Prize Recipient

Joshua Reeves

Background:

My name is Joshua Reeves and I am currently a first year undergraduate student at Stanford University. I grew up in Marin County CA, about 10 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge. My first experience with studying physics was in my senior year of High School. I enrolled in AP Physics C: Mechanics. From the first day of class when we learned about rotation, I was fascinated by the real world applications. Each week we did a lab with a dynamics track or other lab equipment and each time our measured data matched our physics calculations, I became further intrigued. The fact that the math I had been learning my whole life could actually be backed up by real world experiments and events amazed me.

With each new concept, I understood a little bit more about why object roll downhill and not uphill. Why the planets rotate on two axes and how the moon causes tides. Upon completion of the course, I wanted to learn more. I completed Optics and Thermodynamics first quarter and I am currently enrolled in Electricity and Magnetism. As my classes' get more and more specialized, I feel I will be able to view the world in a whole new respect. I am looking forward to my future years at Stanford and majoring in Physics with great anticipation.