We would like to introduce you to Zach Sun from Physics for this week’s #humansofoiss!
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1. Tell us your background stories - why/how did you choose to come to the US and Yale
“I spent my childhood in Shanghai (China), Los Angeles and Seattle. Later I went back to Shanghai for middle school and high school, and eventually went to UMass Amherst for undergrad.
How I chose to come to Yale for PhD felt like a coincidence with luck, but now I see it as “fate” ’. I first applied to the Applied Physics program not knowing that it does not include Biophysics, the direction I was interested in. One director at Yale was so kind as to email me that they were willing to switch me to the Physics program with the PEB track, even though the deadline was already due. Even today I am still very grateful for their sincere attitude towards every applicant.”
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2. What do you study for your research?
“I study a subfield within soft Condensed Matter Physics called Active Matter, in which we look within systems that are driven out of equilibrium. Our lab (Murrell lab) is interested in both in vitro and in vivo systems, which means we build artificial cells, and we study living cells. We mainly focus on the cell cytoskeleton-the actin cortex, which is a layer at the perimeter of the cell and governs cell’s motility and shape formation. My recent project is about Self-Organized Criticality within the cytoskeleton. We experimentally observed earthquake-like phenomenon from the actin network of the artificial cell actomyosin cortex.”
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3. What do you like to do outside of research?
“Sport-wise, I enjoy basketball (my favorite & I would’ve gone pro if my talent allowed), tennis, ping pong, and lifting (body-building). Music-wise, I have been a professional flutist since I was 8, and recently picked up ukulele for a change of taste. I’m also a big theatre person now - I recently joined the Vermillion theater and started drama/play acting. Other than that, I write poems from time to time, love reading (probably a given) and traveling. In general, I just love to see and feel the world from multiple different perspectives. Oh, and I am always down for boba!”
