Department of Physics Dean’s Medalist ends ASU journey with impressive list of achievements
Editor’s note: This story is part of a series of profiles of notable fall 2024 graduates.
Zachary Hendrix is no ordinary graduate of Arizona State University. He has received three Presidential Lifetime Service awards from current and former U.S. presidents for both national and community service. He also currently has a pending $2 million National Institutes of Health grant for high-speed imaging for biomedical science, in addition to a long list of other accomplishments.
Now he can add the Dean’s Medalist for the Department of Physics to his list of achievements.
“To be honored with the Dean's Medal in physics means that all of my work behind the scenes — the countless long nights and weekends spent working through theorems to better understand theories — was well spent. It means that ASU took notice of and championed my best efforts,” Hendrix said.
Hendrix, an online undergraduate student who took an interest in theory and statistical physics, is set to be the first author of two manuscripts that cover topics such as the Richardson-Lucy deconvolution algorithm and anomalous diffusion.
His work under Professor Steve Pressé developed an alternative to the Richardson-Lucy algorithm and a new approach to particle tracking.
“If pitched correctly, it is difficult to understate the impact of this work,” Pressé said. “Zach is probably the strongest undergrad I have had in my lab since arriving at ASU. In less than one year, he is making progress and will be first author on two important manuscripts that I expect to be well above the usual Physical Review E/Journal of Chemical Physics entry-level publications expected for first manuscripts from undergrads.”
Hendrix spoke to us about his Sun Devil story.
Question: What was your “aha” moment when you realized you wanted to study the field you majored in? What’s something you learned while at ASU — in the classroom or otherwise — that surprised you or changed your perspective?
Answer: My "aha" moment came when studying a chemistry textbook that read something along the lines of, "To truly understand chemical interactions, one must study quantum mechanics, which is well beyond the scope of this text." From this point forward, I considered physics the most meaningful form of natural knowledge.
Q: Why did you choose ASU?
A: I chose ASU because it offered flexibly designed degree programs with advanced online classes that no other school provided.
Q: Which professor taught you the most important lesson while at ASU?
A: Professor Pressé certainly taught me the most valuable life lesson I learned during my undergraduate studies –– he taught me to value my time above all else and waste none on frustrations.
Q: What’s the best piece of advice you’d give to those still in school?
A: To all those still pursuing their degree, the best advice I can offer you is to reach out to your instructors about research opportunities — it may just change your life as it did mine.
Q: What was your favorite spot for power studying?
A: When I need to study for hours on end, I reserve one of the "quiet rooms" available at my local library.
Q: What are your plans after graduation?
A: After graduation, I am excited to be moving to Tempe for the PhD program in physics. I have more than enough work cut out for me, but I cannot wait to start.
Q: If someone gave you $40 million to solve one problem on our planet, what would you tackle?
A: If I were granted $40 million to solve one problem on Earth, I would focus on enhancing high-speed biomedical imaging to rectify nanoparticle delivery of cancer medicines, diagnose dementia and Parkinson’s by tracking protein aggregates, and study transient intermolecular reactions to optimize the ligand-receptor binding of pharmaceutical drugs.
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