Who We Are

The Yale Society of Physics Students is a nationally registered chapter of the Society of Physics Students. We host weekly study sessions (with food!), dinners with professors in the physics department, fun study breaks, movie nights, outreach efforts, and other events. We also hold two prestigious senior lecture series every year, first held in 2018: the Howard L. Schultz Senior Prize Lecture in the spring, and the Beatrice Tinsley Senior Prize Lecture every fall. Anybody is welcome to join Yale SPS. Check out the "Join!" tab for more information.

Officers for 2023-2024

Barkotel Zemenu | Co-President he/his

Barkotel Zemenu is a senior in Grace Hopper College and an international student from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, majoring in Physics (Int.). Alongside his research chasing neutrinos at Yale, quantizing spacetime abroad in Germany and studying twinkling stars this past summer in Israel, he enjoys photographing crowded streets as if he were a photographer, vlogging as if he were a vlogger, video-editing as if he were a YouTuber, and language learning as if there was nothing else to do for a hobby.

Madison Butchko | President she/her

Maddie is a senior in Jontathan Edwards College, majoring in Physics and East Asian Studies.

Robin Tsai |Vice President they/them

Robin Tsai is a sophomore in Trumbull College majoring in Mathematics (Int.) and Physics (Int.). They are particularly passionate about the intersection of mathematics and physics; in particular, they hope to one day witness a mathematically rigorous realization of quantum field theory! For the time being, they have stayed in adjacent fields under Professor David Poland—conformal bootstrap, holography, and other topics in the realm of high-energy theory. Academics aside, Robin is highly interested in the world of outreach, having helped revive undergraduate oSTEM at Yale and participated in various outreach events to New Haven students within SPS. That said, you can find them toiling away at PSETs, doing art and playing music, or sitting paralyzed in front of their unread emails.

Board Members

Ethan Martinez | Outreach Chair he/him

Ethan is a sophomore from Wheaton, IL in Pauli Murray College majoring in Physics (Int.) He is super passionate about particle physics and physics education. Under the mentorship of Dr. Sarah Demers, he currently works on the Mu2e Experiment at Fermilab, developing a trigger selection system for anti-protons. Along with fellow SPS Board member Nikita, Ethan is also a Peer Tutor for PHYS 200. Outside of physics, you can find him playing soccer for the Men’s C1 Club Soccer team, playing cornhole, or eating Haven Hot Chicken.

Andrew Nupp | Treasurer he/him

Andrew is a Junior in Morse college majoring in Physics and Math. He is currently working with David Moore on the SIMPLE experiment. Andrew grew up on a hobby farm in Arkansas, and outside of school he enjoys playing piano (poorly), playing chess (again, poorly), and learning Japanese.

Lexi Murray | Website & Media Developer she/her

Lexi Murray is a senior in Branford College majoring in Physics (int). She enjoys all physics, but is especially interested in particle physics. Outside of this, she also enjoys creative writing and poetry.

Nikita Mazotov | National SPS/Sigma Pi Sigma Liaison he/his

Nikita is a sophomore in Pierson College and a Ukrainian international student. He works as a peer tutor for the PHYS 200 course. His research interests have focused on experimental particle physics and occasional use of machine learning in the context of CERN ATLAS ITk Phase-II upgrades. Nikita’s favorite computer game is Kerbal Space Program.

Aaron Chizhik | Prize Lecture Chair he/his

Aaron is a junior in Grace Hopper College majoring in music and physics (int). Originally from San Diego, Cali, Aaron has been studying piano since he was but a wee lad and continues to actively do so through music studies at Yale. Aaron currently is interested in fields of particle and nuclear physics, particularly (pun very much intended) regarding the great mystery of neutrinos. Aaron is presently working with the Heeger/Maruyama group, focusing on removing muon background from the neutrinoless double beta decay experiment, CUORE. Beloved activities orthonormal to school include watching martial arts movies, reading Russian poetry, listening to Prince, and eating strawberry cheesecake.

Maddi Brown | Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Liaison she/her

Maddi is a sophomore in Pierson majoring in Physics (int) from Wirtz, Virginia. She is specifically interested in astronomy and astrophysics. She is also interested in fostering environments for those new to physics, math, or STEM in general! Outside of the physics community, Maddi enjoys exploring different beaches surrounding New Haven and day trips to NYC (exploring the city is a fun time considering she is most familiar with her rural hometown). When she’s not grabbing chai lattes in Steep or working on PSETS in Tsai, she’s most likely hanging out in the astro lounge some days!

Anh-Thai Le | Physics Community Coordinator he/him

Anh-Thai is a sophomore from Southern California planning to major in Math and Physics. On the physics side of things, he's interested in particle physics and the intersection between math and physics, particularly in probability theory and statistical mechanics. Aside from SPS, Anh-Thai hopes to foster a love for STEM through his involvement in Yale's Science Olympiad and MathCounts Outreach. In his free time, he enjoys binge watching YouTube videos and (trying) not to play Supercell games.

Matthew Balestier | Physics Community Coordinator they/them

Matthew Balestier is a sophomore in Jonathan Edwards College majoring in Math and Physics from New Jersey. They also hold a position on the board of Broad Recognition magazine. Aside from school, they hold a strong interest in art history. Their favorite contemporary artists are Mark Maggiori and anything weird and modern.

 

Officers for 2021-2022

Co-Presidents:

Amanda Butler (JE 2022) Dawson Thomas (ES 2023)

Board Members

Lumisa Bista (GH 2024) Agastya Rana (DP 2024) Annie Lin (SM 2024) David Saunders (GH 2023) Richard Li (MY 2022) Barkotel Zemenu (GH 2024) Maddie Butchko (JE 2024) Wyatt Kremer (TC 2024)

Officers for 2020-2021

Co-Presidents:

Shoumik Chowdhury (SY 2021) Laura Zhou (BF 2022)

Board Members

Shantanu Jha (SY 2021) Amanda Butler (JE 2022) David Saunders (GH 2023) Dawson Thomas (ES 2023) Yiming Zhang (BF 2022) Jessie Chen (DP 2023) Giovanna Truong (MY 2023) Olivia Aspegren (BF 2023) Vuong Mai (ME 2021)

Officers for 2019-2020

Co-Presidents: (Spring 2020 Semester)

Shoumik Chowdhury (SY 2021) Laura Zhou (BF 2022)

Board Members

Shantanu Jha (SY 2021) Helena Lyng-Olsen (PC 2022) Clare Staib-Kaufman (SY 2021) George Iskander (GH 2020)

Co-Presidents: (Fall 2019 Semester)

George Iskander (GH 2020) Shoumik Chowdhury (SY 2021)

Officers for 2018-2019

Co-Presidents: (Spring 2019 Semester)

George Iskander (GH 2020)
Shoumik Chowdhury (SY 2021)

Co-Presidents: (Fall 2018 Semester)

Sophia Sanchez-Maes (SM 2019)
Cady van Assendelft (SM 2019)

Newsletter: Chunny Ding (SC 2019)
Facebook Page: George Iskander (HC 2020)

Officers for 2017-2018

Co-Presidents: (Fall 2017 Semester)

Aaron Hillman (BK 2018)
Sophia Sanchez-Maes (SM 2019)
Cady van Assendelft (SM 2019)

Co-Presidents: (Spring 2018 Semester)

Sophia Sanchez-Maes (SM 2019)
Cady van Assendelft (SM 2019)

Newsletter: Chunny Ding (SC 2019)
Facebook Page: George Iskander (HC 2020)

Officers for 2016-2017

Co-Presidents: (Spring 2017 Semester)

Aaron Hillman (BK 2018)
Sophia Sanchez-Maes (SM 2019)
Cady van Assendelft (SM 2019)

Co-Presidents: (Fall 2016 Semester)

Benjamin Krakoff (SY 2017)
Jedidiah Thompson (BK 2017)

Officers for 2015-2016

Co-Presidents: (Spring 2016 Semester)

Benjamin Krakoff (SY 2017)
Jedidiah Thompson (BK 2017)

Co-Presidents: (Fall 2015 Semester)

Manjari Randeria (SY 2016)
Mina Himwich (BR 2016)
Mariona Badenas (BR 2016)

Officers for 2014-2015

Co-Presidents: (Spring 2015 Semester)

Manjari Randeria (SY 2016)
Mina Himwich (BR 2016)
Mariona Badenas (BR 2016)

Co-Presidents: (Fall 2014 Semester)

Robert James Pecoraro (JE 2015)
Catherine Harmer (JE 2015)

Officers for 2013-2014

Co-Presidents: (Spring 2014 Semester)

Robert James Pecoraro (JE 2015)
Catherine Harmer (JE 2015)

Co-Presidents: (Fall 2013Semester)

Steven Zwick (PC 2014)
Po-Yi Ho (BR 2014)

Officers for 2012-2013

Co-Presidents: (Spring 2013 Semester)

Steven Zwick (PC 2014)
Po-Yi Ho (BR 2014)

Co-Presidents: (Fall 2012 Semester)

Rachel Kurchin (PC 2013)
Jenna Freudenburg (BC 2013)

Officers for 2011-2012

Co-Presidents: (Spring 2012 Semester)

Rachel Kurchin (PC 2013)
Jenna Freudenburg (BC 2013)

Co-Presidents: (Fall 2011 Semester)

Joseph O'Rourke (SM 2012)
Daniel Kapec (SM 2012)

Officers for 2010-2011

Co-Presidents: (Spring 2011 Semester)

Joseph O'Rourke (SM 2012)
Daniel Kapec (SM 2012)

Co-Presidents: (Fall 2010 Semester)

Alan Hutchison (TD 2011)
Michele Dufault (Deceased)

Officers for 2009-2010

Co-Presidents: (Spring 2010 Semester)

Alan Hutchison (TD 2011)
Michele Dufault (Deceased)

Co-Presidents: (Fall 2009 Semester)

Katherine Rosenfeld (MC 2010)
Matthew Smith (SY 2010)

Officers for 2008-2009

Co-Presidents: (Spring 2009 Semester)

Katherine Rosenfeld (MC 2010)
Matthew Smith (SY 2010)

Co-Presidents: (Fall 2008 Semester)

Nathaniel Roth (PC 2009)
Elizabeth Jerison (SM 2010)

Officers for 2007-2008

Co-Presidents:

Elissa Dunn (BC 2009)
Margaret Shea (SY 2008)

Officers for 2006-2007

Co-Presidents:

Glenn Murphy (CC 2007)
Anna Mandel (SC 2007)

Officers for 2005-2006

Co-Presidents:

Ruth Toner (ES 2007)
Ning Liang (SC 2007)
Maria Orochena


Who We Are