Home Institution: University of Puget Sound
Research Project: Optoelectronics of 2D Semiconductor Heterostructures
UW Mentor(s): Xiaodong Xu

Q: What are your physics/science interests?
I think that one of the coolest things about physics is the extent to which it couples with other scientific fields. From imaging technologies in biology and medicine to simulating chemical reactions to energy systems engineering, I see physics as illuminating the knowledge that empowers us to build more useful tools. My personal interest in physics is seeking out knowledge that's useful for the advancement of clean energy technologies. For the time being, I'm more interested in advancements in wind and solar power, but I wouldn't be surprised if I moved toward fusion research in the future. The beauty of physics is it pops up everywhere!

Q: What are your other interests?
My long-time staple interests are tutoring, playing computer games, running, and reading science fiction and fantasy books. I also love pushing myself to try new, scary things though, and my most recent endeavors have been Blues social dancing and rock climbing.

Q: What would you like to do after college?
Nothing is certain yet, but I know I want to go to graduate school for either experimental physics (maybe studying materials) or engineering. I will probably take a year off to work in industry and get a better idea of what I want to study in graduate school before going on. After high school, I took a gap year to figure out my next step in college, and it was one of the wisest and highest-impact decisions I've ever made. When it comes to decisions of this magnitude, I think it's better to be certain than to be speedy.

Q: Tell us one strange but interesting fact about yourself.
I really like doing voice imitations of various characters from movies or TV shows. Some of my favorites are Bane from The Dark Knight Rises, Rick Sanchez from Rick and Morty, and V from V for Vendetta. Wow, those are all really angsty...

Q: What first sparked your interest in Physics?
Like many budding physics majors, I wanted to be Iron Man. You may think I'm kidding, but let me recount an encounter that I had with my mom when I was eleven, as documented by my dad:

Jordan: "All I care about is math and physics."
Mom: "But you don't even know what physics is."
Jordan: "I know. I just know I need math and physics for my inventions."

In the decade since then, I've become slightly more realistic about becoming Iron Man, but the interest in using physics to build useful, creative technology has stuck with me.

Q: If you could have any pet what would it be?
Really I'd just want like a cute house-cat from a shelter, but that's not very exciting, so I'll go with...mountain lion. Yeah. A mountain lion.

Q: If you had a free month and unlimited funds, how would you spend your time?
Wow that's so much freedom. I guess I'd set up some secret underground laboratory full of equipment and mad scientists and engineers. I'm not even sure what we'd study, we'd just have a lot of people with outlandish "impossible" ideas and a ton of science equipment...like enough science equipment so that they'd still work there after the month was up and I could literally never pay them again.

Q: If you could get a grant to study anything what would it be?
From my perspective, one of the big challenges in sustainable engineering right now is clean aircraft. The aircraft industry produces 2% of the CO2 emitted globally by humans, and most of the modifications to engine/airfoil design only change the efficiency of aircraft by a few percent at best. Simultaneously, aircraft are the only practical way to travel long distances and require high energy-density fuel. I think airplanes are fascinating, and I think the aircraft industry really stands to gain from a revolution in power systems, fuel sources, construction materials, or all of the above. It's a really challenging problem that can be approached from so many different avenues. I would love to research high capacity batteries that would fit on planes, how to collect enough energy to power aircraft in-flight, or how to use algal fuel sources with jet engines.