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Expanding horizons through the RE student experience

At a scientific conference known as the APS Global Physics Summit,14,000 physicists in industry and academia will gather to showcase their research this March in Anaheim, California. The annual conference isn’t designed for high school students and does not include them in registration materials. Yet, 23 Ransom Everglades students will travel to the prestigious conference to give talks or present posters after abstracts they submitted were accepted over the holiday break.
It’s an incredible achievement and a credit to the individual students – all talented, dedicated and creative – who immersed themselves in projects well outside the boundaries of a traditional physics curriculum. Scroll to the bottom of this piece to see the range of topics and students involved. I am particularly grateful to STEM faculty members Dr. Heather Marshall, Dr. Kristine Stump and Dr. Emily Grace, who along with physics teacher Paul Natland ’02 and engineering teacher Bob DuBard assisted the students with their research and applications.
 
Importantly, the honor reflects our approach to the student experience at Ransom Everglades. We encourage students to seek out real-world problems and apply critical and creative thinking to find novel solutions. We encourage them to explore and step outside their comfort zones with the confidence that caring and expert faculty are standing by to provide guidance and support. We want all of our students to find their academic passions and pursue them. 
 
This approach was evident in the impressive presentations put forward by our Class of 2025 Dan Leslie Bowden Fellows in the Humanities, who work under the direction of Associate Head of School John A. King Jr. and shared their summer research last month during our Bowden Fellows Gallery Night (read more here). It’s also been evident in the work of many other RE students; Audrey Caplow ’25 presented a poster entitled “Application of LIBS and XRF to the analysis of heavy metals in shark blood” this past fall at the SciX Conference of the Federation of Analytical Chemistry and Spectroscopy Societies; Ethan Thomas ’25 was recently named a top science scholar for his cardiac research; and Naman Kumar ’25, presented a paper on the long-term impact of school bullying at three sociological conferences last October.
 
We also see it in our impressive alumni. This morning, recent graduates on break from their respective colleges returned to RE to reconnect with each other and offer advice to our juniors. Our students thoroughly enjoyed hearing from a panel featuring Angela Dula '23 (Trinity College Dublin), Gabriel Menendez de Alencar '23 (Harvey Mudd College), Victor Perez '23 (MIT), Pablo Rodriguez-Russowsky '23 (Cornell University) and Karyna Steele '23 (Macalester College). 
 
It’s a pleasure to watch our alumni – and current students – embrace challenges outside a traditional academic curriculum and excel where collaboration, communication and compassion are valued and needed. 

Rachel Rodriguez
Head of School
 
APS GLOBAL PHYSICS SUMMIT

Accepted Talks
Democratizing Optical Tweezers: CAD Innovations for a Cost-Effective, 3D Printable Design of an Inverted Microscope with Laser Path Integration
Author: Jaral Arroyo-Jefferson ’25 and Dr. Emily Grace
 
Analysis of Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy through Python Coding: a high schooler-led research initiative
Author: Mia Campbell ’25 and Dr. Emily Grace
 
Open Source Tweezing: Developing a Cost-Effective Optical Tweezing Platform - Assembly, Control Systems and Replicability for Educational Access
Author: Mateo Heitner ’25 and Dr. Emily Grace
 
Dirty Physics: Applications of Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy in Soil Sample Analysis
Author: Carlos Horcasitas ’25 and Dr. Emily Grace
 
Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy for the Rapid Detection of Heavy Metals in Sargassum
Author: Dieter Manstein ’25 and Dr. Emily Grace
 
Accepted Posters
Integrated Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy and Pythonic Algorithms for Analysis of Penny Composition and Beyond
Authors: Mario Antonaccio ’25, Mia Escoto Cordova ’25, Minnie Zhou ’26, Dr. Heather Marshall, Dr. Kristine Stump, and Dr. Emily Grace
 
Laser Breakdown Spectroscopic Analysis of Soil and Sargassum
Authors: Gemma Bucci ’25, Dominique Cederberg ’26, Alexandra Russoniello ’26, Leah Vela ’25, Dr. Heather Marshall, Dr. Kristine Stump and Dr. Emily Grace
 
From Beams to Biomolecules: Calibrating and Constructing an IR Optical Tweezer for Shark Muscle Analysis
Authors: Anna Lavernia ’25, Paloma Lopes ’25, Sofia Rakhimi ’25, Ronja Stargala ’25, Dr. Heather Marshall, Dr. Kristine Stump and Dr. Emily Grace

Infrared Optical Tweezer: Instrumentation and Data Acquisition System
Authors: Myles Gelber '25, Michael Mederos '25, Lily Namias '25, Dr. Heather Marshall, Dr. Kristine Stump and Dr. Emily Grace
 
Developing Affordable Optical Tweezers to Enhance Research Opportunities and Skills for Students
Authors: Nohan Gomez '25, Ian Villaraos '26, Neale Villaraos '26, Maximilian Wolfensberger '26, Robert DuBard, Dr. Heather Marshall, Dr. Kristine Stump and Dr. Emily Grace
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2045 South Bayshore Drive, Coconut Grove, FL 33133
Phone: 305 250 6850

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Phone: 305 460 8800
Founded in 1903, Ransom Everglades School is a coeducational, college preparatory day school for grades 6 - 12 located on two campuses in Coconut Grove, Florida. Ransom Everglades School produces graduates who "believe that they are in the world not so much for what they can get out of it as for what they can put into it." The school provides rigorous college preparation that promotes the student's sense of identity, community, personal integrity and values for a productive and satisfying life, and prepares the student to lead and to contribute to society.