Physics &Astronomy Undergraduate Research
Undergraduates in the KU Physics and Astronomy department are having an impact on the world through their cutting-edge research.
Jayhawk Research Updates
2024 was a year of many accomplishments for our undergraduate researchers. Our students published papers, attended conferences across the country, used cutting-edge national and international facilities, won prestigious internal and external fellowships, and embarked on new graduate school journeys We are profoundly grateful for the support that makes all this possible!
Thanks to generous funds from donors in 2024, the department was able to support summer research fellowships for two outstanding undergraduate students. Kai Smith (class of `26) and Abishai Mathai (class of `26) both participated in summer research internships with faculty in our department. Abishai worked in Assistant Professor Dmitry Ovchinnikov’s lab on experimental condensed matter physics, while Kai worked in Assistant Professor Elisabeth Mills’ Nearby Galaxy Lab Both students completed 10 weeks of research and presented their findings at the department’s Undergraduate Symposium. Support from donors for these fellowships has also allowed both students to reach even greater heights of success. Abishai was accepted into a prestigious international research program at the National Institute for Materials Science in Japan for summer 2025, while Kai is one of KU’s four nominees for the Goldwater fellowship, and one of only 5 KU undergraduates selected to present his research at the state capitol for Kansas Undergraduate Research Day on February 26, 2025
2024 Jayhawk Undergraduate Summer Training (JUST) Fellows
2024 JUST Fellows. Left: Kai Smith (Class of `26), Right: Abishai Mathai (Class of `26)
“My success in research would not have been possible without the supportive environment fostered by the physics and astronomy department. The dedication of both professors and students creates a collaborative atmosphere that feels more like a family than just colleagues. I am especially grateful for the department’s Jayhawk Undergraduate Training Fellowship (JUST), which allowed me to dedicate my summer to research. This fellowship enabled me to treat research as a meaningful job rather than a financial burden.”
-Kai Smith, class of `26
“Receiving undergraduate research funding has been immensely helpful to me! As a full-time student, life can feel kind of expensive. Being a recipient of such a generous grant lets me fully dedicate myself to the science, so I cannot thank you enough!”
-Grant Saggars, class of `25
Undergraduate Research Accomplishments
Christian Argueta (class of `26): Recipient of the Courtwright Award for Undergraduate Research Excellence
Lucciana Caceres (class of `27): Awarded the 2024 US High Luminosity Large Hadron Collider CMS Detector Upgrade Essential Contribution Award for her work on the Forward Pixel Upgrade “For excellence in development and execution of the fabrication and qualification of TFPX elinks”
Lucciana Caceres (class of `27) pictured receiving her Essential Contribution Award (left) and conducting research in Professor Alice Bean’s lab.
Morgan Cassidy (class of `23): In 2024, Morgan published a paper in one of the highestimpact particle physics journals on her undergraduate research work with Professors Ian Lewis and KC Kong. Morgan is currently pursuing graduate studies at the University of Pittsburgh, as a 2023 NSF-GRFP fellow
Morgan Cassidy (class of `23), second from left, attending the seventh annual Particle Physics on the Plains Conference, which this year grew to 74 attendees and was hosted on the KU campus in November 2024.
Keaton Donaghue (class of `24): Recipient of a 2024 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF-GRFP) award, one of the most prestigious national awards for students beginning graduate school. Keaton is pursuing graduate studies in Astronomy at the University of Maryland
“I joined Dr. Ovchinnikov’s Condensed Matter Lab because I was eager to explore new materials and their potential applications in emerging computing hardware. Research, however, is far from a linear process. It has been full of twists, challenges, and unexpected setbacks. But with the guidance of an exceptional mentor, I’ve learned to navigate these obstacles and develop the mindset of an experimental scientist a skill that can’t be taught in a classroom. I am honored to have received the Feaster Scholarship and the JUST Fellowship from the Physics Department. These awards have allowed me to dedicate myself fully to research without the financial burden of juggling multiple jobs.”
-Abishai Mathai, class of `26
Joseph Hand (class of `25): Joseph was one of KU’s nominees for the Goldwater Scholarship in 2024. He also participated in an REU program at Yale University in Summer 2025 and has submitted a paper on his research project to a high-impact journal.
Thresa Kelly (class of `24): Recipient of a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF-GRFP) award. Thresa was also a KU nominee for the Goldwater Scholarship in 2023. Thresa is pursuing graduate studies at Rochester Institute of Technology.
Abishai Mathai (class of `26): Accepted into the Global Quantum Leap International Research Training Experience Program for Summer 2025
Kai Smith (class of `26): A KU nominee for the Goldwater Scholarship in 2025, and one of 5 KU students selected to present his research at Kansas Undergraduate Research Day
Yanzhe (Jenny) Zhang (class of `22): Co-authored a paper on her undergraduate research with Morgan Cassidy (class of `23) and Professors Ian Lewis and KC Kong. Yanzhe is pursuing graduate studies in Astronomy at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst
KU Undergraduate Research Awards (UGRA)
Spring/Summer 2024 Fall 2024
Spring/Summer 2025
Alex Guardiola (class of `26) Christian Argueta (class of `25) Evan Barkus (class of `25) Tom Huynh (class of `24) Brady Dunne (class of `25) Tyson Karl (class of `26) Jared Madsen (class of `26) Nicholas Georgiou (class of `25) Kris Ryan (class of `26) Tyson Karl (class of `26) Grant Saggars (class of `26)
Conferences
In December 2024, KU hosted the 52nd Mid-America Regional Astronomy Conference. More than 100 attendees from 16 institutions across 8 states gathered for a 2-day meeting of talks, posters, and discussion. The keynote lecture was given by Stuartt Corder (Class of `01), Deputy Director of NSF’s NOIRLab. Twenty-two KU undergraduates attended and presented their research.
Joseph Havens (class of `25), left, and Arish Ali (class of `25) attend the research poster session at the Mid-America Regional Astronomy Conference at KU in December 2024 .
“I find it very rewarding to work with the undergraduates. They're excited about research and very curious. I was an undergraduate at KU and worked with the theoretical particle physicist Prof. Douglas McKay on a senior thesis project in 20042005. Prof. McKay had joined KU in 1970 and had never worked with an undergraduate before. His willingness to work with his first undergraduate after being a professor for 34 years inspired me to go ahead and say yes when an undergraduate approached me about research.”
-Ian Lewis, KU Associate Professor and class of `05
Consider Giving
Continuing this summer, we aim to provide $5000 fellowships to more KU Physics & Astronomy majors. These fellowships enable undergraduates to fully participate in a 10-week research program with KU faculty without also needing to juggle a job. In 2024, we were able to offer two of these fellowships. We need your help to make our dream of supporting more students a reality. If you are interested in donating, please visit https://tinyurl.com/2keyn2jx
Mentorship Spotlight
Undergraduate research is not possible without the support of our exceptional faculty researchers, who devote their time and talent to training the next generation of scientists. Our faculty mentor students from across the college, in Physics and Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Engineering, and Math. Here, we highlight two of our exceptional mentors.
Assistant Professor Dmitry Ovchinnikov leads a team using state-of-the-art techniques to create and understand novel low-dimensional condensed matter systems In addition to his impressive success securing funding for his research (this year he received nearly $1 million from the DOE), Dmitry is an outstanding educator, who received our department’s 2024 undergraduate teacher of the year award. “Mentoring undergraduate students at the earliest stages of their careers and involving them in cutting-edge research is crucial because they can start thinking early on about what career paths to choose within multiple opportunities that STEM education could provide. Undergraduate research in Ovchinnikov lab is an immersive experience where students get involved in all stages of research, learn how to be independent and how to own their projects, get exposed to the academic culture with group meetings, reading papers, learning how to collaborate with their peers, and making discoveries in the fast-paced scientific environment.”
Associate Professor Ian Lewis is an international leader in the field of theoretical particle physics. His dedication to undergraduate research is unusual in his field, which tends to focus on graduate student research, and he is currently supervising three undergraduate students: Sean Miller (class of `27), Isabella Estes (class of `28), and Zoee Zhou (class of `25). “Theoretical particle physicists aren't in the habit of working with undergraduates. Our group is a standout in that regard, and we have had very good luck publishing with them. I've graduated three undergrads and published with all of them My approach has been to do readings on classical field theory which is sufficient to understand a lot of the interactions of fundamental particles. From there, I've trained students on simulating collider events and analyzing them, with the help of one of our graduate students. Then we start a research project ”
Visit of DOE Undersecretary Dr. Geri Richmond (third from left) to the lab of Assistant Professor Dmitry Ovchinnikov (center). Pictured are undergraduate researchers Abishai Mathai (class of `26; second from right) and Darel Pates (class of `25; right).
Publication led by former undergraduate Morgan Cassidy (class of `23) with Professors Ian Lewis and KC Kong, and former undergraduate Yanzhe Zhang (class of `22).
