UC Merced Connect: Physics group focuses on innovation
From understanding how groups of atoms behave at ultra-low temperatures to modeling how flocks of birds organize, UC Merced’s physics group is helping solve many of the world’s mysteries and using the knowledge to improve technology – from computing to solar energy conversion.
“Physics uses logical thought and experiment to understand the mysteries of our universe. It also allows you to translate that understanding into real technological advances,” said professor Ajay Gopinathan, chairman of the physics graduate group.
UC Merced’s physics group has 12 faculty members and 41 graduate students, making it the second-largest program within the School of Natural Sciences.
The group is also diverse, with women or underrepresented minorities comprising 43 percent of graduate students. Five of the 12 professors are women, making it one of the most diverse departments in the country.
UC Merced’s physics group focuses on three main areas – biological physics; condensed matter and materials physics; and atomic, molecular and optical physics – that connect to each other, allowing for collaborations that approach problems from distinct perspectives.
“We have a very focused goal in mind in who we’re hiring and what we’re going toward,” professor Sayantani Ghosh said. “Whoever we try to recruit can see several possibilities for collaborations. They like the idea that we have so much interdisciplinary research in our university. “
For example, some of the materials research has applications in biophysics, and all the researchers studying condensed matter use lasers to understand the physical properties, Ghosh said.
Doctoral student beats odds
The odds were stacked against Ruben Rodriguez.
When the 27-year-old UC Merced student was still in high school, he was confronted with the sobering statistic that Latinos receive only 5 percent of all doctorates awarded.
“That’s always stayed with me,” said Rodriguez, who was born in Mexico and came to the United States when he was 9.
During his senior year in high school, he missed the application deadline for the University of California schools. UC Merced extended its deadline and his English teacher insisted he apply, making it part of his homework.
It worked out for Rodriguez.
He was one of the university’s first undergraduates, graduating in 2010, and he’s working toward his doctorate in quantitative and systems biology, researching the molecular causes of obesity and diabetes.
“I’ve been lucky,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of great mentors who gave me good advice and pushed me to excel. I wouldn’t be here without them.”
Faculty members such as professor Rudy Ortiz have been especially influential to Rodriguez. While taking one of Ortiz’s nutrition classes, Rodriguez was asked to help with research in his lab, which fueled his interest in studying obesity.
As an undergrad, Rodriguez wrote and published a paper on the health and diet of high school students, monitoring such things as body mass index, blood pressure and eating activities of students at several schools in Merced County.
As an undergraduate and graduate student at UC Merced, Rodriguez has attended numerous conferences. He’s also traveled to Japan to research the effects of hormones in cardiovascular and renal diseases.
Some of Rodriguez’s research in diabetes and obesity has taken on deeper meaning, as it relates to the primarily Latino and Hmong populations in the San Joaquin Valley. His mother is diabetic, as well.
Most of all, though, Rodriguez sees himself as a potential influence for other Latino students to not only go to college, but to also engage in the sciences. He helped establish the UC Merced chapter of the Society for Advancement of Hispanics/Chicanos and Native Americans in Science.
“Ultimately, I like helping people,” he said, adding that he hopes to inspire students the same way he was inspired by his professors. “Getting a Ph.D. is the best path to take for that. I can teach and research and help people through my discoveries.”
UC Merced Connect is a collection of news items written by the University Communications staff. To contact them, email communications@ucmerced.edu.
This story was originally published December 2, 2014 at 6:01 PM with the headline "UC Merced Connect: Physics group focuses on innovation."