Physics alumnus, Enrique Gamez '14 won a prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship that will cover three years of graduate school tuition, where he plans to study theoretical astro-particle physics, plus a $34,000 stipend. Gamez transferred to Western Michigan University as an undergraduate student and had a wide-range of academic interests. He admits that he loved physics his entire life, but he also wanted to compose music, loved math and planned to study engineering. After taking his first physics course at WMU, though, Gamez fell in love with it and decided to major in physics. He enjoyed thinking of the fundamental way the world works and notes that it "adds fundamental joy to my life." Still interested in math and music composition, Gamez also minored in both.
Gamez will attend the University of Michigan in the fall of 2015 where he will study the properties of dark matter. While conducting his research, each year Gamez will submit a report to the NSF to demonstrate that he is making academic progress. Gamez feels prepared for graduate school and his research project because of his foundation at WMU. According to Gamez, he has had "lots of good guidance from professors, specifically Dr. Burns, Dr. Korista and Dr. Pancella. The Physics Club gave me community. I received support from faculty and students. I felt encouraged and at home at WMU and that's probably why I did well."