Ash Hendrix
Hi! I'm a sophomore at CU. I'm currently undeclared but I'm leaning toward a physics major. I'm super excited to help to help y'all learn about astronomy. I found the class really fun and I hope you do too.
Lazuli Gonzalez
Hello! I am a sophomore here at CU Denver currently working on my BFA in Illustration! I look forward to working with you all.
Matthew E. Mata
Hello all Astronomy Students!
My name is Matthew, I’m a 3rd year Junior here at CU Denver majoring in Mechanical Engineering. One of my biggest passions however is Astronomy and this will be my second semester being an LA for this course. Other hobbies include golf, reading, hiking, travel, video games, physics, family and friends! I’m excited to get to know you all as we explore and learn about the cosmos! Let’s have a fun and fulfilling semester!
Best,
Matthew
Natalie Prosperi
I am a sophomore status business student. My favorite color is yellow and my favorite video game (right now) is Elden Ring. I want to play all of the FromSoftware games. However, this is not my main pastime! My main hobby is writing (particularly epic fantasy) and reading (particularly epic fantasy). If you ever want to talk about anything fantasy, you have my email! I also love deep-space astronomy and would love to talk about deep-space Earth-type planets and pulsars! Neptune is my favorite planet.
Homerun Hawkins
Alexandra Bindley
Hi y'all, I am a senior majoring in biology with a chemistry minor! This will be my first semester working as a LA and I am super excited it will be for PHYS II. I was extremely nervous when I took this class because physics had never been my strongest subject, however, this course changed my opinion of physics and I was surprised by how much I actually enjoyed it. I'm excited to help all of you like this class as much as I did and want to challenge yourselves to learn the material!
Cassidy Calderon
Diamond Del Cueto
Nicole Mukooba
Hi! I am a senior majoring in psychology. I took this class in my junior year as a prerequisite for medical school and loved it so much I wanted to be an LA this year. It will be my first semester being an LA for this course but I am so excited to work with all of you to understand the material and hopefully have as much fun as I did learning the ways physics applies to our day-to-day lives!
Franklin Rojas
Hello! I'm a senior physics student at CU Denver. This is my last semester! I'm on a pre-dental track as well and I know a good majority of students are on a similar track. Hope to have a great semester and help you out in physics!
Brie Clarke (001, 004)
Hello! I'm a senior physics student here at CU Denver. I love astrophysics and cosmology, specifically how massive stars die and how the universe got to where it is today. My plan is to go to graduate school for astrophysics. Outside of school, I love playing video games, listening to music, reading, and cross-stitching. I'm excited to work with everyone!
Jacob Sharp (003, 004)
Hello! Previously, I was going into my senior year as a biology major but ended up changing my major to physics due to a new found passion! I spent 5 years in the Navy as a Hospital Corpsman where I worked 2 years on the Labor and Delivery ward at the Naval Hospital in Guam, and then 3 years on a "small" ship (Cruiser) where I worked on a small medical team of 3 in San Diego. I was TERRIFIED to take physics, but learned to absolutely love the subject. My initial fear is why I want to help other students get past that "fear" and feel comfortable with taking physics!
Laila Zeid (001, 003)
Hello everyone! I'm currently a junior, pursuing a major in Biology with a minor in Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience. My ultimate goal is to attend medical school and specialize as a neurologist. During my leisure time, I find solace in the pages of books, love baking, listening to different music genres, and learning new languages. Much like many of you, my initial venture into physics was accompanied by a sense of apprehension. However, as I spent time in both the lab and the lectures, I realized how fun physics can be thanks to the support of my dedicated LA’s and professors. I'm optimistic that I can convey the excitement of physics and demonstrate how fun these classes can be. Learning something new for the first time can be intimidating, I, too, had many doubts before taking physics and thought that I wasn’t going to do well in the class. Yet, with the support of my LA’s and professors, I realized that I could do well in physics. My hope is to inspire confidence in all of you, demonstrating not only can you succeed in physics, but you can also find enjoyment in the process!
Lucas Schaab (005, 006)
I am a Junior majoring in physics. I spent 4 years in Boulder studying physics but took a hiatus from school to ski and learn some professional skills. This is my second year here at CU Denver. I know most people feel physics can be a daunting subject, but I hope to help you develop a better understanding with practical applications here in the lab.
Maleeha Shah (002, 005)
I am a senior majoring in Public Health with a minor in Health Humanities. This will be my second semester being an L.A for physics 1 lab. I hope to become a physician and care for refugees and underserved communities. Prior to taking my first physics lab, I remember being fearful and unsure of how well I would do, however, once I took the class and sought out help from my L.A's, I found the content to be interesting and applicable to real life. I hope to help students better understand concepts by cultivating a friendly and nonjudgmental environment in which learning and growth can be achieved. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you need support in class. I am excited to work with you this semester!
Nikola Hilderbrand (002, 006)
Hi all! My name is Nikola, I am a fourth year student here at CU Denver studying Mechanical Engineering. I became an LA for physics lab due to my passion and love of physics and teaching students. I have been an LA for four semesters now for both phys lab 1 and 2. I have a lot of cool on-campus jobs as well, so if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.
Alex Murillo (002, 005)
Hello! I am a second year student majoring in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Electrical Engineering. I’m from Colorado and really love the state, which is why I chose to go to CU Denver for my undergrad. My goal is to get into the aerospace field, which might lead me to pursue a master’s degree in aerospace engineering, but we’ll see where my undergrad takes me.
I really enjoy Physics, especially Physics II. The labs are very hands on, and you learn a lot from them, which is something I really enjoyed. That’s why I decided to become an LA.
Anton Kucera (004, 006)
Hi! I'm a fourth-year physics major and this will be my fourth semester as an LA! While I have a passion for physics, it’s not something that has always come easily to me. I hope that anything I’ve learned can help you through the course and that you find your own appreciation for physics by the end of it. The goal is to help you succeed, so don’t hesitate to reach out. In my free time, I try to be active by hiking, gardening, or going to the gym. I also like writing and playing video games. I’m looking forward to meeting you all this semester!
Ashley Reichenberg (001, 006, 007)
Hello, I am a senior chemistry major! Once I graduate I am looking to go into the forensic science field! Aside from that I have an adorable dog named Remy. If you ask for pictures I will gladly show you! I look forward to working with you all!
Jazmine Ames (001, 007)
Hello! I am a senior majoring in Biology on the pre-med track and am also working towards my minor in victim and victim services. I was born in Arizona and have moved around from Las Vegas to Wyoming to now Colorado. My ultimate goal is to become a pediatric rheumatologist which specializes in autoimmune diseases, to help other kids like myself! I hope to make the lab environment a fun and interesting place to encourage creative thinking and work collaboratively with you all! I'm looking forward to meeting everyone!
Katie Riley (002, 003, 005)
Hello! I am a fifth year student who double majors in Physics and Philosophy. I am originally from Washington State but decided to go to school at CU Denver for the amazing physics program we have here. My goal is to hopefully end up in either the field of Astrophysics or Quantum Mechanics, maybe even both! I decided to work in the labs as I hope to make this experience as easy going and fun as possible. Physics is a very fascinating topic and hopefully these labs show you that too. I look forward to working with you all this semester!
Kylee Arterburn (003, 004)
Hi! I'm a junior majoring in biology. I took physics as a prerequisite and ended up enjoying it so much that I enrolled to be an LA. I'm also adding a minor in physics to my degree and thinking of pursuing a career in biomedical engineering. This is my first semester as an LA, and I'm excited to work with all of you on designing and practicing physics experiments!
Abbie Hollmann
Hi there! I'm in my 6th year of college double majoring in biology and physics. One big reason I've been around for a bit longer than one might expect is that I added physics as my second major pretty late after (honestly kind of slowly) discovering a lot of enjoyment of doing physics and talking to other people about it! I've worked with Dr. Gifford for about 2 and a half years now, but this will be my first time being an LA for this class, and I'm really looking forward to it! This was one of my favorite classes of the many (many) I've taken, and I'm super excited to work with you all and support you in gaining understanding of some of the mind-boggling topics of modern physics! If you do ever get tired of talking about physics, I'm always down to chat about music, books, tea, baking, good hiking trails, and the like :)
Hamza Mekuria
Hi all! I'm a senior that is majoring in physics and pursuing a minor in math. I'm deeply interested in particles and hope to get into graduate school so I can do research on them. I also do research with Dr. Hamilton. The topic we are looking into is applying a computer program called RMT to analyze the ionization rates of Neon with the help of the Frontera Computer Cluster in Texas. Outside of school, I enjoy playing video games with my friends. I can't wait to meet you all!
James Amidei
Hey everyone! I'm James, a senior physics major and a Learning Assistant in Dr. Anthony Villano's General Relativity course. I'm currently doing research under Dr. Amy Roberts as an undergraduate member of the SuperCDMS research collaboration, mostly centered around improving our data analysis using both features of SuperCDMS dark matter detectors and simulations. Outside of physics, I mostly read books, try to learn new things, and watch old movies. Let me know however I can help with your classes, or if you just want to talk about books or something.