Wesley T. Fuhrman is an ARCS Metro Washington Chapter Scholar Alum who is pursuing his Ph.D. in physics at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and expects to finish in May 2018. His work has produced a slew of new results, including the first experiment using the world’s most powerful magnet for inelastic neutron scattering (26 Tesla, which is a million times stronger than earth’s magnetic field). Upon completion, his plan is to immediately begin a prestigious Nuclear Regulatory Commission fellowship in June at the University of Maryland’s National Institute of Standards and Technology to further study correlated topological materials. It’s a daunting workload, but Fuhrman is approaching it with the right attitude.

“I have a shock-wave of papers that I'm working on before I finish my Ph.D,” Fuhrman said. “As an ARCS Scholar, my research has been more productive than ever before, allowing international collaboration and research that would otherwise not be possible.”

He will also be delivering several upcoming invited talks on samarium hexaboride, which is the main work of his thesis. The ARCS Scholar Award allowed him to continue expanding his use of the spallation neutron source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, aggressively moving science forward and helping position the nation as the global leader in the development and understanding of new quantum materials through neutron scattering.

Fuhrman’s schooling has taken him from coast to coast, as he previously conducted undergraduate research in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine.