Prize Recipient

Lucas Orona
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Background:

My name is Lucas Orona and I am a physics major at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, class of 2014.  I enjoy playing sports, especially soccer and ultimate Frisbee.  I have lived in Utah, Colorado, Virginia, and, most recently, in Merritt Island, Florida.  The influence of the space industry in the area sparked my interest in technical subjects, specifically engineering.  However, the Electricity and Magnetism class I took first semester at MIT made me realize that I would rather pursue physics than engineering.  I am interested in most branches of physics but am especially excited about condensed matter physics.  I now work on campus in a lab specializing in electron transport on a team studying topological insulators.  I intend to continue studying physics in grad school and hope to live in the southwest some day.