2025 Award

Graduate student researcher in the department of Applied Physics and works in Austin Minnich's group.

Ivy Chen

Image Lightbox

Ivy Chen

Download Full Image

What is your research focus and areas of scientific interest? How has the KNI played a role in your research?

I work in the field intersecting nanophotonics and nanofabrication. I currently work on developing and applying atomic layer etching to thin-film lithium niobate, which is a promising platforms for integrated photonics. The KNI allows access to a variety of tools required for my work, which includes electron beam lithography, plasma etching, metal evaporation, and atomic force microscopy.

What brought you to Caltech for grad school?

My undergraduate education was in physics from Harvey Mudd College. When I graduated, I was interested in graduate school but not ready to commit to a PhD program, so I worked as a software engineer at Google. While my role and team at Google were wonderful, I felt the itch to work on cutting edge research so I decided to pursue a PhD after two years of working.

I chose Caltech for grad school because it's a great place for interdisciplinary research. Caltech is in close proximity to many collaborators at institutions all around the LA area. The collaborations I have in my projects has allowed me to gain a deeper technical understanding in a variety of fields.

Please say a few words about your academic path. What led you to pursue a STEM focus?

I read a lot of sci-fi books by Michael Crichton growing up, which made me interested in the STEM field generally. My initial direction towards STEM was in biology after I read "Micro" by Michael Crichton and Richard Preston. A couple years later, I learned to code and gravitated towards computational biology. When I enrolled in my undergraduate studies at Harvey Mudd College, I was required to take special relativity which piqued my interest in physics. Mudd also has a good representation of female professors that inspired me to change my major to physics and ultimately pursue a graduate education at Caltech. Shout-out to my undergraduate advisor (who also graduated from Caltech), Prof. Theresa Lynn, who inspired me to take this path!

Please describe your community service/outreach work, and any future goals.

Currently I am a lead facilitator and mentor for the Caltech Connection program, which provides one-on-one research mentorship to undergraduate students in the LA area during the academic year. I am also a mentor for first-year graduate students in the applied physics option. Over the summer, I have also been involved with undergraduate research mentorship through SURF and WAVE. I plan to continue my mentorship experiences through all of these programs at Caltech.

What has inspired you to get involved in these activities?

I wouldn't be where I was today without all the mentors that believed in me when I didn't believe in myself, and it's only fair to give that same energy back to the community. My first mentorship position started in high school where I was an AVID tutor to help prepare younger students to become first generation college students. From there, I continued various mentorship roles in college and at Google up until now at Caltech.

What was your experience of Caltech like when you first began here? How has the cultural landscape of campus changed (or not)? Are there any changes you'd like to see in Caltech's future, as it relates to inclusion, diversity, equity, or accessibility?

I had been in the workforce for a couple of years before I started at Caltech, so I was nervous about getting back into the groove of taking classes and finding a research lab. Thankfully these things were easy to resolve with the support of my peers and advisor.

I am grateful that many people at Caltech recognize the importance of equitable science education and are committed to ensuring diversity, equity, and inclusion. There are so many opportunities for outreach and science communication for every age group here. I would like to see Caltech continue to support such a wide variety of outreach programs during a time where these efforts may not be appreciated.

How do you balance your rigorous research/academic workload and your social activities?

I try to set fixed hours for research so that I have time to take care of my body and mind properly. At the beginning of the week, I have a dedicated 10 to 15 minutes where I write all the tasks I need to do and prioritize them by importance. This has helped me stay focused with tasks and ensure that my time and effort is being used efficiently. Additionally, I am lucky to be in a research group where we help each other when we are short on hands.

My partner, family, and friends form my support network. I can always talk to any of them if I am hitting a rough patch.

What advice would you give to your younger self?

To have more confidence in myself.

What plans or goals do you have after graduation?

I am interested in research positions both in industry and academia, but am trying to keep all my professional options open. Regardless of the technical position I end up in, I will remain committed to mentorship towards a diverse group of aspiring scientists.

Third year graduate student researcher in the department of Applied Physics in Andrei Faraon's group.

Emanuel Green

Image Lightbox

Emanuel Green

Download Full Image

What is your research focus and areas of scientific interest? How has the KNI played a role in your research?

My research focuses on developing technologies to use in future quantum networks. I specifically work to design and characterize new qubit systems using rare earth ions in solid state hosts. KNI is instrumental in my work to allow me to actually fabricate the chips used in our experiments. I use a variety of instruments for deposition, lithography, focused ion beam milling, imaging, and various other applications.

What brought you to Caltech for graduate school/postdoctoral appointment?

I initially applied to Caltech after seeing a senior student from my undergraduate research lab apply. After seeing the campus during my visit weekend, I fell in love with my current lab, the students in my cohort, and the campus, and knew I had to come here for my PhD.

Please say a few words about your academic path. What led you to pursue a STEM focus?

I have always been passionate about science stemming from my grandfather. He always pushed me to be curious and to discover things about the world. I was very drawn to particle physics early on in my undergraduate at UChicago which lead me to pursue a double major in math and physics.

After realizing it wasn't exactly what I wanted, I did a SULI internship at SLAC where I focused on laser propagation simulations which led me to join a lab at UChicago doing quantum materials growth and characterization. I learned I was more interested in application of these materials which pushed me to my current work in the Faraon Group.

Please describe your community service/outreach work, and any future goals.

During my undergraduate studies, I helped found the UChicago Racial and Ethnic Minorities in Physics (REMiP) program to help recruit and support underrepresented students. Since coming to Caltech, I have participated both as a participant and a mentor for the Graduate Summer Research Institute (GSRI) program. GSRI was a huge help for me during my transition to graduate school and I have been very excited to go back to speak to the new cohorts and offer my advice as I can. I have also served as a mentor for the applied physics mentorship program for the last two years and served as a graduate orientation guide for two years as well.

What has inspired your involvement in these activities?

There are unfortunately not a lot of Black scientists, especially in physics. Growing up, it was hard to imagine myself really doing research for exactly this reason. During my undergrad, I had a Black graduate student TA for many of my classes who I often talked to. Hearing his experiences really convinced me that I could succeed in graduate school. This also taught me how important it is to just be visible as an underrepresented minority in STEM. I hope to show other students like that they also can go down this route and succeed in the same way my TA showed me.

What was your experience of Caltech like when you first began here? How has the cultural landscape of campus changed (or not)? Are there any changes you'd like to see in Caltech's future, as it relates to inclusion, diversity, equity, or accessibility?

Caltech is a very scary place to first start out at. Being amongst some of the most incredible minds in the world made it hard to believe that I really belonged here. Luckily, participating in programs like GSRI made it easier for me to feel that I did deserve my spot here. It also introduced me to a large and diverse community of people who understand the struggles and doubts I faced. I think Caltech has made great strides to increase the diversity on campus, but I think there is still a long way to go. I would especially love to see more professors on campus that are Black or underrepresented minorities. However, I think that bringing in more minorities as graduate students and postdocs is a really important first step towards this goal and is something I hope I can help with during my time at Caltech.

How do you balance your rigorous research/academic workload and your social activities?

I struggled a lot with my work-life balance as an undergrad. When I joined a research lab, I felt that I had a lot to prove and I pushed myself very hard to the point of near burnout. Luckily, I had some amazing friends at the time who helped me see that what I was doing was unsustainable. This also helped me prioritize having a better balance in graduate school. I am lucky enough to have a really incredible friend group that is always planning outings, dinners, beach trips, hikes, etc. It has made it a lot easier to take time away from research and keep myself happy. I also make a point to not work once I go home too much and give myself spaces where I can fully disconnect from my laboratory activities.

What advice would you give to your younger self?

Something I really wish someone had told me a long time ago was to enjoy the little moments. Try to recognize the small things that make you happy. This can be a enjoying a good meal, taking in a beautiful scenery, laughing with your friends, or a dozen other things. But trying to recognize these moments as they happen and reflecting on your own enjoyment has really improved my outlook on my own life.

What are your professional or personal goals after graduation?

I really love the field of quantum networking and I definitely want to stay involved and work towards actually building and implementing these networks across the US and the world. I am a very hands-on scientist so I lean towards joining an industry company working towards this goal, but I have not decided anything for certain yet. What I do know is that wherever I end up, I want to continue to involve myself in mentorship and outreach to inspire the next generation of scientists.