Student Spotlight: Milo Van Mooy
Meet Milo from Falmouth, Massachusetts. He’s a senior physics major and math minor, earning a certificate as part of the Integrated Concentration in STEM (iCons) program.
Milo joined the iCons program as a freshman. “I'm on the renewable energy path, and through this, have built an appreciation for systems thinking. No global problem can be solved by just one type of person. Collaboration between the sciences, humanities, and business are the only way to enact real-world change.”
Growing up, Milo drew inspiration from his parents, whose separate career paths instilled within him the ability to see beauty in everyday phenomena: “My mom is an art teacher, and my dad is an oceanographer. Through them I've learned that there is a crucial interplay between the arts and science. There are inherent aesthetics in nature that science strives to capture. The most complicated physical phenomena, such as turbulence and chaos, are simultaneously the most beautiful.
“A great example is the ocean: it’s such a complex environment dominated by physics, chemistry, and biology, yet these frameworks only bring our understanding of the ocean to a surface level. I grew up by the coast, and this lifelong exposure fostered a curiosity that drives me to learn about our oceans. I want to further our knowledge of the complex motion of waves and then apply this towards finding solutions to some of our biggest problems, like microplastics and climate change.”
Milo feels that his major in physics and minor in math yield an intuitive combination that enhances his understanding of both fields, and perhaps because of this, his favorite class so far has been Classical Mechanics (P601) with Shuang Zhou. A close second is the Scientific Glassblowing Laboratory (NATSCI 520) with Sally Prasch, which blends the arts and science, and stood out as “a creative outlet amongst the swath of science classes I was taking at the time.”
Outside of class, Milo held a paid research position in Varghese Mathai's lab, Mathai Group. He continues that research, but now works for credit as part of his honors thesis. Collaborating with a fellow student, Milo recently published a study in Science Advances that models how aerosol plumes spread when people are waiting and walking in a line.
Milo is a senior board member in the UMass Ski and Board Club, and loves being in the mountains in the winter. “Yet as soon as the snow melts, I'm a permanent fixture at one of the many local disc golf courses.”
In choosing a school, Milo went with CNS because he felt that its fields of study are firmly built on math. “Math is a universal language and a powerful tool for understanding the world around us. Yet, math in a vacuum accomplishes little. The power of math arises from applying it to the real world. The classes and research within CNS demonstrate this in convincing fashion, and I've only gotten more and more impressed with CNS as I've progressed though my undergraduate and been exposed to more of what is being worked on.”
Looking forward to his graduation in May 2026, Milo hopes to go to graduate school and continue to do research in fluid dynamics. “You'd think I'd be sick of classes by now, but I can't resist. I love research and want to study the physical phenomena we see every day, but don't fully understand.”