The Department of Physics gathered on November 19, 2025, to host the seventh annual Washington University Physics Research Symposium (WUPRS) - a showcase of innovative, high-quality research from across the department.
WUPRS brings together undergraduate students, graduate students, postdocs, faculty, and friends of the department for an afternoon dedicated to scientific discovery, communication, and collaboration. This graduate student-driven initiative is a unique opportunity to explore the wide range of cutting-edge research unfolding across many groups and focus areas. Thanks to strong engagement from presenters and supporters, this year's program was packed with diverse and exciting submissions, highlighting work in fields ranging from theoretical modeling to experimental physics and interdisciplinary applications.
Amid the lively conservation about research, the symposium also features a competitive component. Each presenter was scored on a 100-point scale that emphasized visual clarity, depth of content, and effectiveness of delivery - skills students will rely on in future research talks, conferences, and academic careers. Presentations were evaluated by a volunteer panel of faculty and postdoctoral judges:
- Graduate judges: Trevor GrandPre, Shaffique Adam, and Michael Nowak
- Undergraduate judges: Dmitry Chichinadze and Shixing (Simon) Wang
2025 WUPRS Poster Competition Winners
Graduate Division
1st Place: Bryce Wedig, Forecasting Dark Matter Substructure Detections with NASA’s Habitable Worlds Observatory
2nd Place: Zhongyuan Liu, Quantum noise spectroscopy of superconducting dynamics in thin film cuprate superconductor
Undergraduate Division
1st Place: Aavik Wadivkar, The TESS Search for White Dwarf Transiters
2nd Place: Lydia Mazeeva, Automating Variational Optimization in Quantum Monte Carlo Scattering Calculations
The Symposium Committee extends its deepest gratitude and appreciation to the Washington University Physics Department and the Office of Undergraduate Research for their combined efforts and contributions, as they were instrumental to the realization of this year’s event. A special thanks should also go to our judges for providing their time.
With another year of extraordinary research ahead, we look forward to continuing this tradition as a celebration of our academic community. Until next year!
