Linghao Zhang

Selma and Robert Silagi Award for Undergraduate Excellence

Linghao Zhang is from China, double majoring in applied mathematics and cognitive science,  specializing in machine learning and neural computation. Currently, she is researching polynomial optimization with Professor Jiawang Nie, which includes exploring new algorithms and methodologies for solving global optimization problems. Linghao says this experience has been challenging and rewarding, and that receiving the award is recognition from the university for her dedication to research. In her free time, she enjoys various sports, including tennis, badminton and swimming, as well as going on road trips with her friends.

Sean Chen
Sean is a mathematics and physics major originally from Taiwan. His research focuses on quantum computing and physics. He is honored to receive this award as it acknowledges his dedication and hard work and encourages him to continue pushing the boundaries of his knowledge and skills. Outside of academics, Sean enjoys traveling and going to the gym.

Eugene Chiou
Eugene is a senior mathematics major. He is working closely with Professor Steven Sam to investigate recurrence relations that arise from the decomposition of composing symmetric powers of representations of the Lie algebra sI2. Eugene is currently in the process of proving his conjectures. His findings will be showcased in his honors senior thesis.

Xun Gong

Xun is a mathematics major originally from China. In Xun’s research, he focuses on the field of translation surfaces, specifically in the existence of a certain genus four origami. He is grateful to receive this award as it inspires him in his future endeavors. In Xun’s free time, he enjoys listening to music, particularly the last century’s classics.

Bhavya Gupta
Originally from India, Bhavya is a physics major specializing in astrophysics. He works closely with Professor Tongyan Lin to investigate the gravitational signatures imprinted by dark matter subhalos on galactic structures. He is honored to receive this award, seeing it as a motivation to continue exploring the unknowns and chase his passion of contributing to the field of physics. Bhayva is also interested in sports and stargazing.

Xiaoyan He

Xiaoyan is an applied mathematics and economics major from China. His research is involved in the efficiency and limitation of the Strassen algorithm. He has also conducted research on the hypergraph stochastic block model and its recovery. Xiaoyan is grateful to receive this award as it encourages him to continue pursuing his passion for mathematics and related fields. Outside of school, Xiaoyan enjoys reading novels.

Ryan Hsiao

Ryan is a chemistry major originally from Taiwan. Ryan’s research focuses on the investigation of niobium phosphates as potential anode materials for fast-charging batteries. Receiving this award confirms to Ryan his passion in doing chemistry research. In his free time, he enjoys reading and cooking.

Jared Hughes

Jared is a mathematics major originally from Fremont, California. His research involves studying the 3XOR game problem. He is investigating whether the game has a perfect strategy. Jared is assisting in the development of a classical 3XOR game theory to define the critical threshold.

Jake Kosakoff
Jake is an applied mathematics and computational physics double major from San Diego. He took on his own research project predicting lag time for COVID-19 case reporting. He worked for the company BetFully, where he focused on building an AI model that acted as a sports betting assistant. This award means a lot to Jake as it is recognition of all his hard work over the past four years.

Xiaoke Li

Xiaoke is a physics major originally from China. She investigates the feasibility of incorporating electronic neural networks into neuromorphic computation for the electronic-based spiking neural network project. She is grateful to receive this award, as it is a meaningful milestone in her academic journey. Outside of research and classes, Xiaoke enjoys exploring different kinds of photography, such as astrophotography.

Yongce Li

Yongce is a mathematics and data science double major from China. In his independent research, Yongce focuses on analyzing the strong consistency and optimality of spectral clustering. He is thankful for this award as it motivates him to continue his study and research in the field of stochastic block model and machine learning. Outside of school, Yongce enjoys traveling and cooking.

Tiffany Liou

Tiffany is a physics major originally from Glendora, California. She is specializing in astrophysics and is currently studying dark matter subhalos using simulations of stellar streams. She is honored to receive this award because it serves as motivation to attend graduate school and become an astrophysicist. In her free time, Tiffany enjoys getting coffee with her friends.

Zachary Neuschuler

Zachary is a San Diego local studying chemistry. His research centers on reversible post-synthetic modifications on metal-organic frameworks. To him, this award is a recognition of all of the time and effort he has put into his research. When not studying or doing lab work, Zachary enjoys baking, spending time with loved ones, and playing with his dog and cat.

Emily Pan

Emily is a physics student originally from New Jersey. Her research currently involves working on a neural network classifier to identify long-lived particles. Emily is honored to receive this award, viewing it as a recognition of her efforts and commitment to research. Beyond research and school, Emily enjoys reading, board games, and tennis.

Felix Peng

Felix is a mathematics and computer science student from Fremont, California. In his research, Felix examines how concepts from abstract algebra manifest in real life phenomenon through reviewing research on the universality of phyllotaxy in plants. He is grateful to receive this award as it serves as a testament to his efforts and the relationships he has built at UC San Diego. Outside of school and research, Felix enjoys hiking and building model kits.

Simon Poon

Simon is a physics major originally from Canada. He researched applying machine learning algorithms for the level-1 trigger at the Compact Muon Solenoid experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. He also conducted research on optimizing the shape of a quadrupole magnet for the future Electron Ion Collider. This award serves as validation of the hard work Simon has put in during his time at UC San Diego. Simon also enjoys reading, cooking and video games.

Megan Salek

Megan is a biophysics student from Illinois. She conducts research with porous silicon, exploring a quantum blinking phenomenon that occurs within silicon quantum dots. She is honored to receive this award as it proves to her that she can be successful in her future endeavors in physics. Beyond research and the classroom, Megan enjoys riding horses with the UC San Diego Equestrian Team.

Reno Sammons

Reno is a physics major from Laguna Beach. Reno’s research involved electrochemically doping various substrates in search for superconducting materials. She would like to express that she didn’t achieve this award alone, and is grateful for everyone who has supported her along the way. In her free time, Reno enjoys taking nature walks with her cat Bunny.

Roya Savoj

Roya is a chemistry student from Los Altos, California. In her research, Roya is working on characterizing the local hydration structure of alkali ions. She is excited to receive this award as it has provided her with additional motivation for pursuing a graduate degree. Roya’s interests outside of school include running, crocheting, and spending time with friends and family.

Brigette Segovia

Brigette is a San Diego local studying astrophysics. Brigette’s research consists of studying dark matter subhalos using stellar streams. She is proud to receive this award, viewing it as a reflection of her hard work as an undergraduate student. Outside of school, Brigette enjoys going on hikes, petting farm animals, and spending time with friends.

Mingcheng Sheng

Mingcheng is a mathematics major originally from China. Mingcheng is interested in include ergodic theory, harmonic analysis, number theory, and random walks. He feels that these topics are closely connected to each other and provide unique perspectives to understand mathematical objects. Mingcheng is honored to receive this award as it motivates him to continue with future studies.

Deepansha Singh

Originally from New Jersey, Deepansha is a mathematics major studying computer science. Her research is in the areas of transfer learning, federated learning, and applied machine learning. She is honored to receive this award and to be recognized for her hard work. Beyond research and classes, Deepansha enjoys playing racquet sports like tennis, ping pong and badminton.

Farhad Taraporevala

Farhad is a physics major from Irvine, California. He is currently working on his honors thesis, constructing, designing, and implementing an adiabatic demagnetization refrigerator. This award means a lot to Farhad as it validates all the hard work he has put into his research, and shows him that he is engaging with science in a meaningful way. In Farhad’s free time, he enjoys composing music, playing and watching sports, and reading.

Nat Sylvia Terry

Nat is a physics major from Alameda, California. She researches condensed matter and ultrafast optics, using terahertz spectroscopy to characterize quantum materials and metamaterial structures. Nat is honored to receive this award as it offers her the chance and choice to engage in the science that she loves. Nat also enjoys baking, cooking, rock climbing, and non-fiction and classic films.

Jason Weitz

Jason is a physics major from San Jose, California. Much of Jason’s research involves machine learning for particle physics. He designed jigs for the optics tube and shipment crate using SolidWorks. Jason is grateful to receive this award, viewing it as a meaningful acknowledgment of his research efforts and contributions. Outside of class and research, he enjoys surfing Scripps and backpacking around California.

Jiaxin Ye

Jiaxin is an applied mathematics-computer science major originally from China. Jiaxin is participating in machine learning reading and research seminars, and has conducted research work on data science and machine learning. She is taking a math graduate course to advance her pursuit in outstanding academic performance. Jiaxin says this award inspires her to work harder and that she is grateful for her nominator and all the faculty. Jiaxin also enjoys badminton, hiking and traveling.

Zhiyuan Yin

Zhiyan is a chemistry major originally from China. Zhiyan’s research primarily focuses on single molecular characterization and surface dynamics using scanning tunneling microscopy. He is grateful to receive this award as it recognizes his academic achievements and contributions to the field of vibrational-sensitive cryogenic experiments and helium sustainability. In his free time, Zhiyuan enjoys playing games with friends.

Michael Zhang

Michael is a physics major originally from China. Michael’s research involves exploring and developing new methods of machine learning-based approaches to analyze collider data. He is grateful to receive this award because it motivates him to be more determined in pursuing research as a career. Outside of school, Michael loves playing sports and reading.

Siyuan Zheng

Originally from China, Siyuan is a mathematics major studying algebraic geometry. In Siyuan’s research, he attempted to generalize an equidistribution result of a commutator map on a special linear group over finite fields using character theory. He says he is excited to receive this award, viewing it as motivation to continue achieving academic excellence. Siyuan spends his free time playing tennis and enjoys skiing.

Tianxing Zhou

Tianxing is a physics major originally from China. In Tianxing’s research, he studies stars and brown dwarfs. Tianxing has previously used data from the Gaia sky survey to identify FGK-M binary systems and has applied machine learning in ultracool dwarfs classification. He is honored to receive this award as it validates his passion and curiosity for astrophysics. In Tianxing’s free time, he enjoys reading science fiction novels.