Home Institution: Pomona College
Research Project: Ultracold Atoms and Molecules
UW Mentor(s): Subhadeep Gupta

Q: What are your physics/science interests?
I am interested in both atomic physics and fluid mechanics. I enjoy understanding the physics of the world on a variety of size scales and working on projects where applications in the broader world are visible in the future.

Q: What are your other interests?
I play cello with my college orchestra. I also enjoy going on hikes and reading in my spare time.

Q: What would you like to do after college?
After college, I plan to go to graduate school to study physics. I am still considering a gap year if an exciting opportunity arises to either travel or work on a meaningful project for a non-profit.

Q: Tell us one strange but interesting fact about yourself.
I have found over two hundred four-leaf covers in my life, including finding at least one four-leaf clover every school day from the first week of March to the end of June during 5th grade.

Q: What first sparked your interest in Physics?
I grew up in a household where both my parents were science professors (physics and biology), so I've always had an interest in science and physics. My interest in physics in particular grew after my high school AP physics course, where I first saw in detail how physics problems combine the real world applications of science and the fun of analytical problem solving with mathematics.

Q: If you could have any pet what would it be?
I would choose a cat because I enjoy their company and intelligence. I trust all the exotic animal specialists who recommend strongly against owning non-domesticated animals.

Q: If you had a free month and unlimited funds, how would you spend your time?
If I had one month of free time with unlimited funds, I would use my time to travel and see my friends from college at their homes across the world. I have never been to mainland Europe in particular and I would love to get the chance to see the birthplaces of western science and mathematics.

Q: If you could get a grant to study anything what would it be?
I would like to study the fluid dynamics of mountain waterfalls and cascades around the world. I am sure there are lots of details that we don't know about how life, rocks and water interact at high altitudes and in environments outside where humans often go. Even an average mountain stream contains more complex phenomena than an entire textbook on fluid mechanics and the dynamics in mountain waterfalls are sure to be full of details that have never before been published. I also would love an excuse to do physics in the great outdoors.