Tufts Blogs

Hi! My name is Jed, I’m a senior at Tufts University. Over my four years here I’ve tried to be involved in many groups and activities ranging from Men’s Rugby to Freeform Radio, but its always been my academic community that has defined my experience. I am an Astrophysics major. Throughout my time at Tufts I’ve done research on distant galaxies and studied the interiors of stars, all the while coming to understand what it means to be a student of physics and astronomy.

A physics education is supposed to give you a deeper and more meaningful understanding of the world around you. Besides applications in engineering and technology, reducing the observable world to fundamental laws is compelling for a few reasons. First off, there is profound beauty in the way the language of mathematics guides physics. At a glance, the word “beauty” may seem out of place in the study of physics. But I find physics evocative in much the same way that the works of Monet or Picasso compel emotion. Following the formulation of rational thought down to concision - wrapping up hours, days or even years of work to a single statement - is awe-inspiring and beautiful.

Tufts University hosts a diverse Physics and Astronomy group. From high energy to high redshift, faculty, graduate and undergraduate research spans a wide range. The Physics and Astronomy Department allows you to focus your study by participating in research and interacting with the people at its forefront. Are you interested in the basic building blocks of all matter: elementary particles? Look to Professor Gallagher and Professor Beauchemin for topics on experimental high-energy physics. Perhaps you are interested in not the smallest this universe has to offer, but the largest. If so, check in with research teams focused on galactic and extragalactic evolution lead by Professors Sajina and Marchesini (you’ll find me there as well)! For the past two years I have been doing research within extragalactic astrophysics, particularly focusing on some of the most prolific star factories to ever exist. What’s incredible is that we can actually point to a specific epoch in the history of the universe when galaxies were creating more stars than at any other period. Unfortunately due to factors such as extreme distances and envelopes of gas and dust, actually resolving these galaxies is challenging. For these reasons we use a combination of empirical evidence and statistically rigorous computer simulations to determine the underlying evolutionary properties of these fascinating and unique galactic populations. Before coming to Tufts, I thought breaking into the field of research would be daunting. But the process is made easy and exciting at Tufts because of our friends and peers in Physics and Astronomy.

At Tufts, to go deeper into your Physics education is to befriend your professors and peers. We are a close, connected and collaborative community that works between undergraduates, graduates, post-doctoral fellows and faculty alike. Friday’s Physics Colloquium brings the entire department together for coffee and sweets before guest lecturers from around the country present on fascinating and innovative contemporary research. I chose Tufts for its community, and be that on the rugby pitch or in the research lab, this community has always defined my experience.