The transition to graduate school required her to learn how to handle family and financial issues, while also keeping up with her studies and research.

Gourdine, an African-American physicist and engineer, became an expert in electrogasdynamics and developed commercial uses for the technology.

The CIPA grant is part of a program designed to help minority institutions develop science and math curricula while attracting and preparing underrepresented students for careers in STEM.

Valentine, scheduled to defend her dissertation in March 2006 at Johns Hopkins University's Department of Physics and Astronomy, shares her graduate school experiences and talks about her preparation for her thesis defense.