December 2007
Profile: Applied Physics Ph.D. candidate Nicole CampbellNicole Campbell's love of science began at the early age of seven, when she remembers being fascinated by radar. Years later she would find herself conducting research which would contribute to the development of a Multilayer Michigan Microwave Scattering Model in UM's Radiation Laboratory. It's a long road from a child of seven to becoming a Ph.D. candidate, and along the way Campbell has always distinguished herself. While continuing to work her work at RADLAB, Nicole is also a research assistant at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, working with radar to study cloud properties in the tropical Pacific. The list of honors she has picked up along the way is extensive: in the last two years alone, Campbell has been recognized as a National Consortium of Graduate Degrees GEM Fellow (2006), a Gordon Research Conferences Carl Storm Fellow (2007), a National Society of Black Engineers Torchbearer (2007), and won the prestigious The National GEM Consortium for Graduate Degrees Most Promising PhD Science Student Award in October of 2007. Most recently, this January Campbell was awarded the College of Engineering's Martin Luther King, Jr. Spirit award for, among other things, her efforts in voter registration and active opposition to Proposal 2. Campbell has many publications and has given presentations all across the country, and it's all rooted for her in, again, experiences she had as a young student: "[W]hat influenced me the most towards science was a series of outstanding teachers that I had in junior high school particularly – Mr. Thomas Ngar, my mathematics teacher. Mr. Thomas Ngar inspired me with his love of mathematics and science, his patience and dedication to teaching, and his ability to encourage and inspire students to work to the limits of their ability and beyond. He saw in me great potential as a scientist or mathematician." Nicole has faced several challenges and fulfilled the potential Mr. Ngar saw in her as a child: "Whether it was because of my race, sex, or disability or all of the above I was often perceived as being not as intelligent as my fellow students or undeserving of my achievements by others. The struggle of not allowing the prejudices of others to influence my view of myself has been one of the most difficult obstacles of my life. I have overcome these obstacles by diligence, hard work, the support of friends and colleagues who believed in my abilities even before I did, the support of the Students with Disabilities Office at UM and my faith in God." According to Nicole, her proudest moment was being awarded the GEM Most Promising Ph.D. Fellow in Science and Engineering in 2007. There, her bright past accomplishment were acknowledged and her bright future hinted at; Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's Rob Drumgole said, "Nicole represents the top 1% of scientific and engineering talent in America today and any organization would be blessed to have her as part of the team. She conducted key research for our national lab and has a long successful career ahead of her."
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