Program: Physics Specialist
Year of Study: 4

Why did you decide to major in Physics? What was your inspiration?

I was inspired by my friend Henry, who qualified for the International Physics Olympiad when we were in grade 10, and also my high school physics teacher Mr. Van Bemmel. Incidentally, his first name is also Henri. They showed me a ton of really cool stuff (including Morin’s Introduction to Classical Mechanics), and I’ve wanted to keep learning more physics ever since.

What do you enjoy most about the physics program?

I like how the physics program offers many easily accessible undergraduate research opportunities like the NSERC summer student program (which I did twice), SURF, and the supervised research courses. These were very valuable learning experiences for me.

What other extra-curricular activities are you involved in during your degree?

I have fond memories of the Putnam training club, where we solved difficult math contest problems at weekly meetings. It was still held in-person when I was in first year, and this club was where I made most of my friends. I also managed to get a half-decent score on the Putnam competition that year.

What are your research interests?

My main interests tend to fluctuate around condensed matter physics, general relativity, and high energy physics.

What is your favorite course and why?

PHY456 (Quantum Mechanics II) was fun; I thought Professor Erich Poppitz was hilarious. And now I finally know what a Clebsch-Gordan coefficient is.

I also want to mention PHY254 (Classical Mechanics). It was taught by Stephen Morris, who is not only a great lecturer, but the actual guy from the dominoes meme. I asked for his autograph, but he refused. So that’s why it’s only my second favourite.

What are your future plans?

I guess I’m going to graduate school for physics in the fall, and I’m not sure what happens after that. Honestly, thinking about things 10+ years in the future kind of scares me.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Oh, well in that case… I hope I will be doing something that I enjoy. It will probably involve physics research.

Tell me something interesting about yourself.

My hometown is Toronto, so you could say that I'm a ToronTonyAn.