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Pinkesh with the Meade telescope located in Drexel's Observatory.

A tour of the Joseph R. Lynch Observatory made Pinkesh Patel realize he was pursuing the wrong degree. Pinkesh came to Drexel as an engineering major, but an Honors seminar with physics professor Dr. Vogeley changed all that.

Part of the class involved a tour of the observatory, which houses a 16" Meade Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, the largest in Philadelphia. Within a few months, Pinkesh had switched his major to physics and was making his first public presentation at the observatory. Pinkesh really enjoyed sharing his passion with other people. "The kids who come to the observing nights love looking at the moon, and most adults are surprised to learn that Venus has phases, just like the moon."

But this is not the only project Pinkesh has become involved in at Drexel. As part of his Drexel Co-op, he has worked with Drexel's Physics Group on the Basin Project. "Our goal was to design software for astrophysicists' research," he explains. Through these projects Pinkesh has developed a really close relationship with his professors, something he loves about the Physics Department. "I get individualized attention, and all my professors know me by name."

So how did Pinkesh explain his career change to his parents? "I told them I'm going to be a doctor, just not a medical one." After graduation in June, Pinkesh is planning to attend graduate school at California Institute of Technology or Massachusetts Institute of Technology to continue the research he started at Drexel.