A bright opportunity: ISU student studies solar physics at Harvard

When Amelia Korveziroska was accepted for a research internship at Harvard, the junior physics engineering major knew she was going to conduct innovative, scientific research. She didn’t expect to also gain insight into her potential future, connect with new mentors, and discover confidence in herself as a researcher.

Korveziroska learned about the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program through Illinois State’s Physics Department, and after hesitantly applying to multiple programs, she received an internship acceptance letter—much to her surprise—from Harvard.

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Redbird Scholar: Spring 2023

The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics Solar Physics Research Experiments for Undergraduates program lasted 10 weeks during summer 2022. In Cambridge, Massachusetts, Korveziroska investigated bizarre, small-scale explosions embedded in the cool solar atmosphere.

“I was analyzing these bursts or explosions to understand why the sun is hotter the further away you go,” Korveziroska said. “It doesn’t make sense.”

These bursts occur in the chromosphere, which is layered in between the corona and the photosphere—all outer layers of the sun. The chromosphere is where matter flows. Korveziroska said that by understanding how the energy flows, it can explain why the sun is getting hotter the further away it is.

Korveziroska’s research involved coding and analyzing data to characterize UV bursts on a spectrum. She said coding was the most challenging aspect of the research internship. “I had to learn a new [coding] language,” said Korveziroska.

In addition to her research, Korveziroska said, “They had a lot of panels where they were talking about grad school, grad applications, grants, and other jobs you could do besides research or academia.”

At Illinois State, Korveziroska conducts nanomaterial research with Assistant Professor of Physics Dr. Mahua Biswas. Their research involves taking a polymer, a substance primarily used in plastic, and using it as a guide to create new, inorganic nanostructures.

“Amelia is one of the most motivated students I have met so far,” said Biswas.

Korveziroska was a freshman in the first course Biswas taught at Illinois State in 2020. In the class, she emphasized the importance of starting research early in one’s college career and arranged for the students to learn about various research groups as an opportunity for students to get involved. Korveziroska joined Biswas’ research group the following semester.

“The opportunities ISU has given me has blown me away,” Korveziroska said. “The research, the opportunities for me to do research at other schools, presenting—are all things ISU has given me, and I’m really grateful for that.”

Korveziroska’s dream is to work for NASA, and maybe even become an astronaut. As a scientist, Korveziroska wants to combine her research passions. Through her internship at Harvard, Korveziroska said, “I figured out that I don’t only like doing data analysis, so it made me realize engineering is definitely something I want to do; not just physics.”

In addition to gaining research experience at Harvard, Korveziroska said she learned about applying for graduate school and grants, and she connected with a mentor who she might be able to intern with next summer. Korveziroska said, perhaps most significantly, she gained a sense of her own self accomplishments and abilities.

“Getting accepted to Harvard [research program] made me realize that I am a good candidate, and it made me want to apply to other scholarships and opportunities,” said Korveziroska.