Ronan Tiu, a sophomore at Stony Brook University (SBU), has been named the URECA researcher of the month for January. He is pursuing a double major in physics and math and is part of the Simons STEM Scholars program. During his freshman year, Tiu began research under Distinguished Professor Abhay Deshpande in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. His work focused on designing transport boxes for Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) detectors, used in high-energy physics experiments at Jefferson National Laboratory. Additionally, he worked on software simulation projects analyzing CERN ROOT data files within the Electron Ion Collider (EIC) software environment.
In the previous summer, Tiu participated in an REU program in Mathematics at Indiana University. There, he engaged in modeling cellular dynamics using CompuCell3D and lipid membrane dynamics with CHARMM package tools. He presented his findings at both the Indiana Undergraduate Math Research Conference and IU Summer Research Symposium and continued his project virtually post-program.
Tiu was also first author on an abstract titled “Computational Simulations of Object Engulfment by Cellular Aggregates (Spherophagy),” which was submitted to the annual Conference of the International Society for Biofabrication (ISBF) held in November 2024 in Fukuoka, Japan. At this conference, he not only presented his work but also received a travel award and was invited to co-chair a speaker panel.
He offered advice to fellow undergraduates interested in research: “My biggest piece of advice is to talk about your research interests, whether it be with peers or graduate students that you meet or professors. Go out of your way to talk about your interests! You really never know where it’s going to take you.”
On campus, Tiu serves as a teaching assistant for physics courses and holds roles such as treasurer of SBU's Chapter of the National Society of Black Physicists. He is also co-chairing the Black and Latinx Initiatives Student Success Council where he helps pilot a new mentoring initiative.
For more insights from Ronan Tiu's experience, read his full interview with URECA Director Karen Kernan.