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Gary Uppal is a fourth year working with Dervis Vural. Gary’s research mainly involves population dynamics and understanding how cooperation might evolve in biological systems. The evolution of cooperation is still an active area of research, since social systems are always susceptible to exploitation by cheaters. In particular, he has been studying the effects of fluid dynamical forces on the social evolution of microbes. Originally from California, Gary did his undergrad at UC Davis. He first wanted to go into astronomy after reading a book on the solar system in the third grade, and later changed his interests to high energy physics and then to statistical physics. He enjoys collecting – and occasionally reading – books, traveling, live music, practicing meditation, and spending time with family and friends. After graduation, he wants to find a job either in academia or industry where he can continue to do research and continue to learn.

Michael is a seventh year graduate student working for Professor Colin Jessop. He spent a few years measuring the properties of the Higgs boson through its decay into two photons as measured by the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) at the Large Hadron Collider. He also spent a few years working on the Electromagnetic Calorimeter for the CMS. This impressive assembly of crystal and electronics allows for precise measurement of photon and electron energy in the CMS and is especially important for the analysis that Michael performs. He chose to work with Prof. Jessop and the CMS detector because they use cutting edge technology and analysis techniques. Michael spent the last 4 years living in France and working at CERN in Switzerland. He enjoys swimming, playing card/board/video games, and helping out at his family farm in Minnesota.  After graduating from the University of Notre Dame, Michael plans to move into industry where he hopes to continue developing new hardware and innovative analysis techniques.