I grew up in Sleepy Hollow, a small town in Westchester, NY. I completed my Bachelor's at Providence College, majoring in physics and minoring in mathematics. It is probably no surprise that I am here to continue my studies in physics. I will be pursuing a Ph.D. in Physics with an astrophysics emphasis.
We got a chance to interview Katherine a few weeks before they started at UCSB. Here is our short Q&A with Katherine, who shares how they first became fascinated with their chosen discipline, why they chose UCSB, and what they're excited to accomplish on campus.
Q&A
I always had a strong inclination toward studying the natural sciences, but it wasn’t until my senior year in high school that my enthusiasm for physics and astronomy truly ignited. In AP Physics, we were assigned a project where we had to analyze three Hollywood movies and identify physics inaccuracies. Ever since then, I’ve taken great pleasure in finding the connections between worldly phenomena and the laws of physics, known correlations, and equations. My research at UCSB will center on galaxies and their evolution over time. By studying "nearby" galaxies that resemble those from the early universe, we can gain insights into what our universe was like over 10 billion years ago. I am incredibly excited to conduct this research, take advanced physics courses, and connect with other passionate, enthusiastic graduate students.
I chose UCSB for several reasons. First and foremost, UCSB's physics program has consistently been ranked among the top ten in the country. The UC system offers privileged access to telescopes, which is particularly appealing to observational astronomers like myself. In addition to its stellar academic reputation (no pun intended), UCSB is in a beautiful location that I won't mind calling home for the next six years.
DID YOU KNOW?
Outside of academics, I am a dancer. I have trained in ballet, modern, jazz, and contemporary, amongst many other styles. During my undergraduate years, I was part of the Providence College Dance Company (and we even opened for the pop/rock band, OneRepublic, last fall). While at UCSB, I hope to find time to take dance classes. Additionally, I want to take advantage of being so close to the beach and have started taking surfing lessons through the UCSB Rec Center. I am really excited to start this next chapter and can’t wait to meet everyone in the coming weeks!