About

Mission Statement

As a group of elected representatives of the graduate student body, we actively maintain & improve the overall well-being of physics graduate students. To achieve this we organize professional workshops, social events, and mental health seminars as well as listening to and advocating for graduate student concerns.

Annual Goals

  1. Provide resources for students in their career progression. We will host monthly talks from alumni in different career paths/stages during the academic year. In the summer we will host workshops on graduate student progression (Candidacy, Dissertation, writing papers, conference preparation).
  2. Provide avenues to express and address concerns.  We will host semesterly meditation sessions and town halls. We will also connect students to the various graduate department committees.
  3. Provide opportunities for social interaction among graduate students. For social events, we will host biweekly networking sessions with snacks, monthly movie nights, and semesterly graduating student celebrations. Over the summer, we will host a picnic and continue to host movie nights.

About Us

Katherine Schwind

“I am a third year graduate student in Dr. Linda Carpenter’s group. My research is focused on high energy phenomenology. I went to the University of Oklahoma for undergrad, where I majored in physics and music. For fun, I enjoy reading, playing the harp, baking, and doing crafts of all sorts.”

 

Nagananda Krishnamurthy

“I am a second-year graduate student. I work in Prof. Nandini Trivedi’s group and my research is in Condensed Matter Theory. Before joining OSU, I completed by BS-MS Dual Degree from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Pune. In my free time, I like to listen to music, read, play the violin, and go on long walks.”

Nihar Dalal

“I’m a 2nd year Physics PhD Student, working with Professor Chris Hirata. My research is primarily concerned with understanding dark energy, the mysterious force that is causing our universe to expand at an accelerating rate. I was born in New Hampshire, spent some time in India, but have lived in Phoenix, Arizona for most of my life. I did my undergrad at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, majoring in both math and physics. Outside of research, I really love playing board games and video games, going to concerts, watching movies, and as of recently, bouldering! Come find me at trivia night or board game night, my two favorite PGSC events!”

Poulomi Chakraborty

“I am a third-year physics graduate student working in theoretical condensed matter physics with Prof. Brian Skinner. I am from West Bengal, India, and received my Bachelor’ and Master’s degrees from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. Other than physics, my interests include books (mainly classics and fiction), traveling to new places, learning new languages, and exploring museums. As an extrovert, I  love hanging out with friends and am up for an exciting conversation anytime.”

 

Suriyaa Valliapan Ramanathan

“I am a second year graduate student working on Condensed Matter Theory in Dr. Ilya Gruzberg’s group. I was born and brought up in Coimbatore (best city on the planet), India. I finished my undergraduate at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras. I enjoy playing piano, soccer and taking walks with western classical music.  “

 

Dheeraj Sapkota

(First Year Representative)

I am a first-year physics graduate student, interested in working on experimental condensed matter physics. I am originally from Nepal and have completed my first MS in Physics from Tribhuvan University in Nepal. In 2023 summer, I graduated with my second MS in Physics from the University of Minnesota Duluth. Other than physics, I like to go hiking, biking, and fishing in summer and would love to go snowboarding and skiing in winter if someone could teach me.