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Simons STEM Scholars Program
HomeSimons Scholar ProfileSimons Scholars Profile - Marcus Velazquez

MarcusVelazquez

Image of Marcus Velazquez

Cohort 1

Hometown: Brooklyn, NY

Major: Electrical Engineering

Year: Sophomore

High School: NYC iSchool

Biography:

Marcus plans on studying optical systems in precise instruments, and the development of relevant technologies that observe astronomical phenomena, like LIGO in their time at Stony Brook. In their free time, Marcus likes to play video games, guitar, and recreational sports like volleyball. They enjoy watching One Piece and, in the past, they have enjoyed swimming and kayaking. Before becoming a Simons STEM Scholar, Marcus participated in the ACE Mentor Program. Marcus is most excited to get to interact with the organizations and peers at their university, being able to grow and learn while getting closer to friends and striving for the most intellectually challenging, but fun, activities.

Leading the Future:

"I envision myself building a novel gravitational wave instrument with a group that makes astrophysics more accessible to people from my community."

Why did you become a Simons STEM Scholar?:

“I chose to become a Simons STEM Scholar so that I can be around multidisciplined people and have the opportunity to learn from their differing perspectives. Also, the layers of support the program offers attracted me, especially with the multicultural background of my peers. Each layer offers less of a reason for me to be uncomfortable in college as the program looks into each holistic individual. This quality, and the fact that the staff is very transparent with their comfortability but joint professionalism provided an authentic view into what the program would be like. They knocked down all preconceived barriers of what I thought an academic program would be, as we are not robots, we are all human beings.”

What would you say to someone who is applying?:

“This program is directed towards those interested in the research pathway. Not the dedicated or decided. I came into this program with a vague understanding of what the Electrical Engineering program even was. However, the program encourages us to explore our interests. They are very real with what failure we will face (as not all plans work the first time), but also the triumphs we can achieve. Many people change their majors and interests, but if you know you fit into some type of STEM or related pathway, the program and staff will support you.”

Research Experiences:

Summer 2024 - Characterizing Radiation Damage of CFEG Electron Source by Cryo-EM Reconstructions over Multiple Sub-Frames under Dr. Ed Eng and Dr. Kasahun Neselu Simons Electron Microscopy Team