First-generation student follows physics curiosity to Kennesaw State

KENNESAW, Ga. | Nov 18, 2024

Equipped with an insatiable curiosity, Siam Sarower has set his sights on learning as much about his world as possible.

He first learned about Galileo Galilei and Isaac Newton in a world history class at Parkview High School in Lilburn, Georgia. From there, he found his way to the physics program at Kennesaw State University, where he has excelled in the classroom and in research.

“It's that fuel of never knowing enough,” said Sarower, a Coca-Cola Scholar. “The moment you stop being curious, you've stopped being a scientist. Everyone has this innate curiosity, and it's our job to pursue it.”

In his pursuits, Sarower has landed himself on the President’s List, earned a Coca-Cola First-Generation Scholarship, and joined the KSU Journey Honors College. He credits his parents and older brother, now a civil engineer, for supporting his journey as one of the first in his family to seek a degree.

Sarower’s curiosity would ultimately lead him to condensed matter physics, which he was first introduced to by Mahmoud Asmar, an assistant professor of physics at KSU’s College of Science and Mathematics. Asmar quickly identified Sarower’s initiative and intense desire to know things.

“He was very active, very curious, and he asked a lot of questions,” Asmar said. “It’s good to have students that are the first generation of their families to go to college. That's really our job to make their lives better and get them excited about research. Siam has really embraced that, too.”

Sarower dove headlong into Asmar’s line of research into how light interacts with graphene, a two-dimensional crystalline lattice of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb structure. Electrons in graphene behave as massless particles and travel at a speed equivalent to one-three-hundredths the speed of light. Through the Birla Carbon Scholars program, he spent 10 weeks during the summer developing the theoretical framework that determines graphene's emergent electronic and conduction properties when subjected to space-modulated light. Sarower’s research has applications in quantum mechanics and quantum computing, fast-growing fields KSU’s Department of Physics has embraced.

“We found that I can tune the electronic properties of graphene from semi-metallic to semiconducting or vice versa just by tuning the parameters of the light that irradiates the material,” he said.

In choosing Kennesaw State, Sarower mentioned the support for first-generation students as a deciding factor, thanks to the efforts of the College of Science and Mathematics Office of Advising. He also cited the support from professors like Asmar and the welcoming campus environment.

“I saw how much the professors in this university really care about the students,” Sarower said. “Compared to other universities, they try to guide students in a hands-on way, and that’s important. Dr. Asmar has provided me the guidance and mentorship I needed.”

That guidance included opening his eyes to unforeseen possibilities, mainly the unexpected turn into condensed matter physics. Sarower was committed to a combination of physics and mathematics before arriving at KSU, but it took a glance at Asmar’s research to truly set his course for life—which he hopes includes a Ph.D. and a job as a researcher in condensed matter physics.

“A lot of this is very common with physics majors,” he said. “We start off by looking up at the stars and thinking that's super fascinating, and then we end up taking a complete U-turn and going to some other field. I did not know I was going to try for a career in condensed matter physics. But now that I've explored it at KSU, I love it.”

– Story by Dave Shelles

Photos by Darnell Wilburn Jr.

First-generation student follows physics curiosity to Kennesaw State

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