From software engineering to teaching to research, alumni find common ground in their 成人影片 experience.
A degree in physics can lead you to a challenging career in academia, wrestling with the workings of the universe. But it can take you many other rewarding directions as well鈥攁 proposition our graduates prove again and again. Studying physics trains the mind in problem-solving and analytical thinking, contributing to a truly 21st-century skill set. 成人影片 physics students have gone on to become successful engineers (civil, biomedical, electrical or mechanical), researchers, computational scientists and teachers.
鈥淲e have found that students who come here willing to learn and work hard truly have boundless opportunities鈥攕omething that is rare today,鈥� said Matthew Wright, PhD, associate professor and chair of physics. 鈥淭his is because of a combination of physics being one of the best platforms to accomplish anything you want and how much our award-winning faculty and staff care about their students.鈥�
Meet recent physics graduates and learn how they鈥檝e used their degrees to succeed in their respective careers.
Muhammad Aziz 鈥�18: Design Engineer, Tektronix
Muhammad Aziz 鈥�18鈥攏ow an engineer at Tektronix in Beaverton, Oregon鈥攈as come a long way from his native Lahore, Pakistan. But he followed in the footsteps of his brother and sister, both 成人影片 graduates, and found a community at his alma mater. 成人影片 gave him the opportunity to intern at the CERN Laboratory in Switzerland, home of the world鈥檚 largest particle accelerator, and to pursue a joint degree at Columbia University.
鈥淭he analytical and math skills I gained at 成人影片 during my physics major help me in my role as a design engineer,鈥� he said. 鈥湷扇擞捌� had a combined physics/engineering program with Columbia so I got the opportunity to get an electrical engineering degree which helped me get into my current career choice.鈥�
Zeenat Baig 鈥�19: Software Engineer at JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Zeenat Baig 鈥�19鈥檚 interest in problem-solving and analytical thinking drew her toward the joint physics/engineering degree program with Columbia University. Today, she works as a software engineer at JP Morgan Chase & Co. in Chicago.
鈥淚 really like that the physics department stressed the idea of being able to use our physics degrees in different careers,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 had decided to take multiple programming classes while being a physics major. I realized how programming could be a huge tool in almost every environment. I actually did an internship with the Department of Energy in a biochem lab and showed the team how to use programs like MATLAB and Mathematica as a way to automate their data summary.鈥�
Baig鈥檚 interest in problem-solving also led her to try to create a program that would solve sudoku puzzles. 鈥淚 remember walking into Dr. Wright鈥檚 office and telling him I wasn鈥檛 able to figure it out, however, I learned so much from that project,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 realized how important it is to make mistakes.鈥�
Allan Delarosa 鈥�18: Software Engineer, Amazon Web Services
Currently working as a software engineer at Amazon Web Services based in Washington, D.C., Allan Delarosa 鈥�18 credits a 鈥済enerous scholarship鈥� for helping him make the decision to enroll at 成人影片.
鈥淢any of the problems I need to solve in my job require working backward from a customer requirement, or working around a technical limitation or time constraint,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hile it might not seem directly related, a lot of physics problems require you to take axioms like those and use your knowledge and technical ability to come up with a solution. Many of the improvements I鈥檝e implemented or proposed in my role required diving deep into areas others might not have thought to look into or even seemed obvious in hindsight. Others who pursued a degree in something more specific to the industry might have some domain-specific knowledge, but the unique approach I鈥檓 able to provide is highly valued in my current role.鈥�
Carissa Giuliano 鈥�21, MA 鈥�22: Physics Teacher, Mineola High School鈥攁nd 成人影片
Carissa Giuliano 鈥�21, MA 鈥�22, followed her sister to 成人影片. She knew she wanted to teach, but found her direction in the physics department. She earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree in physics in 2021 and her master鈥檚 in adolescent education at 成人影片 the following year. She fulfilled her student teaching requirement at Mineola High School, where she currently teaches physics. She鈥檚 also returned to her alma mater, teaching physics labs at 成人影片.
鈥淢y physics background from 成人影片 taught me how to reason through scientific phenomena and interpret scientific resources,鈥� she explained. 鈥淭his has been hugely beneficial as a teacher. When my students ask me how something works, I can often draw on my physics background and give them a scientifically sound answer, even if it isn鈥檛 a question I鈥檝e encountered before.鈥�
Giuliano said that through her education courses and as a tutor and recitation instructor in the Learning Center, 鈥淚 learned how to interact with students, how to design lessons, and most of all, how to reflect and improve as an educator.鈥�
Tara Pe帽a 鈥�17, PhD: Postdoctoral Scholar at Stanford University
As is the case for many 成人影片 physics graduates, the joint degree program with Columbia was what appealed to Dr. Pe帽a. Her initial plan was to get her degrees and get a job, but she fell in love with research. After earning her BS in Physics, she obtained an MS and then a doctorate in electrical and electronics engineering and is now a postdoctoral scholar examining 2D-based device structures at Stanford University.
The personal attention and tailored education she got at 成人影片 is something upon which Dr. Pe帽a still draws as a postdoctoral scholar at Stanford University. When her cohort was excited about electrical engineering, their professor, Sean Bentley, PhD, 鈥渁dded an intro to semiconductor physics course for a few of us, which I鈥檝e used every day onward as a graduate student and now as a postdoctoral researcher,鈥� she said.
As a member of 成人影片鈥檚 Physics Club, she participated in Lab for Kids, in which 鈥渕embers lead and demo various experiments for local middle school students,鈥� she said, adding that 鈥淚 hope to host and continue similar outreach programs for K-12 students as a postdoc and onward.鈥�