Daniel Julian '25
Honors College
BS Physics and Applied Mathematics double major

On Stony Brook: 
Growing up in Suffolk County, I heard about Stony Brook countless times, especially since my father is a medical laboratory scientist in hematology at Stony Brook Hospital. In middle school, I attended the Stony Brook music pre-college program. In high school, I played in the SBU big band jazz ensemble, which I continued into undergrad.

I chose to study at Stony Brook because of its reputation for STEM and its close ties with Brookhaven National Laboratory. I was already familiar with the music program, which was another selling point. Stony Brook was also a clear choice for me because I wanted to commute.

On his major:
I chose physics because in high school chemistry and physics, I developed a passion for explaining the physical using mathematical and theoretical models. I chose AMS since the topics covered in AMS classes overlapped well with physics. My AMS classes would become quite useful when I began my research using machine learning for atomic and molecular physics.

Favorite class:
One of my favorite classes was PHY 303 taught by Professor Radu Ionas. This class is the first contact most physics students have with analytical mechanics. The concepts and formalisms covered in this class provide a powerful way to understand the laws of Newton from a higher vantage point. Taking this class opened my eyes to how physicists can model the physical world starting from simple laws. This class prepared me for PHY 501, Graduate Mechanics, which was another favorite of mine. Classical mechanics is an essential part of any physicist’s education and prepares one to tackle nearly every other area of physics from quantum mechanics to general relativity.

Interests:
Besides physics, I am interested in jazz, and I have been playing the saxophone since the age of nine. I was able to pursue my interest in jazz at Stony Brook as I played both in small groups and the SBU big band. At one point, I joined the youth board at the Jazz Loft, a notable local jazz venue right next to SBU.

My research interests are in the application of machine learning, particularly deep neural networks, to the prediction of chemical reactions. My current project investigates the application of neural networks to predicting termolecular reactions. I have two publications, one co-first author on the Database for Spectroscopic Constants of Diatomic Molecules in the Journal of Molecular Spectroscopy, and one first author in Physical Review A on the use of neural networks for predicting product ro-vibrational state distributions in atom-diatom reactions across isotpologues.

Accomplishments:
As a junior, I was selected for induction in Stony Brook’s chapter of Sigma Pi Sigma, the national physics honor society. I received the seven times Outstanding Academic Achievement Award for seven semesters with a 4.0 GPA. I was one of four students selected to give an oral presentation at a Department of Physics and Astronomy colloquium, based on my 2024 poster presentation at the Department’s undergraduate research day.

I have presented my work at multiple international conferences: I gave poster presentations and one oral presentation at the American Physical Society’s Division of Atomic and Molecular Physics annual conference. I presented my work on atom-diatom and termolecular reactions at Oxford University at the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Faraday Discussion on machine learning in chemistry.

I was one of four institutional nominees for the Barry Goldwater Scholarship for the 2024 competition year.

In the Summer of 2022, I participated in the Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships program administered by the Department of Energy at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

I was awarded the John S. Toll Prize by the Department of Physics and Astronomy, which recognizes “the student who shows the greatest promise in physics and/or astronomy.”

I started taking graduate physics courses during my senior year, specifically classical mechanics and electrodynamics. As an undergraduate, I took the graduate comprehensive exam for classical mechanics and scored at the highest level.

I was the URECAfeatured researcherof the month for April 2024.

Plans for post-graduation:
I will be attending the graduate program in physics at SBU pursuing a PhD. I will be studying theoretical and computational physics, particularly in the area of atomic, molecular, and optical physics.

Favorite SBU memory:
Of everything I have done during undergrad, my time performing research in the group of Professor Jesús Pérez Ríos (theoretical AMO physics) will stick with me the most. Under Professor Jesús Pérez Ríos’ guidance, I have been able to explore my passion for using powerful predictive tools to understand systems in chemical physics. Our research group is nurturing and welcoming. We have thought-provoking group meetings and know how to have fun: our group has a band, the Few Body Ensemble, and we are known to go on outings such as hikes and Topgolf.

Advice for future Seawolves:
Pursue a major that is a blend of your interests and strengths that also gives you skills that are in high demand. Choose a major that can push you to improve your criticalthinking and one where you deeply care about understanding the content. Your future job may very well not align with your major, but the style of thinking you practiced in your major could be valuable in the workforce.