Co-Presidents: Ava Bailey and Abhishek Karna
Ava is a senior majoring in Physics and Italian Studies, and she is serving as one of your SPS Co-presidents this year! Within the major, Ava is pursuing a concentration in astrophysics, and she is currently working with Professor Dan Scolnic researching type Ia supernovae. Aside from physics, she plays the French horn with the Duke Wind Symphony, serves as a Trinity Ambassador for both the Physics and Romance Studies departments, and is a part of Gamma Kappa Alpha, the Italian National Honor Society.
Email: ava.bailey@duke.edu
I am a junior double majoring in Physics and Mathematics with a
certificate in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE). My current research is focused on Frustrated Magnetism from both experimental (with Prof. Haravifard) and theoretical (with Prof. Chandrasekharan) ends. I am the co-president for SPS for the academic year 24-25, and my main focus is to increase participation and bring diversity in the kinds of events we have had. I look forward to meet all of you at some point and discuss the curiosity that we all share for physics.
Email: abhishek.karna@duke.edu
Vice President: Rowan Kelleher
Hi everyone! I am a current 4th year undergraduate at Duke studying physics with (potential) minors in computer science and philosophy. I spend most of
my time outside of classes working on nuclear physics research that I
conduct under Professor Vossen. I am very interested in nuclear physics, specifically nucleon structure/imaging, as well as machine learning applications in nuclear physics. When it is nice out, I play a lot of spikeball, and I am a big Buffalo Bills and Yankees fan. Feel free to reach ou
t if you are interested in any of those things!
Email: rowan.kelleher@duke.edu
Treasurer: Nam Nguyen
Nam is a junior double majoring in Physics and Electrical Computer Engineering. In addition to SPS, he is also Vice President of SEDS (Students for the Exploration and Develo
pment of Space) and an executive member of Devil Stargazing Club at Duke. Nam is highly involved in quantum computing and high energy physics research at Duke, and he is currently working to construct the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC). Not only being a stereotypical, nerdy physics major, Nam also enjoys travelling, watching and playing sports as well as connecting with new people!
Email: nam.nguyen@duke.edu
Event Coordinators: Emma Bao and Lang Ji
Hi! I’m a sophomore studying biophysics and math. At Duke, I research in the Warren lab studying metastatic melanomas using laser imaging and am part of a Bass Connections team tha
t focuses on the reproductive landscape post Dobbs. I enjoy playing tennis, volunteering at clinics, and trying out new food!
Email: emma.bao@duke.edu
I am a junior undergrad studying physics and math, with a minor in finance. My research experience includes working with nanoscale crystal materials, and particle physics with muon detection. On campus I am involved with a business fraternity, the QuadEx RA team for Few, and volunteer work with FGI. In my free time I love playing basketball, hosting dinner parties with my friends, and late night drives. I’m also a big snowboarder so let me know if you want to go down to sugar mountain in winter times!
Email: lang.ji@duke.edu
Media Chair: Matthew Chen
I am a junior studying physics and mathematics with a minor in English. My research experience includes projects in stochastic noise-driven systems, quantum information theory, and differential geometry. Outside of physics I also serve as the Co-Editor-in-Cheif of The Archive and treasurer of the Undergraduate Literature Society. In my free time, I like to play soccer, go to the gym, and write poetry.
Email: matthew.chen@duke.edu
Outreach Chair: Danming Peng
Danming is a Senior majoring in Physics and Math, and he is very excited to be your outreach coordinator this year! Danming has a strong passion for theoretical physics and is currently working on a research project with Professor Mueller. This summer, Danming interned at Fermilab while also geeking out over particle accelerators. When he is not doing physics, he spends his time indulging his Minecraft hobby. Danming can’t wait for this year with SPS!
Email: danming.peng@duke.edu
