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Anthony McLain

905

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Education

Arkansas Tech University

Bachelor's degree program
2021 - 2025
  • Majors:
    • Mathematics
    • Physics

Miscellaneous

  • Desired degree level:

    Doctoral degree program (PhD, MD, JD, etc.)

  • Graduate schools of interest:

  • Transfer schools of interest:

  • Majors of interest:

    • Physics
    • Mathematics
  • Not planning to go to medical school
  • Career

    • Dream career field:

      Research

    • Dream career goals:

      Researching cosmology and particle physics

      Research

      • Physics

        Arkansas Tech University — Student
        2023 – Present

      Public services

      • Volunteering

        Scouts of America - Troop 17 — Member - Eagle
        2016 – 2021

      Future Interests

      Volunteering

      Philanthropy

      Learner Geometry Scholarship
      Mathematics is integral to the inner workings of physics, and by extension, the entire universe. Newton's Principia was the first description of the universe through mathematical models, directly starting the development of classical physics. From then on, the goal of natural philosophy was to take a real-world phenomenon and tie it to some mathematical relation, which of course, is still the goal of modern science. The relationships between the properties of a system and how they interact with each other is where the beauty of physics lies. For example, decreasing the distance between two orbital bodies will cause the gravitational force to increase, thereby causing an increased orbital velocity. The fact that so many quantities are dependent on other quantities in complex yet direct ways is astounding. On the level of pure mathematics, the relationships between systems that don't even necessarily exist in the real world are still extremely complex. Take linear algebra, for example, where a vector transformation can be interpreted as morphing the plane on which they exist, allowing one to intuit where any vector would land as long as the i and j vectors are known. This concept captivated me as I was learning it, giving me a more complete appreciation for the complexity within math. To go further, these transforms are often utilized in many areas of physics, such as transient circuit analysis, quantum computing, and simple particle collisions, which proves that the universe is intrinsically bound by such mathematical relationships, and learning about them reveals the beauty behind the careful construction of the universe we live in. If the tiniest thing about some of the most important physical equations were different, then the universe would be fundamentally different. The study of mathematics allows anyone to appreciate the intrinsic beauty of the universe. With that said, the reason for my choosing a degree in mathematics ties directly to my "dream career." I wish to conduct research somewhere like the Fermilab or the LHC, and getting a degree in math as well as physics would allow me to have a more robust understanding of the more theoretical side of physics, as much of that looks more like pure math. When the entirety of the universe is built on math, I need to ensure that my understanding of math is as complete as possible. Thus, I have cultivated an appreciation and understanding of math to the best of my abilities.
      Anthony McLain Student Profile | Bold.org