{"id":93601,"date":"2023-04-14T13:16:41","date_gmt":"2023-04-14T17:16:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/?p=93601"},"modified":"2023-04-14T13:26:06","modified_gmt":"2023-04-14T17:26:06","slug":"umw-goldwater-scholar-showcases-perfect-symmetry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2023\/04\/14\/umw-goldwater-scholar-showcases-perfect-symmetry\/","title":{"rendered":"Mary Wash Goldwater Scholar Showcases Perfect Symmetry"},"content":{"rendered":"<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><p style=\"font-weight: 400\">In our everyday language, symmetry refers to things that are rightly balanced. For Abigail &ldquo;Abby&rdquo; Swanson, a University of Mary Washington junior, majoring in physics and mathematics, the combination of the two subjects she studies couldn&rsquo;t be &ldquo;more balanced.&rdquo;<\/p><figure id=\"attachment_93602\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-93602\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"93602\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2023\/04\/14\/umw-goldwater-scholar-showcases-perfect-symmetry\/swanson_physics2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/Swanson_physics2-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1920\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta='{\"aperture\":\"1.7\",\"credit\":\"\",\"camera\":\"moto g stylus 5G\",\"caption\":\"\",\"created_timestamp\":\"1681311595\",\"copyright\":\"\",\"focal_length\":\"4.71\",\"iso\":\"215\",\"shutter_speed\":\"0.016666667\",\"title\":\"\",\"orientation\":\"1\"}' data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;UMW junior Abigail &amp;#8220;Abby&amp;#8221; Swanson, a physics and math major, is the first female Mary Washington student to win the ultra-prestigious Goldwater Scholarship.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/Swanson_physics2-300x225.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/Swanson_physics2-1024x768.jpg\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-93602\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/Swanson_physics2-300x225.jpg\" alt='UMW junior Abigail \"Abby\" Swanson, a physics and math major, is the first female Mary Washington student to win the ultra-prestigious Goldwater Scholarship.' width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/Swanson_physics2-300x225.jpg 300w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/Swanson_physics2-1024x768.jpg 1024w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/Swanson_physics2-768x576.jpg 768w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/Swanson_physics2-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/Swanson_physics2-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-93602\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">UMW junior Abigail &ldquo;Abby&rdquo; Swanson, a physics and math major, is the first female Mary Washington student to win the ultra-prestigious Goldwater Scholarship.<\/figcaption><\/figure><p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Except, Swanson, who hails from Farmville, Virginia, studies the <em>breaking<\/em> of symmetry in fundamental theories with Assistant Professor of Physics Desmond Villalba. This research pertains to the early particle universe before any atoms were formed. Swanson uses mathematical representation to study how familiar particles obtain mass, and now her research has received national recognition, earning the most prestigious undergraduate award in STEM, <a href=\"https:\/\/goldwaterscholarship.gov\/2023-scholars\/\">the Barry Goldwater Scholarship<\/a>.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Only 413 students are named among the 2023 Goldwater Scholars from more than 5,000 nominated by hundreds of academic institutions in the United States, according to the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/goldwater.scholarsapply.org\/\">Barry Goldwater Scholarship &amp; Excellence in Education Foundation<\/a>. Each scholarship provides up to $7,500 per year for as many as two years of undergraduate study.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400\">&ldquo;I hope that as I&rsquo;m working toward answering questions about fundamental particles and forces through my research, I&rsquo;ll be able to also widen my sphere of influence to make systematic change,&rdquo; Swanson said.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Her work with Villalba delves into the mysteries of particle physics: &ldquo;Such as what is dark matter, is there a deep link between the four fundamental forces of nature, and why are neutrinos so weird?&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We hope to glean more information about these unanswered questions by looking at symmetry breaking from a different mathematical perspective. I&rsquo;m excited to see where our research goes.&rdquo;<\/p><figure id=\"attachment_93603\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-93603\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"93603\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2023\/04\/14\/umw-goldwater-scholar-showcases-perfect-symmetry\/img_1139-1\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/IMG_1139-1-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1920\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta='{\"aperture\":\"1.8\",\"credit\":\"\",\"camera\":\"iPhone 7\",\"caption\":\"\",\"created_timestamp\":\"1664011762\",\"copyright\":\"\",\"focal_length\":\"3.99\",\"iso\":\"40\",\"shutter_speed\":\"0.05\",\"title\":\"\",\"orientation\":\"0\"}' data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Swanson, posing for a photo here with UMW Assistant Physics Professor Varun Makhija, is president of UMW&rsquo;s Society of Physics Students.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/IMG_1139-1-300x225.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/IMG_1139-1-1024x768.jpg\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-93603\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/IMG_1139-1-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Swanson, posing for a photo here with UMW Assistant Physics Professor Varun Makhija, is president of UMW&rsquo;s Society of Physics Students.\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/IMG_1139-1-300x225.jpg 300w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/IMG_1139-1-1024x768.jpg 1024w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/IMG_1139-1-768x576.jpg 768w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/IMG_1139-1-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/IMG_1139-1-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-93603\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Swanson, posing for a photo here with UMW Assistant Physics Professor Varun Makhija, is president of UMW&rsquo;s Society of Physics Students.<\/figcaption><\/figure><p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Swanson&rsquo;s perfect balance runs deeper than mixing physics and math. She&rsquo;s president of UMW&rsquo;s Society of Physics Students (SPS), which is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spsnational.org\/awards\/outstanding-chapter\">nationally recognized<\/a> for science outreach and community-building. With the help of the Margaret Duke &rsquo;44 Endowed Fund, she helps bring respected scientists to campus for a monthly colloquium and to meet with physics majors. And she does it with equity, considering speakers with diverse identities and distinct research interests.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400\">A Physics Department tutor, Math Department aide and Math Club president, Swanson landed an internship at the National Research Council of Canada, where she works in molecular physics with University of Ottawa Adjunct Professor Michael Schuurman. With the support of the Duke fund, she traveled recently to present her research at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aps.org\/programs\/women\/cuwip\/\">Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics<\/a> at Princeton University, where she found colleagues to advance her mission.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400\">&ldquo;I wish to be part of developing physics programs to be more inclusive,&rdquo; said Swanson, who feels that collaboration is key.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400\">UMW Physics also participates in <a href=\"https:\/\/ep3guide.org\/dali\">a nationwide program<\/a> focused on increasing equity within the field, and Swanson serves as one of two student team members. &ldquo;Our discussions give me insight into why inequity still exists in physics and ways to combat it,&rdquo; she said.<\/p><figure id=\"attachment_93604\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-93604\" style=\"width: 226px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"93604\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2023\/04\/14\/umw-goldwater-scholar-showcases-perfect-symmetry\/swanson_conference_for_undergrad_women_in_phyiscs\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/Swanson_Conference_for_Undergrad_Women_in_Phyiscs-scaled.jpeg\" data-orig-size=\"1927,2560\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta='{\"aperture\":\"1.8\",\"credit\":\"\",\"camera\":\"iPhone SE (2nd generation)\",\"caption\":\"\",\"created_timestamp\":\"1674324783\",\"copyright\":\"\",\"focal_length\":\"3.99\",\"iso\":\"250\",\"shutter_speed\":\"0.025\",\"title\":\"\",\"orientation\":\"1\"}' data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Abigail Swanson, a junior majoring in physics and math, is doing research alongside Physics Professor Desmond Villalba. The two are studying &amp;#8216;symmetry breaking,&amp;#8217; which delves into the mysteries of particle physics.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/Swanson_Conference_for_Undergrad_Women_in_Phyiscs-226x300.jpeg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/Swanson_Conference_for_Undergrad_Women_in_Phyiscs-771x1024.jpeg\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-93604\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/Swanson_Conference_for_Undergrad_Women_in_Phyiscs-226x300.jpeg\" alt=\"Abigail Swanson, a junior majoring in physics and math, is doing research alongside Physics Professor Desmond Villalba. The two are studying 'symmetry breaking,' which delves into the mysteries of particle physics. \" width=\"226\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/Swanson_Conference_for_Undergrad_Women_in_Phyiscs-226x300.jpeg 226w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/Swanson_Conference_for_Undergrad_Women_in_Phyiscs-771x1024.jpeg 771w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/Swanson_Conference_for_Undergrad_Women_in_Phyiscs-768x1020.jpeg 768w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/Swanson_Conference_for_Undergrad_Women_in_Phyiscs-1156x1536.jpeg 1156w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/Swanson_Conference_for_Undergrad_Women_in_Phyiscs-1542x2048.jpeg 1542w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/Swanson_Conference_for_Undergrad_Women_in_Phyiscs-scaled.jpeg 1927w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 226px) 100vw, 226px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-93604\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Abigail Swanson, a junior majoring in physics and math, is doing research alongside Assistant Professor of Physics Desmond Villalba. The two are studying &lsquo;symmetry breaking,&rsquo; which delves into the mysteries of particle physics.<\/figcaption><\/figure><p style=\"font-weight: 400\">In recent years, 40% of UMW physics students have been female, besting the national average for undergraduate women studying the science, which hovers at 25%. And Swanson is leading the way.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400\">She&rsquo;s the first female Mary Washington student to be named a Goldwater Scholar. (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2021\/06\/02\/umw-physics-math-major-wins-preeminent-goldwater-scholarship\/\">William &ldquo;Henry&rdquo; Mills, who graduated last year, earned the 2021 honor<\/a>. His research &ndash; a complex equation of quantum mechanics, high-level math and computer programming &ndash; explored the ways in which molecules rotate, shedding light on processes like vision and photosynthesis.)<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Swanson is also prepared to change how physics is portrayed, work toward greater representation for women, and create knowledge and understanding.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400\">&ldquo;Professionally, Abby wants to further change history,&rdquo; said Professor and Program Coordinator of Physics Matthew Fleenor. &ldquo;She works for a world of better understanding, where we more fully understand symmetry and practice it in terms of representation in the field of physics.&rdquo;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In our everyday language, symmetry refers to things that are rightly balanced. For Abigail &ldquo;Abby&rdquo; Swanson, a University of Mary Washington junior, majoring in physics and mathematics, the combination of the two subjects she studies couldn&rsquo;t be &ldquo;more balanced.&rdquo;Except, Swanson, who hails from Farmville, Virginia, studies the breaking of symmetry in fundamental theories with Assistant [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":90,"featured_media":93605,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"umw_cb_additional_links":[[]],"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_advisory_expires_time":"","_advisory_meta_include":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[704],"tags":[],"topics":[5148],"class_list":{"0":"post-93601","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-stories","8":"topic-learning-impact","9":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.3 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Mary Wash Goldwater Scholar Showcases Perfect Symmetry - News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2023\/04\/14\/umw-goldwater-scholar-showcases-perfect-symmetry\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mary Wash Goldwater Scholar Showcases Perfect Symmetry\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In our everyday language, symmetry refers to things that are rightly balanced. For Abigail &ldquo;Abby&rdquo; Swanson, a University of Mary Washington junior, majoring in physics and mathematics, the combination of the two subjects she studies couldn&rsquo;t be &ldquo;more balanced.&rdquo;Except, Swanson, who hails from Farmville, Virginia, studies the breaking of symmetry in fundamental theories with Assistant [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2023\/04\/14\/umw-goldwater-scholar-showcases-perfect-symmetry\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UniversityofMaryWashington\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-04-14T17:16:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-04-14T17:26:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/NewRelease_Swanson_physics_1024x413.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"413\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lisa Chinn Marvashti\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@UMaryWash\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@UMaryWash\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"University Communications\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/2023\\\/04\\\/14\\\/umw-goldwater-scholar-showcases-perfect-symmetry\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/2023\\\/04\\\/14\\\/umw-goldwater-scholar-showcases-perfect-symmetry\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Lisa Chinn Marvashti\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/eab3b9dd084c2488474792f0c391b8e7\"},\"headline\":\"Mary Wash Goldwater Scholar Showcases Perfect Symmetry\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-04-14T17:16:41+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-04-14T17:26:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/2023\\\/04\\\/14\\\/umw-goldwater-scholar-showcases-perfect-symmetry\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":711,\"commentCount\":1,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/2023\\\/04\\\/14\\\/umw-goldwater-scholar-showcases-perfect-symmetry\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/7\\\/2023\\\/04\\\/NewRelease_Swanson_physics_1024x413.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Top Stories\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/2023\\\/04\\\/14\\\/umw-goldwater-scholar-showcases-perfect-symmetry\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/2023\\\/04\\\/14\\\/umw-goldwater-scholar-showcases-perfect-symmetry\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/2023\\\/04\\\/14\\\/umw-goldwater-scholar-showcases-perfect-symmetry\\\/\",\"name\":\"Mary Wash Goldwater Scholar Showcases Perfect Symmetry - 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