Graduate Students
Polina Abratenko
Area of Study: High Energy Physics
Omar Alterkait
Zahra Bayat
Area of Study: Cosmology
I am a PhD student interested in theoretical cosmology, the early universe, and cosmological tensions.
Alex Cassem
Areas of Study: High Energy Theory, Cosmology, String Theory
I am a PhD student at Tufts University. I graduated from Winona State University (MN) in 2022 with BS degrees in Mathematics and Physics. My undergraduate thesis was on Brans-Dicke Cosmology, and I completed two REU's in holography and the Swampland, both at Lehigh University (PA). Currently, I am working with Prof. Mark Hertzberg on gravitational wave constraints on higher order curvature corrections to gravity.
Yilin Chen
Area of Study: Cosmology
My research interest is cosmology. I did some research about cosmology and quantum cosmology with prof. Jin wang at Stony Brook, and I also spent 5 months working with Prof. Samuel L. Braunstein at York about black hole and entanglement entropy.
T.J. Colvin
Area of Study: Quantum Information and Quantum Computing
I received my master's degree in physics from Wake Forest University, where I conducted research in the area of computational biophysics. I am excited about the recent developments in quantum computing and look forward to applying novel algorithms to problems in physics.
Michael Dolce
Area of Study: High Energy Physics
George Fanaras
I am a first-year graduate student at Tufts. My research interests are in the field of cosmology and quantum gravity. In my undergraduate studies at AUTh I worked on the modification of gravity with torsion. Currently, I am involved in a project of 2D quantum gravity with Professor Vilenkin.
Veritas Gassmann
Area of Study: Cosmology / High Energy Physics
Olivia Gaunt
Area of Study: Astrophysics
I am a graduate student on the Astrophysics track, and am interested in observational techniques, large scale surveys, and big, bright, and/or distant objects in our universe. Beyond physics, I love to study foreign languages (especially Mandarin, Arabic, and Russian) and music. I am happy to speak with prospective students, so please reach out!
Ben Gordon
Area of Study: Astronomy
I am a first-year graduate student studying astronomy here at Tufts. I earned my BS in physics at Lebanon Valley College, where I did high-energy physics research with Dr. Daniel Pitonyak. Other than physics, I spend my time writing/recording music.
Carter Mulford Gustin
Area of Study: High Energy Physics
I graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics and Applied Mathematics from Syracuse University where I spent time researching gravitational waves and computational quantum mechanics. At Tufts, I hope to study quantum computation.
Zev Imani
Area of Study: High Energy Physics
I'm a PhD student working with Prof. Taritree Wongjirad and an IAIFI member. My interests lie in the intersection of machine learning and neutrino physics. My research so far has focused on developing generative models for particle detector images. I will be actively involved in the SBND experiment commissioning and reconstruction model.
Anuja Jayasekara
Area of Study: Condensed Matter Physics
Colette Kaya
Area of Study: High Energy Physics
I'm a graduate student, focusing on the Standard Model calculations in Particle Physics. Here at Tufts University, my advisor Professor Hugo Beauchemin and I work as members of the ATLAS collaboration at CERN to study boson decays. I've recently received my MS and am continuing with the PhD program.
Meg Kralj
Area of Study: Theoretical Particle - Cosmology
I received my undergraduate degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where I worked at the MIT Center for Theoretical Physics on string theory, SUGRA, and SUSY based inflationary models. My current research under Prof. Ken Olum is on cosmic strings, while I’m also doing work involving bubble nucleation under Prof. David Kaiser at MIT. In the future, I wish to learn more about cosmic strings, as well as topics such as black hole evaporation, holography, and dark matter.
Udathari Kumarasinghe
I graduated from the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, where I worked on electrospinning of PVDF for piezoelectric applications. Currently, I am interested in both Condensed Matter Physics and Particle Physics.
Valentina La Torre
Area of Study: Astronomy
Jamie Lin
Area of Study: Astronomy
I am a first year graduate student working with Professor Marchesini. I received my undergraduate degree in Astrophysics from University of California, Berkeley, where I worked in several fields including optics, cosmology, galaxy. My current research interests lie in galaxy formation and evolution. I am also interested in blackholes and cosmology.
Oliver Maupin
Area of Study: Quantum Information
I am a fifth year graduate student studying quantum information in Professor Love's group. My research involves applying error mitigation techniques such as zero noise extrapolation and randomized compiling to near term quantum algorithms. I graduated from Haverford College with a B.S. in Physics and Computer Science in 2018.
Richard Pan
Area of Study: Astronomy
I am a first year graduate student currently working with Prof. Marchesini to study galaxy evolution. In the past I have worked on a wide range of projects from machine-learning classification of dusty stars, to observational mapping of the IGM lyman alpha forest tomography, and to building instruments such as a spectrophotometer for the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope at JPL.
Camila Pazos
Feng Qian
Luke Robbins
Area of Study: Astrophysics
I am a first-year graduate student at Tufts. I received undergraduate degrees in astronomy and origins science from Case Western Reserve University. While I was there, I worked with scaling relations for rotationally supported galaxies. My current research interests are dark matter halos in the context of galaxy formation/evolution and large scale structure/cosmology. When I have free time I like to collect records, play guitar, run and backpack.
Charlie Rubin
Area of Study: Astrophysics
I am currently a first-year graduate student studying Astrophysics. I earned my B.S. in Physics at Bates College where I conducted research on compact starburst galaxies and I look forward to exploring new avenues of research. Outside of my studies I love skiing and hiking in Maine!
Scott Scharlach
Area of Study: Cosmology
I am a second-year master's student studying theoretical cosmology. My current research explores the possibility of mirror-asymmetry in the distribution of galaxies across the universe. I am also a collaborator for the Research on Autism, Driven by Autistic Researchers (RADAR) committee at the University of Minnesota.
Vinicius Da Silva
Area of Study: High Energy Phyics
I am a PhD student working with Taritree Wongjirad and I am interested in exploring the intersection between Neutrino Physics and novel computational methods such as Machine Learning. I received my BS degree from Yale University where I researched Higgs Boson decays as part of the ATLAS collaboration. I am currently working on the simulation of cosmic rays for the COHERENT collaboration’s liquid argon detector.
William Simon
Area of Study: Quantum Computing
I am a graduate student researching how to bridge theory and application of quantum algorithms on noisy intermediate-scale quantum devices. I completed my undergraduate studies also at Tufts in chemical physics with a minor in computer science. Additionally, I am passionate about leveraging quantum computing research to mitigate climate change and expanding access to STEM education.
Zoe Snyder
Area of Study: Physics Education
I obtained my BS in Physics from UW-Madison, with a minor in 3D Art. I like to ride my bike, do yoga, make collages and cuddle with my 20lb giant orange cat named Baby Cholula.
Vladyslav Syrotenko
Area of Study: High Energy Physics
PhD student in high energy physics, MSc My thesis research is based on data from MINERvA neutrino experiment, Fermilab. I have strong interests and background in theoretical physics, mathematics, programming, STEM education.
Jack Thomas
Area of Study: Condensed Matter Physics
Wata Tubthong
Area of Study: Astrophysics
I got my BS Degrees in Physics and Humanities from MIT in 2021. My prior research experience is in planetary sciences and computer modelling. I am now a first-year PhD student with research interests in galactic astrophysics.
Elisabeth Turner
Miguel Vasquez-Vega
Area of Study: Physics Education
As an astronomer from University of Antioquia in Medellín, Colombia, I'm incredibly passionate about physics, about teaching it and about how I can use astronomy to engage with the public about science in general. I dream of a world where science —specially physics and math— is no longer seen as "agh" or difficult, but on the contrary, beautiful and approachable.
Sam Venetianer
Area of Study: High Energy Physics
I am a first year PhD student interested in high energy experiment. Prior to coming to Tufts, I received my Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from Northwestern, worked in the automotive industry, and researched vibrational impacts to particle physics detectors at the University of Michigan. Outside of physics I enjoy reading, dancing, and playing guitar.
Kumail Zaidi
Area of Study: Astronomy
My current research interests fall within the regime of Extragalactic Astrophysics. In the past, I have worked on massive stars and their evolution at University Observatory Munich, Germany. Later, I have worked in High Energy Astrophysics at Sabanci University, Turkey before joining Tufts.