Kya Wiggins ’24 pictures herself working as a mechanical or aerospace engineer, and Berry’s dual-degree engineering program is helping her connect the dots to realize her vision. After obtaining a degree in applied physics and math, Kya moved to the next point in her path — earning an industrial engineering degree at Georgia Tech.
When she arrived on campus, the applied physics and math major tapped into a network of opportunities for undergraduate research, accelerated learning and practical experience that give her a competitive edge. For example, Kya explored the theoretical concept of tensegrity — the arrangement of cable-like bonds between points in a structure, like the ligaments and tendons in the human body. “My objective was to investigate how a system’s ability to support external stresses depends on a phase transition in the mechanical strength of random structures with complex, ‘one-way’ elements such as those common in biology and engineering,” she explains.
The project, part of a federally funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates initiative, gave Kya the chance to learn an advanced computer program called Mathematica and collaborate with Georgia Tech students. “I chose to study physics because I want to better understand how the world works using scientific methods that I can apply to real-world problems,” she says.
Physics and Astronomy Professor Todd Timberlake mentored Kya, who worked as a research assistant investigating quantum mechanics — the atomic and subatomic underpinnings of matter — in his lab. “He was always available to answer my questions,” Kya says. “He went out of his way to make sure I was doing well academically by providing scholarship links or other research opportunities he I could benefit from.”
She gained additional real-world job experience as general manager for Viking Tutoring Services, which pairs Berry students with kids from local middle and high schools. She credits the administrative role with teaching her a lot about solving problems and communicating with faculty, parents and students, as well as effective methods for setting schedules and handling finances. Now she feels more confident about her own ideas and work ethic, she says.
Kya rounded out her last year at Berry by writing her physics Honors thesis — on particle interactions in quantum systems — and by competing in her final meets as a scholar-athlete in track and field.
Down the road, she envisions a job at Delta Air Lines or NASA. “I like to set difficult but achievable goals for myself,” Kya says. “Whenever I start something, I intend to finish it to the best of my ability.”
Update: In August 2023, Kya Wiggins’ Honors thesis formed the basis of a paper published in a leading physics journal, Physical Review E. Titled “Transition in eigenvalue statistics due to tunneling in a simple quantum system,” the article was co-authored with Physics and Astronomy Professor Todd Timberlake.
