Duke Physics

Seth Cohen

Seth Cohen was born in Silver Spring, MD, and has lived on both sides of the continental USA. He has had homes in Bethesda, MD, Portland, OR, Needham, MA, and Pittsfield, MA. He was voted most artistic in high school, and was a captain of the track team, specializing in the long jump. Seth attended the University of Rochester to pursue a degree in Physics and Mathematics, as well as a minor in Studio Arts. In his undergraduate career, Seth worked for Professor Esther Conwell, modeling the motion of a polaron on a chain of DNA, and he also took a semester abroad to study physics and math at Queen Mary College in London. During the college summers, Seth returned home to the Berkshires each year to work for Lightning Technologies, an electrical engineering firm that specializes in the protection of aircrafts during a lightning strike. While working, Seth was able to travel to New Mexico and California enjoying the warm weather in both states. After college, Seth decided to attend Duke University to pursue his his doctorate in physics. He claims that Durham and Chapel Hill are much livelier than Rochester and Pittsfield combined. Seth says that accessibility of Duke physics department, as well as the individual resources provided to each graduate student made his decision easy. And yes, even though he thought it would be impossible after living in Rochester for four year, Seth occasionally misses the snow.

Now at Duke, Seth is working in Dan Gauthier's nonlinear dynamics research laboratory. He is currently studying the networking capabilities of chaotically coupled digital oscillators. While in the lab, he has also been learning the applications of circuit design and antenna theory. After his degree, Seth would like to join the scientific workforce, but he also plans to eventually teach at the University level.

With all of his work, Seth still finds time to frequent Duke's gym several times a week, using the exercise to balance the academics in his life. He also owns a cat named Togo, and likes to draw and practice other artistic outlets in his spare time, including the World of Warcraft.