News: PSD Spotlights

Gabriel Vargas grew up in San José, Costa Rica. He received a Licenciatura (Bachelor’s plus professional degree) in microbiology and clinical chemistry and a Master’s degree in microbiology from the University of Costa Rica. He is now pursuing a PhD in geophysical sciences with a concentration on microbiology. We interviewed him about his experiences at the University of Chicago.

Margaret Nichols grew up in Minneapolis, MN. She received her BA in math with a minor in computer science from Oberlin College. She is now pursuing her PhD in mathematics with a focus on geometric topology and the study of 3-manifolds. We interviewed her about her experience at the University of Chicago.

Rupak Gupta grew up in Delhi, India. He received a bachelor's in engineering from Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology, Delhi University and master’s in financial mathematics at UChicago. We interviewed him about his experience at UChicago.

Becca Thompson grew up in Evanston, IL. She attended Amherst College and worked in healthcare technology for two years before starting at the University of Chicago. She’s now pursuing a PhD in chemistry. We interviewed her about her experience at the University of Chicago.

Bernard Dickens III is a Chicago native. He received a BS in computer science from Morehouse College and is now pursuing a PhD. We interviewed him about his experiences at the University of Chicago.

Lipi Gupta grew up in Corvallis, Oregon. She earned her undergraduate degree in physics from Cornell University and is now pursuing a PhD in physics. We interviewed her about her experience at the University of Chicago.

Justin Finkel grew up in Detroit, Michigan. He studied physics and mathematics as an undergraduate at Washington University in St. Louis. He’s now pursuing a PhD in Computational and Applied Mathematics. We interviewed him about his experience at the University of Chicago.

Claire Zurkowski was born in Baltimore and grew up in Havre de Grace, Maryland. She received a BS from San Francisco State University. She is currently pursuing a PhD in geophysical sciences. We interviewed her about her experience at the University of Chicago.

Ayaan Quraeshi grew up in Wellington, Florida. He received a BA from the University of South Florida. He is currently pursuing an MS in financial math. We interviewed him about his experience at the University of Chicago.

Lei Sun grew up in Dailan, China. He received his BS in automation from Tsinghua University and an MS in signal and information processing from Peking University. Now, he is pursuing his PhD in statistics. We interviewed him about his experience at the University of Chicago.

MurphyKate Montee was born in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. She majored in math and music and the University of Notre Dame and received her MASt in mathematics from the University of Cambridge. Now, MurphyKate is pursuing her PhD in mathematics, focusing on geometric group theory. We interviewed her about her experience at the University of Chicago.