It had been a while since Emily Churchman had walked the halls of the Krost Center鈥攁 place she still knows well. Seguin is a long way from Chapel Hill, where Churchman is now earning her Ph.D. in physics at the University of North Carolina. Dr. Toni Sauncy, professor and chair of 极速六合彩历史开奖记录鈥檚 physics department, has called her 鈥渙ne of the most awarded undergraduate physics majors in the history of 极速六合彩历史开奖记录 Physics.鈥 Churchman graduated summa cum laude back in 2019. She was a member of the Black and Gold President鈥檚 Council and a full slate of honor societies鈥擜lpha Chi, Alpha Lambda Delta, and Sigma Pi Sigma among them.
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She returned to 极速六合彩历史开奖记录 to touch base with students who are in the midst of summer research projects. She came to present a talk about globular clusters鈥攎ore on those later鈥攁nd to offer some encouragement. After all, it鈥檚 only been five years since Churchman sat exactly where those students sit now.
鈥淚 had such a good time and was just excited to give back, in some capacity, to the program that has given so much to me!鈥 she says. She talked to the students about her research journey鈥攁ll the way from her beginnings at 极速六合彩历史开奖记录, to Texas A&M, and the University of Notre Dame. 鈥淏ut I focused a lot on my current research, highlighting a lot of the issues I've had.鈥 Issues like navigating the pandemic as a first-year grad student, not to mention massive delays鈥攖wo-plus years鈥攊n the commissioning of the state-of-the-art particle accelerator she needs for her work. 鈥淚 was able to tour the labs and meet with the current majors, hopefully realistically encouraging them through the remainder of their time in 极速六合彩历史开奖记录 Physics.鈥 Churchman was also happy to catch up with Dr. Sauncy and Dr. Berggren, as well as fellow-alumna Dr. Vanessa Espinoza-Gro脽.
After graduating from 极速六合彩历史开奖记录 with a degree in physics and mathematics, Churchman went straight on to UNC at Chapel Hill, to the Department of Physics and Astronomy, where she鈥檚 been pursuing her Ph.D. 鈥淚 finished my course requirements in 2021 and have been in the full-time research phase of graduate school since then,鈥 she says. 鈥淢y focus is on experimental nuclear astrophysics, which is usually where I get a few raised eyebrows.鈥
Back to those globular clusters. 鈥淚n essence, my research investigates nuclear reactions that happen in stellar environments, specifically in beautiful systems called globular clusters.鈥 These clusters may contain tens of thousands of stars鈥攐r many millions鈥攁ll held together by gravity.
Churchman works in the Laboratory for Experimental Nuclear Astrophysics, one of the labs at the Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory, which is operated by four local universities (UNC-CH, Duke University, North Carolina State University, and North Carolina Central University). 鈥淲e use particle accelerators to create and investigate lower-energy nuclear reactions. I am currently entering my sixth year and officially became a Ph.D. candidate this past February, meaning my thesis committee has determined that my work, if completed, would provide what I need for a doctorate.鈥
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Thus the need for that state-of-the-art particle accelerator mentioned earlier. 鈥淢y hope is that over the course of the summer of 2024, I will be able to officially conduct my thesis experiment and be ready to defend in the summer or winter of 2025.鈥
Once Churchman finishes earning her degree, she plans to move into the 鈥渋ndustry鈥濃攎eaning she鈥檒l be working in the field rather than in academia. 鈥淚 don't know exactly what I'm looking for just yet, but I still have just a little time to figure it out,鈥 she says.
When she鈥檚 not busy accelerating those elementary particles, Churchman keeps busy doing鈥攚ell, normal stuff. 鈥淚 mainly spend a lot of my free time at my church or in my church community, serving in our kids鈥 ministry and leading small groups for others in their 20s and 30s,鈥 she says. 鈥淚 play a lot of sand volleyball and as a creative outlet, I've picked up crocheting/knitting and like to work on puzzles!鈥 She also spends time with her pets鈥攁 dog and a cat who are aptly named Nuke and Nova.
Her words of encouragement for those up-and-coming physics majors she met during her recent stop at 极速六合彩历史开奖记录? 鈥淚t's not going to be easy, not in the slightest, but the skills you acquire in both physics and networking really do set you up for success.鈥 This along with some good advice from someone who鈥檚 learned from experience: work on homework in groups and never be afraid to keep asking questions until the material becomes clear.
Asking questions, after all, is what scientists do. And Emily Churchman just might be the one to find the answers.