Avinash "Avi" Vadali, a fourth-year undergraduate studying physics, has been named a recipient of the Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans, one of the most selective graduate funding awards in the United States.
"I'm very honored to be joining this community of scientists, poets, artists, and musicians," Vadali says. "It's also nice to know that all that I've been working on up until this point has been recognized."
Founded in 1998, the fellowship supports immigrants and children of immigrants pursuing graduate education. It receives thousands of applications each year and awards 30 fellowships annually. Each fellow receives up to $90,000 in financial support over two years and joins a lifelong community of New American Fellows.
Vadali, the son of two physicians who immigrated to the United States from the Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, grew up in Chicago. He credits his family with instilling a strong commitment to education and scientific curiosity.
At Caltech, where he enrolled as a physics major, Vadali has been immersed in research since his first year. Working with Xie Chen, the Eddleman Professor of Theoretical Physics and director of Caltech's Walter Burke Institute for Theoretical Physics, Vadali developed techniques for designing and classifying combinations of topological orders—exotic phases of matter which are of great interest for both fundamental physics and quantum computing.
During his junior year, he began investigating the stability of non-Abelian topological orders—a particularly complex class of these exotic quantum phases—to quantum noise with Jason Alicea, the William K. Davis Professor of Theoretical Physics at Caltech, a project that led to the discovery of new noise-induced quantum phase transitions.
"I think the thing that sets Caltech apart from most other institutions is that, as an undergrad, you're not only allowed to participate in research, but you're given a lot of responsibility if you want it," Vadali says. "What really made me the researcher I am was that freedom to pursue what I found interesting and knowing that if I presented an idea to my PI or mentor, I would be taken seriously, even as an undergrad."
After his time at Caltech, Vadali plans to pursue a doctorate in condensed matter physics and ultimately hopes to lead a university research group focused on the theoretical study of quantum phases of matter.