Current Project: Topological properties of electromagnetic waves in vacuum and plasma.

Eric Palmerduca graduated Valedictorian of Colgate University in 2017 with a major in physics and a minor in math. During his time in undergrad he was active in computational research in both nuclear physics and neuroscience.

After joining the Program in Plasma Physics at Princeton, he did his first year project on the PFRC-II experiment where he developed a collisional radiative model to interpret data from the optical diagnostics. After this foray into the experimental world, he started working with his current advisor Professor Hong Qin on problems at the intersection of math and plasma physics. His earlier projects studied instabilities in algorithms and physical systems which appeared to violate adiabatic or symplectic constraints. His current work explores the topological and geometric properties of vacuum and plasma waves.

In addition to his research, Eric has enjoyed teaching both as TA for the graduate program and as a contributing member of the  Mathematical Physics Club. In his spare time, he reads fiction, cooks with his friends, and studies useless math like category theory.