph.D. began a hundred miles north in Hanover, NH. It has taken me thousands of miles south to the Caribbean, and ultimately north to UNH. This article briefly chronicles that journey and highlights some of the experiences and reasons for such a circuitous route.

I began my Ph.D. studies at Dartmouth College, but soon realized that Ivy League schools were not where I was most comfortable. Leaving school after completing my first quarter I went to work full-time. Within a year I was considering going back to school to pursue a Ph.D., with an emphasis on controls. I subsequently applied for and was admitted to the doctoral program in the UNH ECE Department. However, after my first semester of attending UNH my National Guard unit was activated to go to Haiti in support of operation Uphold Democracy. While there, I had time to reflect on a number of aspects about my life. One of which was the direction I was headed with my studies.

Returning from Haiti, I decided to change my emphasis from control systems to communications and electromagnetics. Shortly thereafter, I met Dr. Bernhard, with whom I cultivated a further interest in antenna theory. This put me in a bit of a quandary. I had decided to change my research area into one in which I had only basic undergraduate coursework. Fortunately, the Department provided several opportunities for academic growth: One-on-one assistance from Dr. Bernhard and other professors within the Department, knowledge gained in preparation for the doctoral qualifiers and the knowledge I gained from Special Topics classes. The Department offers Special Topics classes in response to students' interest in a particular area of electrical engineering. As a result, I have become more confident and knowledgeable within the field of electromagnetics and antenna theory. The academic environment within the Department also provided me with the opportunity to perform independent research and present my results at the 1998 Antennas and Propagation conference.

In addition to the academic qualities of the doctoral program, the University has been a source of work or contacts for work while I advanced through the program. The summer before I began attending UNH I was offered a full-time summer job leading to part-time employment during the school year at the UNH InterOperability Lab (IOL). The IOL is unique to UNH. The lab provides the opportunity for students to train in computer network technology, while simultaneously providing an industry recognized, fee-for-service, standards-based testing service for the computer network industry. My affiliation with the IOL would take me from the position of student test technician to Wireless Consortium manager and provide a source of experience and employment for three years.

My next job at UNH was as a teaching assistant. A position where I found one of my greatest challenges to be answering the inevitable student’s question of "why does it work that way?"

As I continued with my studies, I was eager to gain practical experience in antenna design. Once again, my UNH affiliation provided a solution. While on a research group field trip to Austin Antennas, I had met the owner, Dick Austin; I thought he would be a starting point for my search. Upon contacting Dick he told me that he was in fact looking for someone to assist with antenna design and fabrication. This phone call was to be the start of one of the more memorable and educational aspects of my UNH years. The experience I gained while working for Dick has been invaluable in terms of general antenna construction. Additionally, I gained a more clear understanding of how theory relates to practical antenna design.

More recently, I had the opportunity to teach a graduate level course on basic antenna theory. This gave me the opportunity to share some of what I know with interested students in a special topics class.

Upon reflecting on my UNH experiences, several come to mind and many more are too subtle to articulate (How can one describe the effect of a conversation with a professor or a run in College Woods?). To summarize, the most characteristic of my UNH experiences are the following:

The small size of the ECE Department creates an atmosphere in which professors are very approachable, a big help when you want to discuss some idea from class that "just didn't make sense" or perhaps, just to talk.

The ECE Department has given me room to choose my direction of subspecialization within the Department.

UNH, either directly or indirectly, has provided me with opportunities to learn not only the science, but also the "art" of my discipline.

Both the school and the Department have provided me with challenges that, when met, have resulted in both academic and personal growth.

Finally, while working toward my degree at UNH, I have discovered two of the more important qualities of engineering education. The first is the ability to move from a limited and often inaccurate understanding of physical phenomena toward one that more accurately describes the physical world. The other quality is to embrace the concept that ...nothing remains quite the same...