GRADUATE PROGRAM IN
APPLIED PHYSICS
2023 Overview
GRADUATE PROGRAM IN
APPLIED PHYSICS
Affiliation:
2 Schools and 9 Departments
1
&
Physics &
Astronomy
Chemistry
Earth & Planetary
Sciences
Materials Science
Electrical and
Computer
Engineering
Biomedical
Engineering
Engineering Sciences and
Applied Mathematics
Computer Science
Mechanical
Engineering
Nate Stern
Lincoln Lauhon
Chris Jacobsen
McCormick
Co-Director
Weinberg
Co-Director
Director of
Graduate Studies
Clarence Morales
Program
Assistant
Pedram Khalili
Admissions
Chair
Program Team
Your contacts
3
Clarence Morales,
Program Assistant
Tech F237
(847) 491-5455
appliedphysics@northwestern.edu
Pedram Khalili,
Director of Graduate Studies
(847) 467-1035
pedram@northwestern.edu
Chris Jacobsen
Admissions Chair
847-467-2703
c-jacobsen@northwestern.edu
Maggie Quinn
MargaretQuinn2026@u.northwestern.edu
Gregor Dairaghi
GregorDairaghi2026@u.northwestern.edu
Emmanuel Aneke
eanek[email protected]ern.edu
Lawrence Rhoads
LawrenceRhoads202[email protected]rthwestern.edu
Student Council
Core Disciplines
Magnetism
Interface
Science
Structure and Self-
Organization of
Biological Molecules
Mineral Physics
Applied Quantum
Physics
Soft Condensed
Matter
Photonics
Collaborative Research
Centers and Institutes
Why become
an AP student at NU?
6
We need you:
your skills and talent, your unique ideas and perspective
Unique Research Opportunities
- interdisciplinary, multiple departments
- many faculty members (experiment, theory)
- new QIS centers
Start your own research early (second quarter!)
interact with AP students and faculty doing research
in a variety of disciplines
#1
#2
#3
Applying to NU Applied
Physics: Timeline
7
12/15/23
Applications
will receive
priority
review
12/31/23
Application deadline
holistic review
of applications
Offers starting
late Jan. 2024
First admission decisions
and offer letters to
accepted students
04/15/2024
Prospective student
decision deadline
Applying to NU Applied
Physics: Application
Content of your application
8
holistic
review
3 recommendation
letters
Academic
statement
transcripts
[GRE / GRE Physics]
Not required for applications submitted in 2023 for
fall 2024 enrollment
Personal
statement
Additional information
statement
Optional
60s video
to introduce yourself and briefly describe your research,
career interests and why Northwestern
Optional
Applying to NU Applied Physics:
Statement of Purpose
9
Tell your story!
The admissions committee and faculty want to get to know you
Why Applied Physics?
What inspires you? What drives you? What makes you different?
Mention faculty you might be interested in working with.
If applicable, mention any research experience.
Mention obstacles you faced,
and how you managed to overcome them.
Resilience and determination are strengths!
Program
Components & Goals
enable you
to become an
independent
researcher
prepare you for
and assist you in
planning and realizing
your
career plans
provide you
with a
solid foundation
in physics
PhD Timeline:
5-year program
11
1 2 3 4 5
10 required classes
Research
Spring Yr 1
Oral Qualifying Exam
Yr 2 - 4
Teaching Assistantship
Spring Yr 3
Thesis Proposal
Yr 3 - 5
AP Research Seminar
PhD Defense
• Career Exploration
• Leadership and
Management
• Speaking and Presenting
• Teaching
• Writing and Research
Professional Development
Applied Physics Faculty
- Biomedical Engineering
- Chemistry
- Computer Science
- Earth and Planetary Sciences
- Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics
- Materials Science and Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
- Physics and Astronomy
* As of Sept. 2023
~ 50 faculty members in:
Fall
MAT SCI 401: Chemical & Statistical Thermodynamics of Materials
or PHYS 416: Introduction to Statistical Mechanics (Winter Yr1)
PHYS 412-1: Quantum Mechanics
PHYS 411-1: Methods of Theoretical Physics
GEN ENG 519: Responsible Conduct of Research Training
Winter
PHYS 412-2: Quantum Mechanics
PHYS 414-1: Electrodynamics
PHYS 416-0: Introduction to Statistical Mechanics
or MAT SCI 401: Chemical & Statistical Thermodynamics of Materials
(Fall Yr1)
Spring
MAT SCI 405: Physics of Solids
or
PHYS 422-1: Condensed Matter Physics (Fall Yr2)
Fall
PHYS 422-1: Condensed Matter Physics
or
MAT SCI 405: Physics of Solids (Spring Yr1)
Fall or later
Computational Methods of Applied Physics
Experimental Methods of Applied Physics
2 Electives
Courses
Second Year or laterFirst Year
Start your own
research
Graduate Students
* As of Sept. 2023
Andre
Vallieres
Koch Group
Anirudh
Ramesh
Kumar
group
Gilhwan
(Peter)
Lim
First Year
student
Gina Talcott
First Year
student
Yi Wang
Odom,T.
group
Yiping Wang
Kovachy group
Vin San Dinh
Koch /
Romanenko
groups
Sevde Nur
Arpaci
Khalili group
Huanbo
Jiang
Odom, T.
group
Gamze Gul
Kumar
group
Junhang
Duan
First Year
student
Ting Ching
Chu
Lauhon
group
Madison
Schwinn
Chen
group
Arthur
McCray
Petford-
Long group
Annaliese
Ehlen
Overa de
la Cruz
group
Emmanuel
Aneke
Jacobsen
group
Matthew
Capocci
Koch group
Tse-Min
Chiang
Schatz group
Wing-Shun
Li
Backman /
Dravid
group
Aziz Abogoda
Sauls group
Joseph
Yaker
Koch /
Romanenko
group
Dingwen
Qan
Overa de la
Cruz group
Kara
Hokenstad
Kumar
group
Mauricio
Angelone
Jacobsen
group
Gregor
Dairaghi
Odom, T.
group
Ely Eastman
Kumar group
Jennifer
Garland
Petford-Long
group
Swan Htun
Jacobsen
group
Eric Matt
First Year
student
Lawrence
Rhoads
Grayson
group
Benjamin
Roter
Jacobsen
group
Banibrato
Sinha
Khalili
group
Christopher
Cravey
Grayson
group
Matthew
Farnese
Olvera de
la Cruz
group
Samira
Khan
Driscoll
group
Ennis
Mawas
Figueroa-
Feliciano
group
Jasmine
Panthee
Chandrase-
-khar group
Margaret
Quinn
Rondinelli
group
Rohan
Rajmohan
Koch group
Antara Sen
Olvera de la
Cruz /
Kriegman
Groups
Lucas
Stanley
Geraci
group
Chenguang
Liu
Jacobsen/
Pankuch
groups
Trevor Kling
Hosseini
group
Noah
Welke
First-Year
student
Yisheng Lei
Hosseini
group
Parker Watts
Waisielewski
group
Ubaid
Kazianga
First year
student
Tianpu Zhao
Koch Group
Statistics
AP Students
16
As of Sept. 2023
50%50%
BY CITIZENSHIP
TOTAL: 48 STUDENTS
USA International
69%
31%
BY GENDER
TOTAL: 48 STUDENTS
Male Female
41%
24%
17%
14%
2%
2%
BY ADVISOR’S MAIN DEPARTMENT
TOTAL: 42 STUDENTS
(6 HAVE NOT CHOSEN AN ADVISOR YET)
P&A ECE MSE Chem MSE/BME MSE/CS
Where do our Alumni work?
17
FINANCE
INDUSTRY
NATIONAL LABS
ACADEMIA
18
Where do our Alumni work?
Examples
City of Evanston
Population of ~75,000.
Convenient, quiet.
Quick and easy connections
to downtown Chicago.
(Metra: ~20 mins)
Beyond Northwestern
City of Chicago
Population of 2.7M
Great museums, restaurants,
sports, culture,...
And beaches!
