Physics Grad Profiles

Zach Capalbo, class of 2012
After graduating with honors in physics, Zach was hired by Thermo Scientific. He spent a summer working there as a hardware/software interface developer on the Tru-Narc handheld Raman spectrometer after his junior year. He continues to develop his expertise in the hardware/software interface and is currently working on projects related to handheld spectroscopic techniques at Thermo. On the side, Zach and Professor Lee have started a company to commercialize some of the technology they have developed over the past couple of years—that’s about all we can say about it for now.

Danielle Duggins, class of 2012
Danielle is currently working as an intern in the r&d group at Thermo Scientific. Her senior thesis involved a technique known as LIBS (laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy), and at Thermo she is working on the development of a new LIBS system. She intends to go to graduate school in 2013.

Jesse Thompson, class of 2012
Jesse is a graduate student in physics at Northeastern University.

Robert (Buddy) Fryer, class of 2011
With interests in medical physics, Buddy is in a Ph.D. program in physics at the University of Maine.

Michael Percuoco, class of 2011
Mike double majored in Physics and Computer Science. He is now a graduate student at Northeastern University where he working on his Ph.D. studying theoretical high energy physics.

Jonathan Sheeks, class of 2011
Jonathan leveraged his summer internship with startup company Zink into a permanent position. Zink was started by some ex-Polaroid engineers and scientists to commercialize a color printing technology that requires no ink ("zero-ink") because the colorant is contained within the print media itself. You can learn more about this company at its website, www.zink.com.

Thomas Botticello, class of 2010
Thomas double majored in physics and Biblical studies. He works at the Proton Cancer Treatment Center of Massachusetts General Hospital doing quality assurance and quality control on the proton beam and on patient specific, aperture and range compensation hardware. Thomas is the fourth of our recent graduates working in health physics at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Spencer Carson, class of 2010
Spencer is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in experimental biophysics at Northeastern University. In the lab of Meni Wanunu, he is researching and fabricating solid state nanopores for use in the sequencing of DNA and studying the kinetics of restriction enzymes.
 

Jordan Montgomery, class of 2010
Jordan triple-majored in physics, math and biblical studies and is currently a graduate student in Astrophysics at Boston University where he is studying galaxy formation through numerical simulations.

Matt Percuoco, class of 2010
Matt graduated from Gordon College with majors in physics and Biblical Studies. After graduation, he enrolled in a masters degree program at Gordon-Conwell Seminary.

Emily Butt, class of 2008
Emily is serving with the United States Marine Corps.

Dan Ashley, class of 2007
Graduating with a major in physics and minors in mathematics and health professions, Dan Ashley works as a dosimetrist at the proton therapy center at Massachusetts General Hospital. In the picture at the right, Dan is standing in front of the hospital's cyclotron. 

Josh Small, class of 2007
Working in the Proton Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, Josh is in charge of the quality assurance of the proton beam and of the hardware made for each patient.

Jeromy Tompkins, class of 2007
In 2012, Jeromy completed a Ph. D. degree in nuclear physics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The topic of his dissertation was polarized-photofission, which is a type of fission induced by linearly-polarized photons. At Gordon, Jeromy majored in both physics and mathematics, graduating summa cum laude.

Hugh Prichard, class of 2006
Hugh Prichard double majored in physics and secondary education. After considering high school teaching as well as employment outside of teaching, Hugh interviewed for two positions in the field of medical physics. He was offered both positions and accepted the one in photon dosimetry at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Officially he is a "medical dosimetrist dealing with radiation oncology."

Bekah Fisher, class of 2005
Bekah Fisher graduated in 2005 and was accepted into the Peace Corps. Upon completion of her training she became a school physics teacher in a small rural village in the middle of Tanzania in East Africa. She had about a half-dozen classes each with about 50 students. Although she taught in English, she learned to speak Swahili. She lived in a little house without comforts such as electricity and running water. After moving back to the States, she became a high school physics teacher in Hudson, Massachusetts.

See Bekah's Tanzanian house and her school

Mike Frechette, class of 2005
Graduating from Gordon with majors in physics and mathematics, Mike Frechette went on to earn a master of arts degree in linguistics. He and his wife Jessica are planning to do linguistics, translation, and literacy work.

Megan Parker, class of 2005
Megan Parker graduated in 2005 as a double major in physics and mathematics. After graduation she obtained a job as a civilian employee in the sensor division of the U.S. Army's Fort Monmouth in New Jersey. Since then she has changed careers, and is now a high school physics and math teacher.

Jon Banks, class of 2004
Although accepted into physics graduate school with a teaching assistantship, Jon Banks decided to enter the military. He is a First Lieutenant and pilot in the U.S. Marines.

Rebecca Copty, class of 2004
Rebecca Copty graduated in 2004 with a major in physics and a minor in business. She spent a year doing various jobs, including teaching mathematics and physics at a school in Beverly, MA. She then entered a master's degree program in civil engineering, taught jointly by Glasgow and Heriot-Watt Universities in Scotland. She has since completed her master's degree in water resources engineering management, with distinction. She now works as an engineer for an engineering consultancy in Edinburgh. Her specialty is using computers to model water flow in developments in order to find sustainable solutions for flooding. Rebecca is focusing on developing her technical skills in hydraulic modeling. She hopes eventually to use those in underprivileged, developing areas to promote sound water supply and drainage infrastructure.

Amy Freed Gulley, class of 2004
Amy Freed Gulley graduated from Gordon in 2004 with majors in physics and mathematics, and a Pike Scholars Program contract major in German studies. Since graduation, she earned a master's degree in physics from Tufts University, got married, and became the office manager of a company in Pennsylvania.

Chris Love, class of 2004
In his first year of teaching physics at Triton Regional High School after graduating from Gordon in 2004, Chris Love applied for and won a sizeable grant for new computer equipment. He now teaches at Masconomet Regional High School in nearby Topsfield, MA.

Danica Passano Rines, class of 2004
Originally from Bozeman, Montana, Danica Passano Rines graduated from Gordon with a degree in physics and a minor in mathematics. While at Gordon, Danica played varsity volleyball. After graduating in 2004 she worked briefly for a laser applications engineering firm before becoming a systems engineer at Raytheon. In her time at Raytheon, Danica has worked on an air defense program for the Army and Marine Corps.

Levi Silvers, class of 2004
After graduating from Gordon, Levi Silvers entered a Ph.D. program in atmospheric science at Colorado State University, which he completed in 2011. His research interests at Colorado State were in the area of theoretical atmospheric dynamics. Other interests include hiking, as seen here.