PhD Students
Eduardo Alejandro
PhD Student
Phone number: 847-467-6588
Office location: Mudd 1173
EduardoAlejandro2024@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Geraci Group
Research Statement: Using cold atoms to sympathetically cool a single nanosphere down to it's vibrational ground-state
Dany Atallah
PhD Student
Office location: 1800 Sherman #8025
danyatallah@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Rasio Group
Research Statement: The dynamical capacity and stability of black hole hierarchies formed in globular clusters beyond triples
Saptarshi Biswas
PhD Student
Office location: Dearborn 24
SaptarshiBiswas2026@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Goswami Group
Olivia Meredith Bitter
PhD Student
Office location: Tech F418
oliviabitter2027@u.northwestern.edu
Group: de Gouvea Group
Research Statement: My research interests span the field of neutrino phenomenology. Currently my projects include exploring time invariance violation effects in matter with applications to the future DUNE experiment, as well as looking into pseudo-Dirac neutrinos through sterile neutrino extensions.
Nia Burrell
PhD Student
Office location: Mudd 1185
niaburrell2025@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Geraci Group
Research Statement: Precision measurements and investigation of non-Newtonian short-range gravity using optically levitating nanoparticles.
Daniel Buser
PhD Student
Office location: Tech F321
danielbuser2028@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Motter Group
Research Statement: The study of links between synchronization and entanglement in coupled spin networks.
Ran Chen
PhD Student
Office location: Tech F140
ranchen@northwestern.edu
Group: Figueroa-Feliciano Group
Research Statement: Developing a sensitive detector to measure the coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CEvNS)
Danyang Chen
PhD Student
Office location: Tech F225
DanyangChen2026@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Koch Group
Research Statement: Characterizing quantum error correction schemes and developing high fidelity qubit operations on superconducting circuits
Sai Pavan Chitta
PhD Student
Office location: Tech F229
SaiChitta2025@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Koch Group
Research Statement: Simulation and design of protected superconducting qubits
Yanpei Deng
PhD Student
Office location: Dearborn 22
YanpeiDeng2026@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Chandrasekhar Group
Ken DeRose
PhD Student
Office location: Dearborn 5
KennethDerose2026@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Kovachy Group
Research Statement: Testing Einstein's equivalence principle, the gravitational inverse square law, and searching for forces beyond the Standard Model using atom interferometry
Collin Diver
PhD Student
Office location: Dearborn 22
CollinDiver2027@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Gabrielse Group
Vic (Yuxin) Dong
PhD Student
Office location: 1800 Sherman #8037D
yuxin.dong@northwestern.edu
Group: Fong Group
Research Statement: Multiwavelength follow-up observations of Fast Radio Bursts to uncover the origin of their progenitor system(s)
William Eom
PhD Student
Phone number: 847-467-6588
Office location: Mudd 1173
williameom2024@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Geraci Group
Research Statement: Preparing ground-state cooled, optically levitated nanospheres for precision force sensing of Casimir forces and Yukawa-type corrections to gravity
Joshua Fuhrman
PhD Student- Graduated 24-25 school year
Phone number: 847-467-6852
Office location: Tech F140
joshuafuhrman2023@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Figueroa-Feliciano Group
Research Statement: Supernova remnant study and dark matter search with Micro-X, a NASA Sounding Rocket program flying Transition-Edge Sensors and their SQUID readout system
Ethan Garvey
PhD Student
Office location: Mudd 1177
EthanGarvey2025@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Stern Group
Research Statement: Optical experiments for understanding the properties of novel low dimensional magnetic materials and devices
S. Carin Gavin
PhD Student
Phone number: 847-467-3976
Office location: Mudd 1177
sarahgavin2024@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Stern Group
Research Statement: Optical and spin properties of mixed-dimensional heterostructures
Jonah Glick
PhD Student
Office location: Mudd 1164
JonahGlick2025@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Kovachy Group
Research Statement: Development of atom interferometry techniques for precision gravitational measurements, tests of quantum mechanics, and searches for dark matter
Elena González Prieto
PhD Student
Office location: 1800 Sherman #8038C
elena.prieto@northwestern.edu
Group: Rasio Group
Research Statement: Dynamical evolution of dense stellar environments and the formation of compact objects
Alexa Gordon
PhD Student
Office location: 1800 Sherman #8032B
AlexaGordon2026@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Fong Group
Research Statement: Spectral energy distribution modeling of fast radio burst (FRB) host galaxies to constrain FRB progenitor models
Jorin Graham
PhD Student
Office location: Tech F324
JorinGraham@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Motter Group
Research Statement: Spreading processes on complex networks; network science and machine learning for cell biology
Scott Grudichak
PhD Student
Phone number: 847-491-5468
Office location: Tech F213
scottgrudichak2021@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Geraci Group
Research Statement: Fabrication and characterization of thin film type 2 superconductors, patterned with anti-dot arrays
Saarah Hall
PhD Student
GEM Associate Fellow 2022-2023
Office location: 1800 Sherman #7433
saarahhall2027@u.northwestern.edu
Research Statement: I study time-domain astronomy with wide-field surveys like the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF). I'm interested in utilizing ZTF data to evaluate the volumetric rate of rare transients.
Andra Ionescu
PhD Student
Phone number: 847-467-9117
Office location: Mudd 1195
Andra-MariaIonescu2022@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Gabrielse Group
Research Statement: A search for ultralight dark matter via differential strain measurement of two optical cavities
Danat Issa
PhD Student
Office location: 1800 Sherman #8033
danatissa2023@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Tchekovskoy Group
Research Statement: Simulations of neutron star mergers and their electromagnetic counterparts
Jeremy (Kefeng) Jiang
PhD Student
Office location: Dearborn 24
KefengJiang2027@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Kovachy Group
Cole Kampa
PhD Student
Phone number: 847-467-2477
Office location: Tech F127
colekampa2024@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Schmitt Group
Research Statement: Modeling Mu2e experiment's magnetic field. Developing robust statistical analyses for particle physics experiments. Muon capture neutron emission analysis for the AlCap experiment
Emma Kaufman
PhD Student
Office location: 1800 Sherman #8030A
EmmaKaufman2026@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Lecoanet Group
Research Statement: Simulations of magnetic waves in stellar interiors
Kyle Kennard
PhD Student
Office location: Dearborn 22
KyleKennard2027@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Figueroa-Feliciano Group
Taeyoon Kim
PhD Student
Office location: Fermilab TD ICB
taeyoonkim2018@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Koch Group
Research Statement: Experimental research of quantum information processing with superconducting qubits and high-Q 3D cavities
Savannah King
PhD Student
Office location: Tech F122
SavannahKing2027@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Velasco Group
Fulya Kiroglu
PhD Student
Office location: 1800 Sherman #8031
FulyaKiroglu2024@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Rasio Group
Research Statement: Dynamics and evolution of black holes through close encounters in dense star clusters.
Shelby Klomp
PhD Student
Office location: Tech F146
ShelbyKlomp2020@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Geraci Group
Research Statement: Detection of high-frequency gravitational waves using optically levitated dielectric particles
Nathalie Korhonen Cuestas
PhD Student
Office location: 1800 Sherman #8048D
nathaliekorhonencuestas2029@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Strom Group
Research Statement: Characterising the relationships between galactic mass, metallicity, and star formation rate at cosmic noon to better understand the chemical evolution of the universe.
Boran Kuzhan
PhD Student
Office location: Dearborn 21
BoranKuzhan2027@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Kamal Group
Aakash Lakshmanan
PhD Student
Office location: Dearborn 5
AakashLakshmanan2026@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Kamal Group
Research Statement: Development of theoretical tools to understand topological phases
Aretaios Lalakos
PhD Student- Graduated 24-25 school year
Office location: 1800 Sherman #8033
aretaioslalakos2022@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Tchekovskoy Group
Research Statement: The role of magnetic field configuration on black hole accretion and radiation signatures from the interaction of outflows with the ambient medium
Yanlin Li
PhD Student
Office location: Tech F265
yanlinli2022@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Dutta Group
Research Statement: Specific ion effect on surfactant molecules at aqueous interface
Zhi-zhong Li
PhD Student
Office location: Tech F416
zhi-zhongli2024@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Low Group
Research Statement: Spontaneously broken spacetime symmetries
Camille Liotine
PhD Student
Office location: 1800 Sherman #8038F
cliotine@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Kalogera Group
Research Statement: The evolution of binary star systems, in particular the populations of stellar binaries that result in double compact object mergers that are detectable with the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO)
Siyuan Liu
PhD Student- Graduated 24-25 school year
Phone number: 847-467-9117
Office location: Mudd 1195
siyuanliu2023@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Gabrielse Group
Research Statement: Search for electron Electric Dipole Moment through the ACME experiment
Qiaofeng Liu
PhD Student
Office location: Tech F420
QiaofengLiu2027@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Low Group
Research Statement: Entanglement in quantum field theory; quantum simulation of fundamental physics
Chang Liu
PhD Student
Miller Group
Office location: 1800 Sherman #8034C
ChangLiu2025@u.northwestern.edu
Research Statement: Probing the progenitor properties of supernovae with multi-band observations
Beverly Lowell
PhD Student
Office location: 1800 Sherman #8029
beverlylowell2023@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Tchekovskoy Group
Research Statement: Dynamically important magnetic fields and black hole spin-down
Leone Luzzatto
PhD Student
Office location: Tech F332
LeoneLuzzatto2028@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Kovács Group
Michael MacKenzie
PhD Student- Graduated 24-25 school year
Office location: Tech F122
michaelmackenzie2023@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Velasco Group
Research Statement: Experimental particle physics research on charged-lepton flavor-violating processes at Mu2e and CMS
Austin Marga
PhD Student
Office location: Tech F226
austinmarga2027@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Chandrasekhar Group
Research Statement: Low temperature fabrication and measurement of superconducting electron interference devices
Miguel Martinez
PhD Student
Office location: 1800 Sherman #8036A
miguel.martinez@northwestern.edu
Group: Rasio Group
Research Statement: Dynamics across a wide range of astrophysical regimes, from exoplanets and exomoons to massive star clusters
Nathaniel McDonough
PhD Student
Phone number: 847-467-9116
Office location: Mudd 1195
nathanielmcdonough2023@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Gabrielse Group
Research Statement: Laser cooling and precision spectroscopy of atomic hydrogen
Michael McGinnis
PhD Student
Office location: Tech F127
MichaelMcginnis2026@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Hahn Group
Research Statement: Constraints on di-Higgs production and EFT interpretation with the CMS experiment; data acquisition systems and online track-fitting for CMS and MUonE.
Thomas McKenzie-Smith
PhD Student
Phone number: 610-551-3138
Office location: Tech F318
thomasmckenzie-smith2027@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Motter Group
Research Statement: Applications of machine learning and networks to the design of complex systems.
Jacob McLaughlin
PhD Student
Phone number: 847-467-3752
Office location: Tech F140
A1P8Q8@u.northwestern.edu
Research Statement: Characterization of novel backgrounds in large scale xenon-based dark matter detectors and improving their sensitivity to low mass WIMP signals
Yulun Miao
PhD Student
Office location: Tech F127
YulunMiao2020@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Schmitt Group
Research Statement: Searching for three massive gauge boson production at CMS
Nicholas Miller
PhD Student
Office location: Dearborn 5
NicholasMiller2025@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Kovachy Group
Research Statement: Searching for ultralight scalar field dark matter through differential strain measurements of cryogenic optical cavities
Serena Moseley
PhD Student
Office location: 1800 Sherman #8032D
SerenaMoseley2027@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Kalogera Group
Thomas Glenn Myers
PhD Student
Phone number: 847-467-9116
Office location: Mudd 1195
ThomasMyers2021@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Gabrielse Group
Research Statement: A measurement of the electron and positron magnetic moments with greatly improved precision
Geev Nahal
PhD Student
Phone number: 847-467-9116
Office location: Mudd 1195
geevnahal2021@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Sauls Group
Research Statement: A measurement of the electron and positron magnetic moments
Buduka Ogonor
PhD Student
Office location: Tech F318
budukaogonor2028@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Motter Group
Nick Omahen
PhD Student
Office location: 1800 Sherman #8027
NicholasOmahen2024@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Tchekovskoy Group
Research Statement: I study the assembly and evolution of accretion disks and their outflows in a wide variety of black hole feeding scenarios
Daehan Park
PhD Student
Office location: Dearborn 9D
DaehanPark2026@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Halperin Group
Greg R. M. da Silva
PhD Student
Office location: Tech M316
GregorioRabelo2022@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Shahriar Group
Research Statement: Experimental and computational investigations of squeezed quantum states with large atomic ensembles
Teresita Ramirez Aguilar
PhD Student
Office location: 1800 Sherman #8038E
TeresitaRamirezAguilar2028@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Tchekovskoy Group
Jillian Rastinejad
PhD Student
Office location: 1800 Sherman #8027
JillianRastinejad2024@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Fong Group
Research Statement: Observation of the astronomical explosions created by merging neutron stars, kilonovae, from both the short gamma-ray burst and gravitational wave perspective
Grace Reesman
PhD Student
Office location: Dearborn 22
GraceReesman2021@u.northwestern.edu
Group: de Gouvea Group
Nabeel Rehemtulla
PhD Student
Group: Miller group
Office location: 1800 Sherman #8038B
NabeelRehemtulla2027@u.northwestern.edu
Research Statement: Building machine learning models to learn about and classify sources detected by the Zwicky Transient Facility
Jonathan Roberts
PhD Student
Office location: 1800 Sherman #8044B
JonathanRoberts2027@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Larson Group
Kyle Akira Rocha
PhD Student
Office location: 1800 Sherman #8035
karocha@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Kalogera Group
Research Statement: Machine learning and the evolution of binary stars and compact objects
Alejandro Rodriguez
PhD Student
Office location: Dearborn 5
alejandrorodriguez2028@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Figueroa-Feliciano Group
Kevin Ryan
PhD Student
Office location: Tech F220
kevinryan2024@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Chandrasekhar Group
Research Statement: Fabrication and cryogenic magnetotransport of 2D and thin film devices exploring multiferroics, superconductors and related phenomena
Jennifer Sanchez
PhD Student
Office location: 1800 Sherman #8032A
JenniferSanchez2026@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Kalogera Group
Sharika Saraf
PhD Student
Office location: Dearborn 21
SharikaSaraf2026@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Kovachy Group
John Scott
PhD Student
Phone number: 847-491-8616
Office location: Tech F226
johnscott2025@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Halperin Group
Research Statement: Nuclear magnetic resonance study of properties and phases of Helium 3 in aerogel at ultra-low temperatures
Aslan Seifi
PhD Student
Office location: Tech F416
aslanseifi2024@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Carrasco Group
Research Statement: Scattering Amplitudes, Color-Kinematics duality
Charlotte (Yanxuan) Shao
PhD Student
Office location: Tech F324
yanxuanshao2024@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Motter Group
Research Statement: Spontaneous oscillations and more complex dynamics in microfluidic networks
Zhiheng Sheng
PhD Student
Office location: Tech F140
zhihengsheng2024@u.northwestern.edu
Research Statement: Data acquisition in scintillating LAr bubble chamber (SBC) for direct dark matter detection
Kagan Simsek
PhD Student
Office location: Tech F420
KaganSimsek2025@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Petriello Group
Research Statement: Precision QCD in the Standard Model effective field theory
Zehao Song
PhD Student
Office location: Dearborn 15
zehao_song@northwestern.edu
Group: de la Cruz Group
Research Statement: Coarse-grained modeling of the dynamics of driven polyelectrolyte solutions with charge confinement
Kierstin Sorensen
PhD Student
Office location: 1800 Sherman, 7417
KierstinSorensen2024@u.northwestern.edu
Lillian Soucy
PhD Student
Office location: Mudd 1195
lilliansoucy2030@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Gabrielse Group
Research Statement: Improved precision measurements of the electron and positron magnetic moments
Jacob Sprague
PhD Student
Office location: 1800 Sherman #8034A
JacobSprague2021@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Larson Group
Research Statement: Novel GW sources in conjunction with the levitated-sensor GW detector
Benedict Sukra
PhD Student
Phone number: 847-467-9116
Office location: Mudd 1195
benedict.sukra@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Gabrielse Group
Research Statement: Improved measurements of the electron and positron magnetic moments
Imran Sultan
PhD Student
Office location: 1800 Sherman #8032C
ImranSultan2025@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Faucher-Giguere Group
Research Statement: Cosmological hydrodynamical simulations of massive galaxy formation
Elizabeth Teng
PhD Student
Office location: 1800 Sherman #7421
ElizabethTeng2025@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Kalogera Group
Research Statement: Using machine learning to accelerate simulations of binary star and compact object populations
Asad Ukani
PhD Student
Office location: 1800 Sherman, #7431
asadukani2028@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Murchikova Group
Sarvesh Upadhyay
PhD Student
Office location: Tech F224
sarveshupadhyay2027@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Goswami Group
Samvardhan Vishnoi
PhD Student
Group: Amaral group
Office location: Dearborn
SamvardhanVishnoi2026@u.northwestern.edu
Research Statement: Link prediction methods in complex networks
Caroline von Raesfeld
PhD Student
Office location: Dearborn 9D
carolinevonraesfeld2027@u.northwestern.edu
Aaron (Zhiyuan) Wang
PhD Student
Office location: Mudd 1156
ZhiyuanWang2024@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Geraci Group
Research Statement: Detecting high-frequency gravitational waves with optically levitated micro-sensors
Jinglu Wang
PhD Student
Office location: Dearborn 5
JingluWang2026@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Schmitt Group
Hailin Wang
PhD Student
Office location: 1800 Sherman #8046C
hwr5641@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Novak Group
Maya Watts
PhD Student
Office location: Dearborn 5
MayaWatts2027@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Gabrielse Group
Nycole Wenner
PhD Student
Office location: 1800 Sherman #8034D
NycoleWenner2026@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Zadeh Group
Max Wisne
PhD Student
Office location: Tech F220
maxwellwisne2025@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Chandrasekhar Group
Research Statement: Measuring nonlocal transport in superconducting mesoscopic devices
Suna Zekioglu
PhD Student- Graduated 24-25 school year
Office location: Tech F418
sunazekioglu2024@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Carrasco Group
Research Statement: Investigations of hidden structure connecting scattering amplitudes in gauge theory and gravity
Gan Zhai
PhD Student
Office location: Dearborn
GanZhai2025@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Halperin Group
Research Statement: NMR research on novel superconducting compounds
Rachel Zhang
PhD Student
Rasio Group
Office location: 1800 Sherman #8038A
rczhang@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Rasio Group
Research Statement: Formation and evolution of radio pulsars and magnetars
Yi Zhao
PhD Student
Office location: Tech F318
YiZhao2025@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Motter Group
Research Statement: Genetic network dynamics and complex systems modeling
Angela (Chunxi) Zhou
PhD Student
Office location: Mudd Library
ChunxiZhou2027@u.northwestern.edu
Group: Stern Group