Name: Kristen Donnelly

1. A description of how you chose your topic/professor

After discovering that Honors Engineering students who had not completed an undergraduate thesis did not receive special recognition when graduating, I began to ask faculty members and advisors questions about the thesis. Initially, it was pretty frustrating because there had really been no guidelines set for the thesis, since no students in CAEE had done one yet. In the spring of 2006, I decided that I was definitely interested in the thesis, but I had no idea of what kind of project was possible for me to do at an undergraduate level. Because I was interested in Structural Engineering, and I knew that graduate students in the Structures program did their research out at the Ferguson lab at the Pickle Research Campus, I decided that I should work there during the summer. I worked as an undergraduate research assistant for Dr. Breen and his Master’s student, Greg Turco. While I worked at the lab, I was able to see all of the projects that were being done, interact with the graduate students, and get their take on all of the professors. I heard that Dr. Jirsa was a very involved and helpful professor who was also fun and laid-back. The projects that his students were working on also seemed really interesting to me, so at the end of the summer I met with Dr. Jirsa to discuss the possibility of him advising me as I worked on an undergraduate thesis related to one of his projects (the one of most interest to me). To my relief, he agreed with great enthusiasm!

2. A few paragraphs detailing the highs/lows of your first semester & second semester work

First Semester

At the onset, it was hard getting started due lack of information within the department regarding the general guidelines, requirements, and administrative requirements of the thesis. I began to do work on the thesis without really knowing what was expected of me or what exactly I should be turning in and when. Mostly, I read pertinent literature and towards the end of the semester I worked on the design of my beams and also planned the testing of the beams. Because undergraduate work involves regular submission of homework and other hard deadlines, it was a little stressful learning how to do things on my own without being told explicitly how to do them. It was also hard at first to delegate time that would only be spent on the thesis, as it was really tempting to do work for other classes that have hard deadlines throughout the semester. As I began to work at the lab with the graduate students, it was very rewarding to see how they interacted with one another, and also for them to include me so warmly in their “community.” By the end of the semester, construction was substantially completed. The whole process of construction was a really important one for me to take part in, as the amount of work and length of time required to construct a project is never really conveyed in undergraduate courses.

Second Semester

The second semester was definitely busier in terms of following through with work in order to stay on schedule. We completed testing in January and then I began to look at the data. At first, it was really overwhelming to see all of the data and to not know how to pick through it for information that applied to my project. It’s really tempting to somehow incorporate everything – somehow, every piece of information must surely be important. But after meeting with Dr. Jirsa on nearly a weekly basis, and not being afraid to ask both he and Greg (the graduate student on the project) questions, it greatly clarified things that I had been confused about. I think that it is really important to meet regularly with the advising professor in order to help keep you on track. There were several times during the semester when I needed this. In addition, I think it’s important to double check your work with the grad student, especially if you are doubtful of your method or if your answers are not as you expected. Its also really important to finish analyzing the data early in the second semester – you will need plenty of time to write everything up, have it revised by faculty members, and to present it.

3. Your feelings about the advantages that doing a thesis has given you

I feel as though doing the thesis has given me a huge advantage, especially since I will be attending graduate school in the fall. It introduced me to the process of planning and conducting research, working closely with professors & graduate students, and writing a thesis. I know that after doing this thesis, I have a much better idea of what is expected out of me as a graduate student, how to go about successfully completing research and writing, and how to manage my time when there are no hard deadlines imposed. I also think that this helped me out in terms of being accepted into grad school.

4. Helpful hints for future thesis writers

Don’t put things off! Don’t be afraid to ask questions! Meet regularly with the advising professor!