Georgetown College. Georgetown University.

Danny Rogers, who help Dr. Barbara set up her lab at Georgetown, is currently in the Ph.D. program in Chemical Physics at the University of Maryland. (Courtesy Danny Rogers)

By Megan Weintraub

Danny Rogers, a 2004 Georgetown College graduate and a native of Los Angeles, California, recounts a particularly resonant early memory of his experience in the lab with Dr. Paola Barbara that typified her good natured approach to her students.

“When I first started working with Dr. Barbara, I accidentally dropped a beaker of nearly boiling water and sent hot water and glass shards all over the room,” recalls Rogers. “I was pretty embarrassed, especially because I had just started working in the lab and wanted to make a good impression.  I remember her coming over and laughing, saying perhaps I should stick to the computers and electronics so I don't break any more glassware.  We cleaned up the mess and it became a running joke in the lab that I was to stay well away from glass and hot liquids.”

Rogers began working with Dr. Barbara before her lab was the home to multiple sophisticated microscopes and other tools that have transformed it into the impressive site of research that it is today. Much of the early work that they did together consisted of setting up equipment and building apparatus for future experiments.  Rogers got the opportunity to pick up many different, practical aspects of doing experimental physics, such as writing computer code for data acquisition, designing probes and making drawings for the machine shop, and setting up an atomic force microscope.

“While I don't work in the same area anymore, those skills have stayed with me and have been invaluable to the research that I am pursuing right now,” says Rogers.

Currently, Rogers is working toward his Ph.D. in Chemical Physics at the University of Maryland. Based on his undergraduate achievements at Georgetown, he was awarded a full fellowship for graduate school.  Rogers’ research takes place in the Quantum Cryptography laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, where he studies in the field of quantum and nonlinear optics.  Quantum cryptography is a new way of transmitting encrypted data that is based on exotic quantum mechanical states of photons—the fundamental units of light.

“This encryption method is based on the physical laws of nature and not on a complex mathematical process, so it is secure against even the most well-equipped eavesdroppers,” explains Rogers.  “Because it has this advantage over all of today's data encryption methods, it will probably become an important method of data security in the future.  My specific problem involves creating a source of entangled photons to generate these exotic states of light to use in quantum cryptography systems.”

Rogers’ pursuit in this important and challenging field was made possible by his education at Georgetown and under Dr. Barbara’s instruction, in particular.

“The most important trait I look for when choosing a research group is the personality of the professor in charge,” explains Rogers.  “Dr. Barbara was a wonderful person to work for.  She was always incredibly patient when explaining things to me, especially since I was an undergraduate and had very little knowledge of the subject.  She was also very supportive and dedicated to her research and those who were working on it.  She would spend a lot of time in the lab and had no pretensions about working side by side with her students.”

In addition to his research as an undergraduate student at Georgetown, Rogers was also involved in other research groups with Dr. Dave Egolf and Dr. Jeffrey Urbach.  He tutored calculus and led trips for Georgetown outdoor education. A “jazz musician at heart,” Rogers also played in the orchestra and jazz band. For his outstanding undergraduate work in physics, he also received the Treado Medal.

“Because of the personal attention I received at Georgetown, I’ve felt that I’m often better prepared than most of my graduate school classmates,” says Rogers. “The most important thing I learned at Georgetown was not simply the science, but how that science fits into the rest of the world.  Most other science students do not have the chance to take philosophy or theology classes or learn about Shakespeare and Greek literature.  The simple fact that I learned how to write properly while at Georgetown has served me well in the real world.”

Print Article