2024 Thaxton Fellows

Natasha Azad

profile picture of Natash Azad
  • Major: Neurobiology & Physics
  • Career Goals: Long term, I’d like to earn a PhD in high energy physics or related fields. Short term, I’m aiming for strong experiential basis in my education so I can determine my strengths as well as what skills are needed in order to conduct physics research.
  • Research Interest: High Energy Theory & Experiment, Cosmology Theory

Valeria Diaz Moreno

profile picture of Valeria Diaz Moreno
  • Major: Physics and Data Science (I am currently in astrophysics, but I am planning to switch over to physics)
  • Career goals: I hope to continue my education in grad school and obtain a Ph.D. in quantum computing engineering; my goal is to be able to work at companies like IBM Quantum to develop and refine quantum hardware such as processors, qubit fabrication, calibration, error correction, etc.
  • Research interest: My research interests in the area of quantum computing are broad and varied. I am highly interested in the development of new quantum algorithms for machine learning, quantum hardware for AI acceleration, and the development of quantum neural networks.

Krishna Alexander Lakkaraju

profile picture of Krishna Alexander Lakkaraju
  • Major: Math and Physics
  • Career Goals: My goal is to someday work with/at CERN in Switzerland after earning my PhD, specializing in a branch of theoretical physics. I would like to become an expert physics as I value spreading reliable information that inspires others. I hope to someday profess as well.
  • Reasearch Interests: I have a strong interest in Quantum Field Theory and developing the Standard Model, but I am, ultimately, interested in all developing areas of mathematical physics.