Michigan Tech Physics Department

Congratulations to PhD candidate Jester Itliong on his success competing at the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools Three Minute Thesis competition in Kansas City.

Jester's presentation, Molecular Choreography: The Physics of Flow in Ionic Polymers uses molecular dynamics simulations to investigate how molecular features like size, charge, and polarity govern viscosity and ion transport in ionic liquids.

Jester Itliong Represents Michigan Tech as MAGS 3MT Finalist Physics PhD candidate Jester Itliong represented Michigan Tech in the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition in Kansas City.

We're proud to share that Subhasish Mandal, a Department of Physics alum, is among the 24 recipients of the 2026 Cottrell Scholar Awards announced last week by the Research Corporation for Science Advancement.

The Cottrell Scholar Award recognizes outstanding teacher-scholars for the quality and innovation of their research and academic leadership in chemistry, physics and astronomy. Awardees were selected from across the U.S. and Canada.

Mandal earned his PhD in Physics from Michigan Tech in 2012 under the guidance of Professor Ranjit Pati and is now an assistant professor of physics at West Virginia University. Congratulations!

2026 Cottrell Scholar Awards Research Corporation for Science Advancement, America's first foundation dedicated wholly to science, has named 24 early career scholars in chemistry, physics, and astronomy as recipients of its 2026 Cottrell Scholar Awards. Each awardee receives $120,000.