Get to know a physics major

Bennett Korotko is a senior Theoretical Physics and Applied Mathematics (TPAM) major supported by the Mulcahy fellowship from Troy, Michigan. 

What have you enjoyed about ÎçÒ¹AV? ÎçÒ¹AV students come from all different places and backgrounds, which allows me to meet a ton of very different people. Additionally, the low student-to-faculty ratio allows for a lot of contact time with my professors, which helps me further my learning.

What interested you about physics? Physics is fascinating in that there's always going to be new physics to study as we progress towards a more complete understanding of the universe. In every corner there's always some little bit that we don't (or won't) understand, and this is part of what drives me to continue working on these issues. Making incremental progress on these problems is endlessly rewarding.

What research have you done and in what labs? I'm currently working on two projects. The first is here at ÎçÒ¹AV under Dr. Tangarife, where we're studying how information in non-commutative theories evolves near the event horizon of a black hole through the Anti-de Sitter / Conformal Field Theory (AdS/CFT) duality. My second project is under Prof. Eric Thrane, Prof. Paul Lasky, and Dr. Sharan Banagiri at Monash University in Melbourne, where we're studying the cross-contamination between gamma-ray burst progenitors. This is the continuation of my summer Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) project funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and organized by the University of Florida.

What do you enjoy outside of class? Outside of class, I enjoy playing and watching sports, film photography, playing my saxophone, and going on miscellaneous adventures with my friends.

What are your post-ÎçÒ¹AV plans? I'll soon be applying to Ph.D. programs in gravitational physics, theoretical high-energy particle physics, and astrophysics.

Do you have any advice for incoming physics students? Make sure that your math skills are solid, ask questions both in and out of the classroom, and start all your homework EARLY!!