The Goldwater Scholarship Program, one of the oldest and most prestigious national scholarships, seeks to identify, encourage, and financially support college sophomores and juniors who show promise of becoming the next generation of research leaders in natural sciences, engineering, and mathematics.

鈥淭his scholarship is valuable to me in that it will support my undergraduate studies while providing me with the opportunity to connect with other Goldwater Scholars as I prepare for the next stage of my education,鈥� Carpenter said.

Claire Kervin, assistant professor of English and director of fellowships advising, worked with Carpenter to prepare his application.

鈥淭he Goldwater Scholarship recognizes Joseph’s impressive academic accomplishments and his outstanding potential to become a leader in scientific research,鈥� Kervin said.

In 2019, Willa Dworschack 鈥�20, a physics major from Soldiers Grove, Wisconsin, was named a Goldwater Scholar. She was doing research in atomic and molecular optics.

In 2020, Travis Dillon 鈥�21, a mathematics major, earned the Goldwater honor for his significant math research both on and off campus.

Eclipse Livestream

Livestream will begin on April 8, at 12:20 p.m. Central.

Pickett is a junkie for all things celestial. She has focused much of her academic research on the formation of solar systems. Before joining the 麻豆影院 faculty in 2006, she worked as a research associate at NASA鈥檚 Ames Research Center in California. She teaches about celestial histories, delivered a 2021 Convocation address on protecting the night sky, and periodically holds court on Main Hall Green to teach anyone willing to listen about the wonders of star gazing.

The total eclipse of 2017 was her first, viewed from St. Louis. In that one, the path of totality swept across the contiguous United States from northwest to southwest.听Pickett called it a 鈥渕oving, deeply transcendent moment鈥� and said she cried.

鈥淚 suspect I will again,鈥� she said.

This year鈥檚 total eclipse鈥攊t will be the last one visible from the lower 48 states until 2044鈥攚ill move southwest to northeast across the U.S., from Texas to Maine. To experience all the stages of the total solar eclipse, you will need to view it from somewhere along the path of totality that is no more than 115 miles wide.

Hence, Pickett鈥檚 trip to Austin, complete with gear to livestream the whole thing.

In Appleton, the sun will be 85% covered at maximum totality, at about 2:08 p.m., Pickett said.

鈥淏ecause our eyes are not great detectors of light level changes, and because the light changes slowly over the two-hour eclipse time鈥攁llowing our pupils to gradually dilate as the partial eclipse occurs鈥攙iewers in Appleton will not notice a significant dimming unless they go outside at 20-minute intervals,鈥� she said.听

No one should look directly at the sun during the partial eclipse, Pickett said.

鈥淵our eyes will automatically and reflexively close to protect you should you glance at it, as they do every day,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd you should never look through binoculars or a telescope at the sun without a proper filter on the device itself.听 An alternative, and much safer, method for viewing the eclipse is to project the image.听In fact, the holes in leaves and between leaves in a tree will all act like pinhole cameras and project an image of the crescent sun on the ground during the eclipse.鈥�

For those viewing from the path of totality, it鈥檒l be a different experience. Here鈥檚 what Pickett said people can expect:

鈥淔or those lucky enough to get to totality, the sun鈥檚 surface will be blocked for about three minutes, depending on how close you are to the center line of the eclipse,鈥� Pickett said. 鈥淒uring totality, it is perfectly safe to look at the sun with your eyes or other devices.听

鈥淎s totality approaches, viewers will feel a noticeable cooling as they see the shadow of the moon sweep across the horizon toward them.听Ducks land for what they think is the evening; birds start their evening song, and crickets will chirp.听The sky becomes noticeably dark to the human eye at around 99% coverage.听

鈥淎t totality, some of the brightest stars may be visible; Jupiter and Venus will be easily seen鈥擩upiter to the east and Saturn to the west. In addition to the planets, Comet Pons-Brooks (12P), called the 鈥榙evil comet鈥� for its violent activity, will be approaching perihelion and quite close to Jupiter.听The sky doesn鈥檛 become completely dark鈥攖here鈥檚 a pearly iridescence near the horizon as you are surrounded by a 鈥榮unset鈥� caused by the moon鈥檚 shadow.听The sun is also near its peak activity cycle, so viewers may be treated to reddish, arching prominences from the sun that appear from behind the lunar limb.

鈥淎nd then, quite suddenly, it鈥檚 over,鈥� Pickett continued. 鈥淭he next total solar eclipse to appear in the U.S. won鈥檛 be for another 20 years.鈥�

This eclipse will differ from 2017 in a significant way鈥攊ts path crosses multiple metropolitan areas, including San Antonio, Dallas, and Austin in Texas, Little Rock in Arkansas, Carbondale in Illinois, Indianapolis in Indiana, Dayton, Toledo, and Cleveland in Ohio, Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse in New York, and Burlington in Vermont.听Pickett said about 32 million people live along this path, and the federal government is estimating that 3 to 4 million people will travel to points along the path of totality. 鈥淚 highly recommend people go see this,鈥� Pickett said.听鈥淚n my hometown in Rochester, schools and grocery stores are closing, people are taking the day off.听Just be aware that travel time anywhere to the path of totality will be long. When I saw the 2017 eclipse, I was in bumper-to-bumper traffic for five hours.鈥�

Pickett will begin her livestream from the beginning of the eclipse to just after totality. In Austin, the eclipse will be visible from 1:32 to 1:41 p.m. CST. Those in Austin will experience about 1 minute and 46 seconds of the total solar eclipse at about 1:36 p.m.听

The past nine months have been particularly exciting for Weber. Starting in June 2023, she dove into summer research developing an open-source microscope. Her research centered around how to bring research-grade microscopy into the classroom by making it more cost-effective.听

Components of the microscope were either 3D printed, courtesy of the 麻豆影院 University Makerspace, or created with easily accessible software. The replicability of the microscope makes it ideal for an undergraduate setting.听

鈥淏ecause it is mostly 3D printed, we鈥檙e able to present it to other schools, and they can make it easily, so that sharing the knowledge is the goal,鈥� Weber said.听

“I really liked the puzzle aspect of physics, and the desire to find out more about the world and figure out how it worked.鈥�听
– Grace Weber, physics major

Weber had an exciting opportunity to share her knowledge when she and her co-worker, Joseph Carpenter, a junior math and physics major from Minneapolis, received a grant from the Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium (WSGC) to fund their continued research and work on the microscope. It also came with an opportunity to give a presentation at the Wisconsin Space Conference in August 2023.听听

鈥淏eing able to share the research that I had done really helped me prepare for my future and brought me a lot of excitement,鈥� Weber said.听

Video:

Doug Martin, associate professor of physics and Weber鈥檚 academic advisor, said working with her on the microscope has been a privilege.听听

鈥淕race has found a great balance between listening for foundational ideas and diving in to move the project ahead,鈥� Martin said. 鈥淚 look forward to each microscope meeting, wondering, 鈥榳hat will Grace bring today? How many steps ahead is she already?鈥� I鈥檓 really excited to see what Grace does next.鈥澨�

Thanks to her high school credits and her fall semester study abroad experience in Amsterdam, Weber鈥檚 next step is to graduate 麻豆影院 in three years. Spending a semester abroad鈥攃ompared to 麻豆影院鈥檚 trimester schedule鈥攁llowed her to accrue more credits.听听

Studying abroad in Amsterdam also allowed Weber to embrace the liberal arts foundation of a 麻豆影院 education鈥攅xploring new academic fields and experiencing different world views.听听

鈥淚 did more social science, humanities, trying to broaden my horizons,鈥� Weber said. 鈥淚 was able to take a lot of classes about Dutch culture and general different views than I would have learned about in America.鈥澨�

Upon her return to the States, Weber took her research a step further. As part of her senior project, she is working on making the microscope capable of 3D imaging. By modifying the microscope lenses, she can code it to track a particle in three dimensions.听听

Looking to the future, Weber plans to attend graduate school at the University of Minnesota, where she will study medical physics.听听听

The medical physics field, Weber said, works with coding various pieces of medical equipment, such as linear accelerators, MRI scanners, and ultrasounds.听

鈥淚 want to, in the future, hopefully be a clinical medical physicist where I鈥檇 be able to work with cancer patients and create treatment plans,鈥� Weber said.听

After more than a dozen years playing cello, Smith said he found the perfect balance at 麻豆影院. Drawn to the theoretical, math-heavy side of physics, switching focus from music to math was the right choice, he said. But that yearning to stay connected to his music didn鈥檛 go away.

鈥淭hat is why I like 麻豆影院; I can participate in everything without having to be in the Conservatory,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淚鈥檓 taking lessons, I鈥檓 going to studio, I鈥檓 in a bunch of chamber groups鈥擨鈥檓 in the Con and I鈥檓 not.鈥�

More about Concerto Competition co-winner Annika Schmidt: cello and linguistics

For the past year, Smith has focused his music on a single work: Ernest Bloch’s Cello Concerto. He will perform it in the March 8 LSO concert. It is fully titled Schelomo: Rhapsodie H茅bra茂que for Violoncello and Orchestra; the immense title is matched by music of similar complexity.

鈥淚t鈥檚 unlike any other cello concerto that鈥檚 been written,鈥� Smith said. “At least to me it is听different than a lot of the standard repertoire that cellists play. … It鈥檚 kind of melismatic and, I wouldn鈥檛 say atonal, but uses a lot of dissonance and tension and release.鈥�

Instead of a melody focus, the cellist works with the orchestra to evoke various moods. Despite Bloch鈥檚 original plan for a vocal soloist, Smith finds the work highly idiomatic for the cello.

鈥淚t was really written with cello in mind,鈥� he said. “It’s听just satisfying to play; there are a lot of very expressive sections where you can take as much time as you want and play with every aspect of it. There is听a lot of creative freedom you can have.鈥�

Among the concerto鈥檚 standout features is its emphasis on despair and pain. Oftentimes these emotions are alternated rapidly, which takes careful musicality to pull off.

鈥淚鈥檝e never really played a piece that was written like this鈥攚ith more melismatic and chromatic themes in it鈥攕o I think the hardest part was memorizing it,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淚t was a nightmare to memorize.鈥�

Among Bloch鈥檚 most famous works, the Swiss composer wrote it in 1915 and 1916, just before leaving for America. It was the culmination of his 鈥淛ewish Cycle,鈥� where he sought to understand his personal and religious identity by composing with his own conception of Jewish music.

It is a personal piece for Smith, too, having been well-known to him since childhood.

鈥淚 loved this piece as a kid,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 listened to it on an iPod鈥攐ne of those ancient Apple iPods鈥攖o go to sleep.鈥�

The piece has been on his repertoire wish list for many years.

Smith has plans to study physics in graduate school but will not abandon the cello along the way, he said.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 see myself ever putting the cello down,鈥� he said.

Gupta received his fellowship in social psychology. Working toward his Ph.D. at Stanford University, Gupta is looking to apply social psychological insights to social problems through theory-driven research related to issues of discrimination, bias, and prejudice.

Gupta鈥檚 work after graduating from 麻豆影院 has focused on developing and evaluating evidence-based intervention programs for young people, particularly in 6th through 12th grade. These programs use community engagement opportunities and curriculum to encourage marginalized and/or disadvantaged children to find their voice and use it within their communities. Gupta is continuing this work as he develops the theory behind it.听

Gupta focused on honing his research skills in the years between 麻豆影院 and Stanford. After 麻豆影院, he began work at the Center for Social Development and Education at UMass-Boston as a research assistant. He then worked as a research coordinator for the Lifting the Bar Project at Stanford with Dr. Greg Walton鈥檚 lab. For Gupta, these work experiences not only developed his knowledge of interdisciplinary research methods but were instrumental in broadening his ideas about the application of social psychology theories to solving pressing social problems.

Gupta traces the building of this foundation to his time at 麻豆影院. The two-class Research Methods series with psychology professors Peter Glick and Matt Ansfield gave him the tools to put his questions about the world into research. Gupta developed strong relationships with his professors: Glick would later mentor him through his honors thesis and act as a reference for his NSF application. 听

鈥淚 feel like that鈥檚 really unique about 麻豆影院 鈥� not just working in a lab but building a solid relationship with a professor and working closely with them to answer questions that are important to you,鈥� he said.听

For Gupta, who grew up in a predominantly white Wisconsin community, social psychology is the framework he uses to ask questions about his experiences in society and the toolbox he uses to find the answers. He said he鈥檚 passionate about sharing these tools with others for the betterment of themselves, each other, and their communities.听

Ada Stelzer 鈥�21

Stelzer received her fellowship in mathematics. As she works toward her Ph.D. at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, she鈥檚 working to answer questions about complex polynomial equations. She is studying Schubert calculus, which aims to find points of intersection between surfaces in large numbers of dimensions. Because these surfaces are so abstract, she’s using something called Groebner geometry to relate them to simpler coordinate planes. The process is similar to polynomial long division.

Stelzer鈥檚 work as an undergrad at 麻豆影院, particularly her independent study in Groebner geometry, led her to Schubert calculus in graduate school.

鈥淭here was a lot of room to do what you wanted,鈥� Stelzer said of her time at 麻豆影院. 鈥淢y senior year, my friend Travis (Dillon 鈥�21) and I organized a math colloquium series where we and others took turns giving talks on our favorite subjects. At a big school, we wouldn鈥檛 have been able to do that.鈥�

.

Studying in the liberal arts allowed Stelzer to pursue linguistic anthropology, creative writing, and choir alongside mathematics. She said that variety of study has had a positive influence on her teaching style.

Stelzer is excited to make an impact in the mathematics field. For her, working on a problem is a connection of more than numbers.

鈥淲hen you use someone else鈥檚 result, it鈥檚 kind of like you鈥檙e holding hands across time,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hen you understand, it鈥檚 like you talk to each other, even though they were living 200 years ago.鈥�

Sarabeth Brandt ’21

Brandt received her grant in electrical engineering. Currently a Ph.D. student at Pennsylvania State University, Brandt is working to develop a tool to monitor and study ground-nesting bees.

She is studying ground-piercing radar to develop this tool. Typically, these radar systems are used for larger surveys, such as finding pipes underground.

鈥淢y goal is to take that idea and push it a bit further by looking for these small nest cells,鈥� Brandt said. 鈥淭he idea is to use the electromagnetic properties of the nest cells 鈥� to identify them against their environment.鈥�

Brandt is trying to pinpoint squash bee nests. Squash bees, which have evolved along Pennsylvania squash plants, are especially effective pollinators of squash. Unlike honeybees, they nest individually and are inactive for most of the year, making it difficult to research them or track their population. Brandt said a tool like the one she鈥檚 developing would allow researchers to assess the bees鈥� state of population decline and make it easier to answer questions about the bees鈥� impact on squash plants.

Brandt found her passion for this project through a research program at Penn State called Drawdown while an undergrad at 麻豆影院. The program, taking place remotely in the summer of 2020, was focused on research toward climate solutions. Brandt worked with electrical engineers and etymologists to predict insects鈥� reactions to electromagnetic waves.

A physics major at 麻豆影院, Brandt found the liberal arts education made it easier to think outside of her field, which was invaluable at Drawdown. She credits 麻豆影院 with developing her skills in writing concisely, noting the positive comments about her writing on her application.

鈥淪eeking out unique opportunities can send you down really fun and interesting paths,鈥� Brandt said.

Hilt, professor of psychology, received the Excellence in Scholarship & Creative Activity Award.

She returned to her alma mater in 2011 and has done impressive scholarly work in the field of psychology. A licensed clinical psychologist, much of Hilt鈥檚 research has focused on adolescent depression, rumination, and self-injury. She has been lauded in scholarly and popular media for research that combines the insights of clinical psychology and neuroscience. It is research that her colleagues have called 鈥渓ife-changing, indeed, potentially life-saving,鈥� said Peter Blitstein, provost and dean of faculty.

鈥淭he influence of your research, well-funded by the National Institutes of Health among other sources, is more than matched by its significance,鈥� Blitstein said in a citation presented to Hilt.

Megan Pickett

Pickett, associate professor of physics, received the Excellence in Teaching Award.

She joined the 麻豆影院 faculty in 2006 and has been a passionate and accomplished teacher of astrophysics. She has contributed to the redesign of the introductory physics curriculum, has led First-Year Studies, and has been innovative in celebrating the joys of science. Colleagues and students have spoken of Pickett鈥檚 鈥渋nfectious鈥� wonderment of science.

鈥淢any of us have met you on days when you appear before your class in costume portraying unrecognized scientists of the past,鈥� Blitstein said in a citation presented to Pickett. 鈥淎nd you have introduced the Science of Superheroes to the 麻豆影院 curriculum.鈥�

Elizabeth Sattler

Sattler, assistant professor of mathematics, received the Early Career Teaching Award.

She has been a member 麻豆影院鈥檚 mathematics faculty since 2018. She has collaborated with colleagues to revise the calculus sequence and develop a course in discrete mathematics. Sattler also is co-developing a course for the Summer Institute, Starting STEM-Savvy, demonstrating a commitment to developing students鈥� quantitative skills at all levels.

鈥淵our colleagues recognize your dedication and excellence as a teacher, describing you as a 鈥榮uperb鈥� instructor with 鈥榝antastic鈥� pedagogical instincts,鈥� Blitstein said in presenting Sattler her citation.

Megan Pickett, associate professor of physics, will lead 麻豆影院鈥檚 part of the project, working with two summer research students. It鈥檚 an extension of ongoing efforts to improve STEM studies at the introductory level, part of a previous $1 million grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) through their Science Education Program.

鈥淏y working with three different institutions, we will be able to pool a large data set on the effects of our educational interventions through different populations of students,鈥� Pickett said of the NSF grant. 鈥淎n underlying goal for all our work in improving the recruitment, inclusion, and retention of student populations that are typically under-represented in physics鈥攁 key goal of our previous efforts with the HHMI grant.听This new NSF grant is a logical next step in that work and keeps the momentum moving.鈥�

At 麻豆影院, the new grant will fund summer research, including salary, travel, publication, and equipment for a faculty member and two students over the next three years. The research will focus on deepening the conceptual understanding and problem-solving strategies in physics.

鈥淭he work will be applied locally by modifying key aspects of our Physics 141 class, already a testbed for improved strategies for inclusion and sense of belonging,鈥� Pickett said. 鈥淩esearch students will participate in the design and analysis of our teaching tools and results.鈥�

Pickett partnered with Nobel Rebello and Carina Rebello at Purdue and Tianlong Zu鈥攆ormerly of 麻豆影院鈥攁t Jackson State in pursuit of the grant.

The grant for the project, titled Retrieval Practice Scaffolded Argumentation to Facilitate Problem Solving on Structured and Semi-Structures Tasks in Introductory Undergraduate Physics, is part of the NSF鈥檚 Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE) and the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) program.

鈥淭his continues our department鈥檚 long commitment to innovative teaching strategies, especially at the introductory physics level, where many students face challenges based on both the subject and their past experiences with it,鈥� Pickett said.听

There is a two-pronged strategy at work, she said. First, the grant will allow for research into teaching methods aimed at increasing the ability of beginning physics students to understand, solve, and assess physics problems that are relevant to their lives. Second, the grant provides an opportunity for 麻豆影院 students interested in educational research in physics.

鈥淥ne of our goals in the department has been to open many different pathways through the major, and one that we have wanted to expand for some time includes opportunities for students who plan to be STEM educators,鈥� Pickett said.

Think of a hot cup of coffee left on a desk eventually coming to the same temperature as the air in the office鈥攖hat is the process of thermal equilibration, Stoneking said. Laboratory plasmas鈥攊onized or electrically conducting gases鈥攁re typically much hotter than the container鈥攗sually a vacuum chamber with a magnetic field鈥攊n which they are confined. The difference in temperature is a source of instability that is seen in almost all plasma experiments and causes the plasma to be lost to the container walls as part of the process of thermal equilibration. Non-neutral plasmas are unusual because they can, in special circumstances, be well-confined at the same temperature as their surroundings.

Stoneking鈥檚 project seeks to explore whether such well-confined states can be achieved in more complicated magnetic traps. This will help to understand the basic physics that leads to thermal equilibrium and allow scientists to create other interesting plasmas such as matter鈥揳ntimatter plasmas.

鈥淭he theorists tell us if we can make the mass of the negatively and positively charged particles the same, there鈥檚 a chance we could make a very quiet, well-confined plasma that would not exhibit these wild instabilities,鈥� Stoneking said. 鈥淥ur aim is to test that prediction and predictions related to that kind of system.鈥�

This continues research Stoneking has already been deeply involved with, both in the labs of Youngchild Hall and in Germany. The project started in Germany in 2012, with Stoneking joining that research team in 2015.

The new experiment that will be built with support from the NSF grant will happen on the 麻豆影院 campus. In addition to the needed equipment, the funding will allow two 麻豆影院 students to work in the lab each of the next three summers.

Those students will get hands-on experience in the research, may have opportunities to join Stoneking at the Max Planck Institute in Germany, and will get opportunities to present their work at physics conferences.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 vital preparation for students who have ambitions to go on to do graduate school in physics or engineering,鈥� Stoneking said. 鈥淗aving some research experience is key.鈥�

Having a full-time post-doc research assistant join the team at 麻豆影院 for the next two years is also significant, he said. It will enhance the productivity of the project and will provide additional guidance to student interns.

鈥淲e鈥檒l have more going on that students will be aware of and able to participate in,鈥� Stoneking said. 鈥淭o have another person here with a Ph.D. in physics and just out of grad school, that will bring a lot of energy and enthusiasm.鈥�

Stoneking, who holds a bachelor鈥檚 degree from Carleton College and a doctorate in physics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said the 麻豆影院 Physics Department, of which he鈥檚 now the chair, has long made it a priority to carve out research opportunities for students. This will only grow those efforts.

鈥淲e鈥檝e had good success in our department with sending our graduates on to high-quality graduate programs,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think the reason they鈥檝e been competitive is in part they鈥檝e been able to show serious research experience. Some of our students will do research with one of us, but some of them will have a research experience somewhere else through another NSF-funded research program for undergraduates. It鈥檚 something we talk actively with them about and encourage them to think about those options. And we make sure we provide them with the kind of classroom instruction, as well as professional mentoring, to give them an idea whether this might be something they want to do.鈥�