2024-2025 Physics Graduate Student News and Achievements

PHYSICS GRADUATE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS IN 2024-2025 ACADEMIC YEAR

Congratulations to all the students below!

Ph.D., Fall 2024

• Diego Tapia Silva, “Experiments, analysis and modeling in fluid stretching,” advisors Kleckner and Khatri → Senior Laser Process Engineer, Caelux

• Devika Gireesan Sudha, “Colloidal Dynamics in an Anisotropic Environment,” advisor Hirst → postdoc, Yale University

• Subhaya Bose, “Role of active and elastic forces in cell migration and cytoskeletal shape change,” advisor Dasbiswas → postdoc, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology, Dortmund, Germany

• Jonathan Daniel, “Insights into Quantum Optical Phenomena,” advisor Sharping → CalBridge postdoc, California State University, San Bernardino

Ph.D., Spring 2025

• Binod Bhattarai, “An Exploration from Small Scales to Large Scales in Galaxy Simulations: Considering Open Cluster Chemistry and Bar Resonances in Galaxy Simulations,” advisor Loebman → postdoc, University of Alabama

• Anuvetha Govindarajan, “Advanced Control Techniques for Many-body Quantum State Preparation,” advisor Tian →

• Md Mehdi Masud, “Electronic, Magnetic and X-ray Properties of Solids under Extreme Conditions: DFT and beyond-DFT Approaches,” advisor Strubbe → postdoc, University of Illinois at Chicago

Ph.D., Summer 2025

• Arya Karappilly Rajan, “Exploring Tunable Optical Properties of Quantum Dots and Organic Molecules,” advisor Ghosh → postdoc in Imaging Quantum Systems, University of Rostock, Germany

• Harold Hart-Alesch, “Utilizing Microwave Cavities to Probe Acoustic Modes and Nanoscale Forces on a Levitated Particle,” advisor Sharping → Epic Systems

• Alauna Wheeler, “How nanoparticle concentration and cooling rate affect ordered nematic domain growth in a disordered liquid crystal solvent,” advisor Hirst

• Cole Cooper, “Vortex Pairs in Transitional Poiseuille Flow,” advisor Kleckner • Abhinav Kumar, “Cooperative contractility and structural order in active force-driven biological fiber networks,” advisor Dasbiswas → postdoc, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany

M.S., Fall 2024

• Sameen Yunus, advisor Strubbe

M.S., Spring 2025

• De Zhen Zhou, advisor Kleckner

• Samia Liba, advisor Hirst • Matthew Metcalf, advisor Cai

• Asmitha Mekala, advisor Ghosh

• Taylor Whitney, advisor Mitchell

M.S., Summer 2025

• Arnab Roy, advisor Dasbiswas

Awarded Fellowships

• University of California National Laboratories In-Residence Graduate Fellowship: Sameen Yunus (advisor: Strubbe)

• Chateaubriand STEM fellowship, for research in France: Arabi Seshappan (advisor: Strubbe)

• ARCS Foundation Fellowship: Micah Oeur (advisor: Loebman)

• Dean’s Dissertation Fellowship: Harry Hart-Alesch (advisor: Sharping)

• iBioSTEP G-RISE Fellowship: Brooke Olsson (rotation advisor: Liu) and Nikhil Hematillake (rotation advisor: Xu) 

• Cal-Bridge Doctoral Fellowship: Nikhil Hematillake (rotation advisor: Xu), Rommell Pennell (rotation advisor: Xu), Roland Ortega (rotation advisor: Cai)

• UC President's Pre-Professoriate Fellowship: Arabi Seshappan (advisor: Strubbe)

• CCBM Summer Fellowships: Julian Davis (advisor: Liu), Nolan Brown (advisor: Gopinathan)

• VISION PREM Fellowship: Bruce Barrios (advisor: Scheibner)

• NRT CONDESA Dissertation Fellowship: Jorge Arteaga (advisor: Ghosh)

Departmental Awards

• Outstanding Graduate Research Award: Patrick Noerr

• Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award: Matthew Metcalf

• Outstanding Graduate Student Service & Outreach Award: Maria Perez Mendoza

• Outstanding Graduate Student Mentor Award: Micah Oeur

Other Awards

• SPIE Photonics West Best Paper Award for Optical Fibers and Sensors for Medical Diagnostics, Treatment, and Environmental Applications: Jorge Arteaga (advisor: Ghosh)

• PREM Research Scholars Best Poster Award, Materials Research Society Fall Meeting 2024: Bruce Barrios (advisor: Scheibner)

• APS Ambassador: Samia Liba (advisor: Hirst)

• APS Division of Biological Physics (DBIO) travel award: Arnab Roy (advisor: Dasbiswas)

MacKenzie Scott Travel Awards from Graduate Council

Md. Kamal Hossain (advisor: Nowadnick) and Maria Perez Mendoza (advisor: Nierenberg), for the APS Global Physics Summit 2025 in Anaheim, CA.

Graduate Group Travel Fellowships

Teddy Adams, Haseeb Ahmad, Jorge Arteaga, Fernando Espinoza-Ortiz, Ankush G K, Md Kamal Hossain, Wolfgang Kern, Samia Liba, Christopher Mastandrea, Joey Mctiernan, Asmitha Mekala, Maria Perez Mendoza, Bamidele Onipede, Micah Oeur, Suraj Sahu

Graduate Group Summer Fellowships

Jorge Arteaga, Cole Cooper, Derek Hammar, Harry Hart-Alesch, Md Kamal Hossain, Dylan Benton, Shivam Kamboj, Samia Liba, Matthew Metcalf, Micah Oeur, Bamidele Onipede, Uday Panta, Arnab Roy [departmental fellowship], Md. Mainul Hasan Sabbir, Joseph Spinuzzi, De Zhen Zhou

UC Merced Physics Grad Students in the News:

• Rolando Ortega (rotation advisor: Cai: Cal-Bridge Scholar Rolando Ortega Wants to Build the Future

• Arabi Seshappan (advisor: Strubbe): Physics thrives when everyone can participate

• Sameen Yunus (advisor: Strubbe): Graduate Student Earns Fellowship to Study Fusion at Livermore Lab

• Md Mehdi Masud (advisor: Strubbe): Degrees of Determination: From Roots and Resilience: Md Mehdi Masud