Joseph Converse (Class of 2020)

photo of Joseph Converse

  • senior major in Physics
  • minor in Mathematics
  • from Clifton, VA
  • interned with National Institute of Standards and Technology (Summer 2019)
  • undergraduate research assistant in professor Burcin Bayram's physics research group
"There are a lot of popular majors, but everyone has different skills and talents and likes. If you decide that engineering or pre-med isn't your thing, that is completely cool. A lot of businesses can tell during interviews if you really like what you do, so be sure to experiment and find your thing!"

Why Miami?

"I first heard about Miami through an email the school sent me. Being from Virginia, I wanted to go to an out-of-state school to get a feel of living somewhere far away from home, and Miami seemed promising. I decided to take a tour of the campus and immediately fell in love. After enrolling in Miami, its people have been the biggest factor that has kept me here. Coming to Miami is definitely a decision I don't regret!

"My first year was kind of weird because I didn't know what I wanted to study or what I wanted to do after college. I started as a chemistry major simply because I liked chemistry in high school. Eventually, I realized that what I really enjoy is doing physics research and working in a physics lab, so I ended up switching to a physics major."

Best Miami Experiences

Joseph Converse working with lasers in the lab

"One of the best things Miami does academically is make research very accessible to undergraduates. This is not always the case at a lot of universities. Professor of physics Burcin Bayram was the first faculty member to give me the opportunity to gain practical experience in a physics laboratory. A lot of what I have learned has been through that practical experience, seeing what I like to do and how I like to apply the things I have learned in a classroom, so I am very grateful for that opportunity.

"Another great influence on me at Miami was my first-year resident advisor, Amanda Brennan. A lot of my first year wasn't as great as the rest of my time here because I was a bit uncertain about who I was and what I wanted to do. Amanda was really great and helped me learn how to be a better person and become an adult."

Miami and the Liberal Arts

"I don't think I would have realized what I wanted to study if I hadn't come to a liberal arts school like Miami. Here you are given ample opportunity to experiment with different types of classes with different major focuses, whether they be psychology, physics, or many other things. You are given a lot of time to play around and figure out what subject fits with you and what it is you like to do. I think when people say they go to a liberal arts college, they often do not really understand what that means, but I feel like it is very important because it helps people learn what degrees and careers they want to pursue.

"Studying physics at Miami has taught me that there is no one way to go about a problem. You need to use critical thinking and your best judgment to overcome whatever complex issues you encounter. Physics teaches you multiple methods for solving the same problem, and that's because there will always be certain conditions or facts that will make one method more favorable than another, and you have to be able to discern which way is best. That flexibility and critical thinking is something I don't think I had before I came to Miami. I was definitely kind of bull-headed, but physics has taught me how to approach my life differently."

Researching Lasers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology

Joseph Converse with his mentor, Dr. Pauline Kuo, at the National Institute of Standards and Technology

"This past summer, I was able to work with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) via an opportunity my professor, chair of physics Herbert Jaeger, showed me. I decided to apply, they accepted me, and then I was assigned to a research team.

"My job at NIST, which is headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland, was primarily stabilizing lasers being used for my research mentor's research. Lasers are not very consistent out of the box, so we were applying techniques to help correct those issues.

"Most of my research has been in atomic, molecular, and optical (AMO) physics. When I started doing this research at Miami, I didn't really have any idea where I was going, so there was a very steep learning curve. Working with NIST completely helped change my understanding of those topics and gave me a brand new appreciation of what is happening in that field.

"One of the things that I think is very undervalued in research is collaboration. One thing people don't always learn in school is that it is okay to ask for help. There are a lot of people who have different specialties and different knowledge bases, so if you don't know how to solve a problem there might be someone who has already encountered that problem and learned from it.

"That concept was central during my time at NIST. When we encountered a roadblock, we would speak with other groups who had worked through the problem before and they would be able to give us a lot of helpful advice."

Advice to Students

"I think the college process in the U.S. is crazy as it is, so students need to know that it is okay to slow down and think about what it is they want to do. There are a lot of popular majors, but everyone has different skills and talents and likes. If you decide that engineering or pre-med isn't your thing, that is completely cool. A lot of businesses can tell during interviews if you really like what you do, so be sure to experiment and find your thing!

"My biggest piece of advice to physics students in particular would be to speak to professors about research as soon as possible. The best way to know if you like physics is through that practical experience. See if a professor will let you join their lab or even just spend a few days there."

[September 2019]