{"613886":{"#nid":"613886","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Lucas Liuzzo, Ph.D. in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ELucas R. Liuzzo is the first in his immediate family to receive a college education.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EHe grew up in Jamestown, New York, which has about 30,000 residents. For his undergraduate degree, he attended the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe transition to living in a city with four times the population of his home town was difficult. \u0026ldquo;I wasn\u0026rsquo;t sure I could even survive in such a new environment. But I loved it,\u0026rdquo; Lucas says.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAnn Arbor\u0026rsquo;s big-city-yet-small-town gave Lucas the freedom to develop into a thriving young-adult. He graduated with a B.S. in Engineering in 2014. He could have stayed in Michigan to pursue graduate studies in solar space physics.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EInstead, Lucas chose to try something different and make new connections. His next move was to Atlanta, an even bigger city than Ann Arbor. At Georgia Tech, he studied magnetospheric space physics. He graduates with a Ph.D. in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is the most important thing you learned at Georgia Tech?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nPerforming research at Georgia Tech is at the cutting edge of science, where spending days, weeks, or even months on a problem isn\u0026rsquo;t unheard of. Sometimes your method can simply send you down the wrong path, which can be extraordinarily frustrating. Graduate school has shown me that hard work and diligence do not often mean you\u0026rsquo;re on the right path, but that\u0026rsquo;s exactly the point of academic research.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen finally you reach the solution to an especially difficult problem, it is extremely gratifying, even if you may be the only person in the world who knows the answer.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is your proudest achievement at Georgia Tech?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nDefending my dissertation.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIt has taken me five years to obtain my Ph.D. I\u0026rsquo;m not sure I\u0026rsquo;ve ever put so much time and dedication into anything over such a long stretch of time. I\u0026rsquo;m very proud of my efforts culminating in my degree from Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhich professor(s) or class(es) made a big impact on you?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nMy advisor, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.eas.gatech.edu\/people\/simon-dr-sven\u0022\u003ESven Simon\u003C\/a\u003E, afforded me every opportunity to become the best I could be scientifically. He supported me throughout my time here.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe most impactful classes were the engineering courses with \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.ece.gatech.edu\/faculty-staff-directory\/morris-b-cohen\u0022\u003EMorris Cohen\u003C\/a\u003E and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.ece.gatech.edu\/faculty-staff-directory\/waymond-r-scott\u0022\u003EWaymond Scott\u003C\/a\u003E, in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. These courses helped me to appreciate other academic disciplines that share many complementary theoretical approaches with my own, but can be drastically different in application.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is your most vivid memory of Georgia Tech?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nThe changing seasons, which I looked forward to year after year of studying at Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech has a beautiful campus, but the four seasons bring out its true beauty. I arrived in August during the dog days of summer. I\u0026rsquo;ve never been so consistently hot and sticky for so many consecutive days.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESurviving the Atlanta summer is rewarded with a gorgeous fall. Brilliant oranges, yellows, and reds of the foliage dot the trees on campus. It\u0026rsquo;s a sight to behold.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThis beauty is topped on the rare occasion of an Atlanta winter snowfall. Staring across Tech Green at the Campanile dusted in a slight layer of clean, white, crisp snow is magical.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe cold days of winter are as short-lived as the daylight during this time of year. The spring that follows colors the campus in tree blossoms that rival a Bob Ross painting. On campus during spring, even the pollen is Tech Gold.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIn what ways did your time at Georgia Tech transform your life?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nAcademically and professionally I wouldn\u0026rsquo;t be the person I am today without my Georgia Tech degree. Personally, I\u0026rsquo;ve made everlasting friendships with amazing individuals who have had a huge impact on who I have become.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat unique learning activities did you undertake?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nI attended conferences abroad and worked with colleagues in Germany. During those few weeks working and living in a country that was entirely new and foreign to me, I formed bonds \u0026ndash; professional and personal \u0026ndash; that will last a lifetime.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat advice would you give to incoming graduate students at Georgia Tech?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nDon\u0026rsquo;t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone. In graduate school, it\u0026rsquo;s easy to fall into the doldrums of research and follow the same routine, day after day.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EBreak out of the campus bubble, explore the city, and find your niche. Between classes, research, and conferences, your days fill up quickly. Be sure to take breaks.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile Tech offers lots of opportunities to relax, Atlanta is a huge, diverse city. It\u0026rsquo;s important \u0026ndash; and often liberating \u0026ndash; to explore your surroundings and talk with individuals who aren\u0026rsquo;t students themselves.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhere are you headed after graduation?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nI\u0026rsquo;ll be at Tech for a few months working as a postdoctoral researcher. I\u0026rsquo;ll be working in the same group as my graduate studies, so I\u0026rsquo;m already 100% up to speed with my research topic and can start making meaningful progress right from the start.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"This New Yorker\u2019s most vivid memory of Tech is the beauty of its campus in the changing seasons "}],"field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"This New Yorker\u2019s most vivid memory of Tech is the beauty of its campus in the changing seasons."}],"uid":"30678","created_gmt":"2018-11-05 19:38:18","changed_gmt":"2018-12-11 22:13:43","author":"A. Maureen Rouhi","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2018-12-12T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2018-12-12T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"613881":{"id":"613881","type":"image","title":"Lucas Liuzzo","body":null,"created":"1541445093","gmt_created":"2018-11-05 19:11:33","changed":"1541445093","gmt_changed":"2018-11-05 19:11:33","alt":"","file":{"fid":"233683","name":"Lucas Liuzzo2.tall250.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Lucas%20Liuzzo2.tall250_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Lucas%20Liuzzo2.tall250_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":84158,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Lucas%20Liuzzo2.tall250_0.jpg?itok=oX4xeQBc"}}},"media_ids":["613881"],"groups":[{"id":"364801","name":"EAS"}],"categories":[{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"179608","name":"Fall 2018 graduates"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA. Maureen Rouhi, Ph.D.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nDirector of Communications\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCollege of Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["maureen.rouhi@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}