5/7/2014 Siv Schwink
Three from Physics Illinois—graduate student Brian Busemeyer and undergraduate students Michelle Kelley and David Schmid—have each been selected for three-year National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships. Graduate student Matthew Lapa received an honorable mention. Recipients are selected based on having demonstrated their potential for significant achievements in science and engineering research.
Two Physics Illinois alumni were also included among the 2014 awardees—James Antonaglia, who is studying physics at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and Emily Sprague, who is studying chemistry at Northwestern.
Written by Siv Schwink
Three from Physics Illinois—graduate student Brian Busemeyer and undergraduate students Michelle Kelley and David Schmid—have each been selected for three-year National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships. Graduate student Matthew Lapa received an honorable mention. Recipients are selected based on having demonstrated their potential for significant achievements in science and engineering research.
Two Physics Illinois alumni were also included among the 2014 awardees—James Antonaglia, who is studying physics at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and Emily Sprague, who is studying chemistry at Northwestern.
Brian Busemeyer
Busemeyer works with research scientist Lucas Wagner using quantum Monte Carlo methods to gain insight into unanswered questions in superconductivity.
“Learning numerical mathematics, I developed intuitions that one wouldn’t get from studying physics alone,” he shares. “Monte Carlo is an exciting approach: we run numerical experiments that essentially give electrons the freedom to behave as they would in a solid and we watch what happens to see what strange behaviors might crop up.
“This is first principals work: we start with what we know is true—Schroedinger’s equation—and let that dictate what will happen,” he explains. “The most challenging thing, of course, is that the answer you’re looking for isn’t known to anyone—you can’t just look in an answer key to see if you’re correct. A lot of questions are answered, and those that remain are ones no one has been able to answer so far.”
Busemeyer is gearing up to run his first large-scale simulation on Argonne’s supercomputer: “We haven’t exhausted what we can learn using Quantum Monte Carlo. It’s an exciting bridge between theory and experiment.”
Wagner’s guidance and support at weekly meetings is something Busemeyer values dearly: “Lucas has been very good mentor. He has a great talent for explaining complicated things in a simple but very accurate way. He’s also really good at taking a large sum of data and pulling accurate information out.”
Busemeyer, a California native who attended Moreau High School in Hayward, CA, aspires ultimately to work as a professor or as a researcher at a national lab. He would like to teach in addition to finding new inroads to our understanding many body physics.
Busemeyer has received several academic accolades: Busemeyer is a recipient of the 2011 Steven Chu Award for Undergraduate Research from the American Physical Society , a 2013 Saxton Patten Award from UCD Department of Physics for demonstrating promise for continued research, and received a special citation from the UCD Department of Mathematics upon graduation.
Michelle Kelley
When senior Michelle Kelley first enrolled as a physics major at Illinois, she had in mind a career as a high school science teacher. But after taking a course in special relativity, it was clear to her that she wanted a career beyond the scope of introductory physics. When she got a taste of what it is like to conduct leading-edge research, the experience ignited a passion for investigative learning that added to her resolve: she would pursue a career in physics, either at a university or national laboratory.
“My biggest problem is that there are just too many things that interest me,” shares Kelley. “I hear about a particular branch of research and I want to do it. It’s not that I haven’t eliminated options, but that there are always more unfolding.”
Kelley recognizes that more and more, it’s the intersections between fields that hold the greatest potential for innovation and discovery. At Illinois, she has taken core courses in physics and astronomy, as well as courses in computer science and environmental engineering: “It’s important not to get tunnel vision—to be well-versed in many fields—and to keep the whole field of physics in your field of vision. I’m looking for a graduate experience that has many options and still has the same sense of community that our department has.”
This fall, Kelley will begin a one-year master’s program in scientific computing at the University of Cambridge in England. Then, she will go on to pursue her PhD in physics from Cornell University in New York.
“I think computers are such a sleek and sophisticated tool, and the field of computational physics is growing. With supercomputers, there are a lot of opportunities for research, and I like programming.”
As much as the future beckons Kelley to new challenges, it’s not easy to leave.
“It’s sad in a way, to be moving on to this next period in my life,” she reflects. “As much as I’m excited about my future, it’s a little bittersweet because it saddens me to be leaving this department. I have so much pride in our department. We have a lot of brilliant faculty who are willing to help and to provide guidance. If I had any advice for students just coming up, it’s that there’s no reason to be intimidated by big names in the field. What’s really helped me is, I just bug and bother professors—I like to talk to them about the research they’re doing, what excites them about physics, and to get general advice.”
Kelley said the recognition of her hard work is appreciated: “I’m truly humbled—these fellowships are highly competitive, and receiving one is truly an honor.”
Kelley is the recipient of several honors. She was selected for a 2013 Gates Cambridge Scholarship through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a 2013 Laura B. Eisenstein Award from the U. of I. Department of Physics, and won an award for “Outstanding Poster Presentation” at the 2014 Midwest Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics at the University of Chicago. She recently received an Outstanding Alumni Award from School District 54 in Schaumburg, IL, where she attended grade school through high school.
David Schmid
Physics Illinois senior David Schmid has been working with professor Paul Kwiat since before his freshman year studying optical simulation, polarization-dependent focusing, and spectral filtering. In the lab, he uses computer modelling and simulations to design optical setups that address current problems in quantum information, cryptography, and computation.
Schmid has also helped to expand various experimental optical techniques in the lab. His work shows promise in practical applications as well, including in the use of dual-focus beams for imaging or controlling tiny objects, and in spectral filtering to impact optical fiber communication networks. He is the lead author of a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Optics Express. (Read the article here: http://www.opticsinfobase.org/oe/abstract.cfm?uri=oe-21-13-15538.)
Schmid said he regrets he will have to decline the award, because it cannot be applied toward research outside the US. After graduating, he plans to continue his studies at the University of Toronto under physicist Aephraim Steinberg, starting next year:
“Professor Steinburg works on my favorite subject ever, which is the foundations of quantum physics,” shares Schmid. “His group looks fantastic, and I really like his style. I’m very excited—this is what I’ve been working towards my entire undergrad career, and Toronto is a great place to continue that pursuit.”
In Toronto, Schmid hopes to address unanswered problems in this research area, looking into counterfactual processes and interaction-free measurements, and probing quantum tunneling times using weak measurements.
“It’s unfortunate that I can’t accept this award, but I am really honored to have been selected,” states Schmid. “And I am very grateful to Paul Kwiat and my labmates for the constant mentoring that’s put me on track to exactly where I want to be.”
After earning a doctoral degree in physics, Schmid plans to pursue an academic career, teaching and conducting research at the boundary between quantum mechanics and classical physics.
Schmid has been recognized many times for academic achievement. He was selected for a 2014 Connaught Scholarship from the University of Toronto, for a 2014 Yvonne S. Quinn and Ronald Rolfe Scholarship, and for a 2013 Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship. He is also a recipient of the Vincent O’Brien Iroquois County Scholarship (2010-2014). At Illinois, he received a Provost Scholarship (2010-2014), was selected a Chancellor’s Scholar (2010-2014), received a 2013 Lewis C. Hack Award (administered by the Department of Physics), participates in the Campus Honors Program, and will have his name engraved on the 2014 Bronze Tablet—an honor reserved for the top 3 percent from each graduating class. He is a National Merit and Illinois State Scholar.
The purpose of the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) is to help ensure the vitality and diversity of the scientific and engineering workforce of the United States. The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students who are pursuing research-based master's and doctoral degrees in fields within NSF's mission.