Elizabeth Eccles

Profile: I came to Oregon State University after receiving my B.S. in physics from Linfield College. I started in the Ph.D. program in the physics department at OSU. After completing the first year of coursework, I felt that a Master's degree would better serve my immediate goals. The following year, I completed the additional coursework to receive a PSM in Applied Physics. The business, communications, and ethics courses provided me with a broader set of skills to pursue a career in high tech industry. The final degree requirement for the PSM program is an internship experience. I spent the summer of 2006 working at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. I worked in the Low Temperature Physics Group studying the attenuation of light through fiber optic cables at various temperatures. In September 2006, I began working at WaferTech in Camas, Washington as a product engineer: this position studies the electrical tests on a chip to determine if the chip is viable. This position also involved failure analysis which is the study of physical defects in the chip that are causing failures. I was transferred to process integration engineering in February. This position requires a thorough understanding of semiconductor device fundamentals. The coursework at OSU that directly relates to my current work includes, most importantly, Semiconductor Device Fundamentals (ECE 417) (offered through the EE department), the full year of Analog and Digital Electronics, and Solid State Physics, both offered in the physics department. Business ethics was also a very important class not only for my current career but also for my internship experience where I was given a great deal of freedom designing my experiment. I think it is important as a PSM student to look at your future goals and find additional classes outside of the requirements that will help you gain the skills necessary to pursue those goals.