Joscelyn Van Der Veen was drawn to physics at an early age and is now finishing third year in the Mathematical Physics co-op program at the University of Waterloo. Joscelyn was a winner of the Destination Physics Scholarship, a donor funded award that enables our top undergraduate students to focus on learning and the pursuit of discovery.
Joscelyn’s home town is Ottawa. But when she expressed interest in quantum mechanics as an area of study, the advice she received steered her to the University of Waterloo. The desire to study in Waterloo was cemented further after attending a high school physics camp at the Perimeter Institute. She loved the experience to work with like-minded peers on topics in modern physics.
Joscelyn is passionate about atomic, molecular, and optical (AMO) physics. This field describes the behaviour of light and matter and is the foundation for chemical reactions and even biological processes. Joscelyn has had excellent research experience in AMO physics labs. For example she had an 8-month co-op term at Nicolaus Copernicus University in Poland studying nitrogen vacancy centres in diamond. A nitrogen vacancy is what you get when you remove 2 carbon atoms from a diamond lattice and replace them with just 1 nitrogen. They behave like trapped atoms that can absorb and emit photons and have a spin that can interact with magnetic fields. Her research was focused on developing this system for quantum networks and quantum microscopy.
Joscelyn is part of PhysClub, and volunteers for science ambassadors, and science outreach. She enjoys the opportunities to talk about physics with peers and help with events like the physics outreach labs for high school students. Part of this is for the fun, like doing demonstrations with liquid nitrogen, but it is also a great way to serve as a role model and mentor for younger students.
Josceleyn is currently trying to decide which kind of physics she wants to pursue: fundamental research to explain some of the remaining mysteries in physics or building on existing theories to explain the results of state-of-the-art experiments.
Either way, Joscelyn aspires to do research in physics that has an impact in society. These scholarships will help her do just that.
Destination Physics Scholarship
Waterloo students belong to the fastest-growing Physics & Astronomy department in Canada. Under the guidance of our award-winning faculty, future physicists are blazing trails in fields as diverse as quantum computing and quantum matter, optics and photonics, astrophysics, and quantum materials.
This annual scholarship was established to enable our remarkable students to focus on learning and the pursuit of discovery, and is awarded on the basis of academic excellence. In turn, they set the bar high for their peers while achieving ambitious goals that propel our understanding of the universe.
Donations to scholarships at Waterloo directly supports the next generation of research scientists and high-tech entrepreneurs. By providing students with the resources they need, together we will create the conditions our students need to lead our world into a very exciting future.
