Andrew 鈥淥ak鈥� Nelson was chatting with an artist friend when she asked him whether the pursuit of a dense major like engineering physics didn鈥檛 鈥渞uin his appreciation for the wonders of the world.鈥�
In responding, Nelson crystallized what he loves about physics and why he is so passionate about it. In fact, he realized the opposite was true.
鈥淵ou see more wonder in the world after studying physics than before,鈥� said Nelson, this year鈥檚 Outstanding Graduate in the College of Engineering and Applied Science and a Boulder native. 鈥淚t is an opportunity to question what we know and understand it at a deeper level. This leads to making the world a better place.鈥�
But it鈥檚 not just his inquisitive nature that has driven Nelson鈥檚 success at CU-Boulder, where he鈥檚 won just about every honor available to engineering students.
He wants to share his knowledge. And he does, through his work as a teaching assistant who coaches and mentors his peers.
He also has a strong desire to serve his community. He has done that through serving as president of the campus Engineers Without Borders chapter 鈥� a stint that led to a trip to Rwanda where he helped build a rainwater catchment system for a small village - 听and by serving as a tutor to area middle school students. But he鈥檚 also a leader on other fields as well, serving as captain of Colorado Mamabird, CU-Boulder鈥檚 club sports Ultimate Frisbee team.
He鈥檚 also gotten plenty of hands-on research opportunities and has even authored papers published in academic journals. While doing all these things and minoring in applied mathematics and leadership studies, Nelson has managed to maintain a remarkable 3.972 GPA.
He is also humble and says the honors he鈥檚 received are less a reflection of him than of the quality of his undergraduate experience. In addition to classroom work, Nelson is an undergraduate research assistant at the Center for Integrated Plasma Studies. Nelson said CU-Boulder offers students so many opportunities to be involved and the freedom to choose one鈥檚 own path. In the fall, he鈥檚 headed to Princeton to begin working toward a doctoral degree in plasma physics.
鈥淚t鈥檚 more of an indicator of the quality people l鈥檝e been able to work with at CU,鈥� he said. 鈥淢y advisor is absolutely incredible, along with the people I work with in the lab. It鈥檚 super collaborative and really supportive.鈥�
