Department of Physics

Athena Smith

While finding her place at Radford University, Athena took advantage of every opportunity offered to her. She quickly became involved in our Society of Physics Students (SPS), finding a strong community with her fellow physics majors. In her sophomore year she participated in the 2024 Arctic Geophysics Research Experience where the developed her prototype load cell-based 3d anemometer. She successfully presented this work at the 2024 Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union. She was the 2024 Appalachian Power Artis College Summer Research Fellow. She became the President of the SPS and led them in not only physics activities such as the yearly weekend of radio astronomy at the Green Bank Observatory, but also community-building through the ever-popular Pumpkin Drop, hikes in the mountains, nights in the Planetarium for movie nights and games of Jeopardy and Kahoot, and Game Nights in The Bonnie student center.

She participated in a summer Research Experience for Undergraduates at Princeton University in 2025. She was designated an Elevate Research Student Mentor for the 2025-2026 Arctic Geophysics Research Experience and not only mentored the other students in soldering, microcontroller programming, wiring, electronics and troubleshooting, but she also developed her final version of her unique load cell-based 3d anemometer. She successfully deployed this on the sea ice in early March of 2026, alongside the students that she had mentored throughout the year. And throughout her time here she was an outstanding Physics Laboratory Teaching Assistant, helping introduce so many students to her love of the field. She had a job offer in hand 7 months before her May 2, 2026 graduation from NAVSEA, the Naval Sea Systems Command in Dhalgren, VA, doing the theoretical and hands-on engineering work that supports our U. S. Navy.

On Friday, April 24, 2026 the students in the Radford University Physics Department and our Society of Physics Students (SPS) were given unprecedented recognition at the annual Student Awards Ceremony. Physics Dean's Scholar Athena Smith was designated one of the 4 Radford University Outstanding Students. Athena was cited for participation in research throughout her time here. She was involved in the 2023-2024 Arctic Geophysics Research Experience, and then again working as an Elevate Research Student Mentor for the 2025-2026 Arctic Geophysics Research Experience, lending her experience to the next generation of student researchers. She was the inaugural Appalachian Power Artis College Summer Research Fellow in 2024 and she did a 10-week summer REU at Princeton University working with the quasi-particles known as "polaritons." She was the SPS President for her last two years and led them to achieve the rare distinction of being named an Outstanding Chapter by the National SPS. She is this year's Physics Department Dean's Scholar and she had her job offer at NAVSEA in hand 7 months prior to her May 2 graduation.

Junior Lily Backus was also designated a Radford University Outstanding Student. She was also cited for her leadership in our SPS chapter, working hard with Athena to make the SPS Regional Zone 4 meeting of SPS chapters from VA, MD and DC a success March 27-28, 2026. Lily was the Appalachian Power Summer Research Fellow in 2025 and she used that to start her Arctic Geophysics research in creating a self-built Raspberry Pi-based ELF/VLF radio antenna that she used in Alaska (and here in Radford) to record these signals for her studies the structure and properties of Earth's ionosphere. At a school with a graduate program this would have been considered a Master's level research project at least. She has been accepted for a summer internship with the Office of Naval Research at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, DC. 

Our SPS chapter was designated as the single Radford University Outstanding Student Organization. Our SPS was cited for not only their weekly meetings, but for specific community-building activities such as their famous "Pumpkin Drop" (from a 3rd floor lab window!), bowling and fame nights in The Bonnie Student Center, movie nights plus games of Jeopardy and Kahoot in the Radford University Planetarium, potluck dinners including those with other student clubs, organizing the SPS Regional Zone 4 Meeting on our campus, providing homework help and a general support group for new students in Physics, helping with Science Days and other science outreach activities and events, and for just being a strong group in general to which students want to belong. They have been designated an Outstanding Chapter 2 years in a row, and 3 of the last 4 years.