Sanket Jadhav awarded Herbert Levy Memorial Scholarship

About the Recipient

Zone and Chapter: California Lutheran University

My name is Sanket Jadhav, and I am a rising senior in physics at California Lutheran University, pursuing minors in mathematics and data science. I proudly maintain a perfect CGPA while balancing a demanding schedule of academic, professional, and leadership responsibilities. I served as president of both the Physics Club — our campus chapter of the Society of Physics Students (SPS), under our advisor Dr. Mary Oksala. My involvement in the Physics Club began in my first year as a general member; I later served as Secretary in my second year, President in my third, and I’m set to continue my service as Treasurer in my final year. In addition to club leadership, I served as the Physics Department Assistant during the 2023–2024 academic year, where I helped manage promotion, event organization, and provided academic support for physics students. I am also honored to be a Rossing Physics Scholar through the NECU, along with having received several other academic and leadership scholarships from Cal Lutheran. My research journey began with a Swenson Science Summer Research Fellowship in 2023, during which I worked under Dr. Sebastian Carron Montero analyzing CMS data from CERN to study supersymmetric particles. I focused on optimizing selection and slimming algorithms for isolating STop quark decay events, using machine learning tools and kinematic parameters. Looking ahead, I plan to pursue a Ph.D. in physics with a focus on areas like plasma wakefield acceleration, beam dynamics, and quantum electrodynamics in extreme fields, which ultimately contribute to the development of compact particle accelerators. My long-term goal is to become a professor at an R2 institution, where I can contribute to clean energy research — such as compact particle accelerators for nuclear waste mitigation — while also teaching and mentoring future physicists.