News: PSD Spotlights

PSD’s October spotlight is Shawn Manner, administrative assistant to Professor John Carlstrom of the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics. Shawn is from Michigan City, Indiana, and has been with the University of Chicago since February 2022.

Dhayaa Anbajagane was raised in the coastal city of Madras in India. He earned a bachelor’s in physics at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He has spent two years as a graduate student in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics where he uses observations made by large telescopes to study the initial state of the Universe and its subsequent evolution into what we see on the sky today. 
 

The PSD September Spotlight is Ian Hoppie, Laboratory Safety Specialist. Ian is responsible for managing and providing technical guidance, training, and inspective/risk analysis of the PSD laboratory safety program. He has been working in this role since July 2021.

Tianle Liu was born and raised in Beijing, China, and first came to UChicago as a physics and mathematics double major in The College. This will be her fifth year on campus! She is currently pursuing a master’s in computer science. As part of the EPiQC education team, she works with Professor Diana Franklin to create engaging and accessible quantum computing education materials.

The PSD May Spotlight is Tess San Juan, senior grants and contracts administrator in the Local Business Center. Tess was born in the Philippines and immigrated to the US when she was nine years old. She grew up in a small Chicago southwest suburb called Oak Forest and is coming up on her 20th year at UChicago.
 
 

Elise Hinkle was born and brought up in Sudbury, Massachusetts. This is her second year at UChicago pursuing graduate studies in physics and working with Professor Ed Blucher. She is a member of the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) Collaboration.

The PSD April Spotlight is Ben Stillwell, research engineer manager for PSD’s Engineering and Technical Support Group (ETSG), which works with clients to plan, design, build, and test apparatus for their groundbreaking research projects. Ben is from Tampa, Florida, and has been working in this role since 2017.
 

PSD's March spotlight is Brenda F. Thomas, secretary in the James Franck Institute (JFI) and assistant to faculty members David P. DeMille, Woowon Kang, David Schuster, Peter Littlewood, William TM Irvine, and Linda Young. She is also the JFI Colloquium & Seminar Coordinator and Computations and Science Seminar Coordinator. She has been with the PSD for 28 years.

Colin Aitken was born and brought up in San Jose, California. Before coming to the University of Chicago, he was at MIT where he studied math and performed in the Shakespeare Ensemble. He has been a graduate student at UChicago for five years in the Department of Mathematics, though he sometimes hangs out in the Department of Economics. His field of study is algebraic topology.

PSD's January spotlight is Judy Garza, Manager of the Department of Mathematics. Judy has been with the University of Chicago for 33 years. Read our interview with Judy.

PSD’s November spotlight is Aleksandra “Aleks” Ninova-Parris, Director of Student Engagement and Belonging for the Physical Sciences Division since November 2021. Read about her interests, experiences, and thoughts on diverstiy and inclusion.
 

Carlos Sierra was born in Santa Ana, California, and grew up in the nearby city of Anaheim. Before coming to the University of Chicago, he attended Fullerton College, a community college in Southern California, and transferred to UC Berkeley, where he received his bachelor’s degree in physics. Afterwards, he started a doctoral program in applied physics at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. After three years he moved with the McMahon group to UChicago, where he will complete his doctoral research in the Department of Physics. He is currently in his fifth year and conducting research in experimental cosmology. He develops and tests instruments for the Simons Observatory, a series of telescopes that will soon be making precise measurements of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) from high atop the Atacama Desert in Chile.
 

PSD’s October spotlight is Sarah Lippert, newly appointed Assistant Dean of Students in the Physical Sciences Division. Sarah has been with the University of Chicago since December 2008.
 

PSD’s September spotlight is Dave Schmitz, Associate Professor in the Department of Physics and the Enrico Fermi Institute and newly appointed Deputy Dean of Diversity and Inclusion for the PSD. Dave has been with the University of Chicago since September 2012.

Elizabeth Wells Kelley was born and raised in Mechanicsville, Virginia. Before coming to the University of Chicago, she earned a bachelor's in chemistry at the College of William & Mary, where she was a research assistant, teaching assistant, and tutor. She is starting her fifth year in the Department of Chemistry doctoral program. She has taken time off during her program to teach high school chemistry at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. Now returned to her research, she works on organic synthesis and the scientific investigation of how humans learn, teach, and interact with chemistry.