Hi, I'm Łukasz Niezgoda, a pipe organ enthusiast and musician and this is my STEM Scholarship portfolio. I have been fascinated with how things work since childhood, often taking apart various devices to understand their mechanisms. This natural curiosity, combined with my musical talent, has created a unique intersection of art and engineering in my life.
Traveling across the UK, Poland, and the Philippines to discover various organs has become our family's cherished summer activity. Each journey presents an opportunity to explore at least one instrument, often gaining behind-the-scenes access to examine air pump mechanisms, pipe ranks, and sometimes even participate in organ tuning.
The pipe organ fascinates me as both a musical instrument and an engineering marvel. It's the only single instrument capable of producing sound louder than a full orchestra while also achieving incredibly delicate, quiet tones. This dynamic range exemplifies the fascinating principles of physics at work.
My interest in organs connects directly to my STEM research interests. The physics of sound production in organ pipes mirrors phenomena found throughout the universe - from volcanic vibrations to stellar oscillations. Just as different-sized organ pipes create distinct pitches, celestial bodies produce their own unique frequencies. This connection between musical instruments and cosmic phenomena demonstrates how fundamental physical principles operate across vastly different scales.
Understanding why different sounds sound different has become a central focus of my research interests. Organ pipes provide a perfect example of how size affects sound waves and pitch - larger pipes create deeper sounds with longer wavelengths, while smaller pipes produce higher pitches with shorter wavelengths. This practical demonstration of acoustic physics continues to inspire my exploration of both music and science.