Grant Varnau

I became involved in SPS as a junior in the Physics Department at San Diego State University. I eventually became the President the SDSU SPS Chapter and worked to provide free tutoring hours for introductory physics, as well as organize industry and community outreach events. Once inducted as a member of Sigma Pi Sigma, I worked to engage Alumni from the SDSU SPS chapter with current physics majors to connect over career possibilities in academia, industry, and government. 

After graduating from San Diego State University with a BS in Physics I began my PhD in Chemical Physics at the University of Arizona. My research focuses on the interfaces of physics, chemistry, and biology, specifically working towards the Quantum Biology hypothesis; the idea that quantum mechanical coherence phenomena govern certain aspects of biology. I am still working on my PhD as a graduate student and when I'm not working on research I teach chemical instrumentation labs to undergraduate chemistry students. 

I am interested in joining the Alumni Engagement Program because I want to show other physics students the possibilities outside of physics. A physics degree is incredibly versatile and physicists are needed in many fields for our ability to think through complex problems based on their fundamentals. Working in chemical and biological physics has given me an appreciation for how the language of physics spans many disciplines in science and I want to share that with others.