Philosophy | Physics

MARYAM KHANUM Opinion Editor

Although she is now an accomplished philosophy major, Liat Klopouh didn’t know she wanted to major in philosophy until she attended college. Hailing from Baltimore, MD, Klopough initially intended to follow in the footsteps of her parents and major in biology. Although she decided that that academic path wasn’t for her, she loved the analytical nature of science, and wanted to be able to apply that to writing. This led her to try out a plethora of classes at Wake Forest.

Klopouh’s first academic exposure to philosophy was in a class she took with Dr. Adam Kadlac. This class was what solidified her decision to major in philosophy, and she worked with Kadlac on her honors thesis.

“I have been very lucky to have Liat in three classes and to supervise her honors thesis this year,” Kadlac said. “It has been a privilege to watch her intellectual development over the last four years. I’m sure that she will be successful in whatever she decides to do.”

Klopouh’s interest in philosophy was also initially sparked by a love for writing. Her parents, who immigrated to the United States from Russia, always emphasized the importance of writing well and being grammatically correct. She recalls her father sitting with her as she did her homework and helping her write correctly and speak correctly. These memories stuck with her and impacted her time at college.

The appreciation she has developed for philosophy has transcended into external aspects of her life. As a student ambassador for the Program for Leadership and Character, Klopouh is able to see how philosophy permeates the program’s ideals. Moreover, as an economics minor, she has noticed how many theoretical concepts are applicable when looking at the world through an economic lens, or from a perspective of individual character. In particular, the ethical aspect of philosophy has impacted Klopouh most.

“I’m big on character and virtue, and understanding those concepts, and ethics helped me frame that,” Klopouh said. “That stemmed out into Kantian ethics and ancient Greek philosophy.”

Klopouh expressed gratitude to Dr. Emily Austin, with whom she took classes on ancient Greek philosophy.

“Liat combines intellectual rigor with a remarkably elegant writing style, a mixture rare even in professionals,” Austin said.

Klopouh credits her understanding of ethics to classes she took on the subject with Dr. Christian Miller. She said she can apply concepts learned from these classes to aspects of her everyday life, such as her on campus relationships with both peers and professors.

“Liat was one of my favorite students these past four years,” Miller said. “She has a deep interest in ethics and social justice, and that carried over to my ethics course ... She is one of the most hard-working students I have had, as well as being so conscientious and kind.”

After graduation, Klopouh plans to work in Washington D.C. at Wiley Rein Law Firm as a paralegal. She also intends to further her interests in philosophy, particularly ancient Greek philosophy. She is fascinated by how philosophy allows her to uncover answers to questions as she hits different stages in her life, and she discerns how she would answer a lot of the philosophical questions she was asked as a freshman very differently now.

“Philosophy can go on for so long, and I think that’s the beauty of it,” Klopouh said. “I don’t ever want to stop with it or stop thinking about these things.”

PHILOSOPHY LIAT KLOPOUH

Katie Fox/Old Gold & Black

PHYSICS WILLIAM CAULKINS

SELINNA TRAN Print Managing Editor

Will Caulkins didn’t have the firmest idea as to what he wanted to do when coming to Wake Forest — but his interests aligned him with a science, math, engineering and technology (STEM)-related discipline. Physics provided Caulkins with an intuitive way to learn and an understanding of problem-solving that he resonated with. It was a subject that he continued to love during his time at Wake Forest.

“When I came to Wake Forest, I had no idea what I wanted to do,” Caulkins said. “I knew I had a propensity towards science and math, so I thought I wanted to do something related to that. I started out taking an engineering class thinking that I wanted to build something, but it didn’t strike a chord the way that physics did.”

Despite a primary intention to pursue engineering and switch his focus to physics, Caulkins will be jump-starting his post-graduate career with an engineering position.

“In the fall, I am going to be starting a job at the company Peraton in D.C.,” Caulkins said. “I am going to be doing satellite communication systems engineering. I did an internship for them this past summer and absolutely loved it. I worked with all different types of engineering — electrical, software, mechanical, 3D printing, drones.”

Even though Caulkins’ job will have a primary focus on engineering, his experience and studies in physics have given him the tools to be prepared for the field.

“Physics gives you exposure to a lot of engineering disciplines,” Caulkins said. “I took an electronics class that taught me how to wire up systems. I’ve taken a computational physics class that has taught me software engineering. More generally, [physics] has taught me how things work. There’s an intuition about what to do if I do things this way.”

Caulkins described the close relationships that he built with professors during his time a Wake Forest.

“Don’t let professors intimidate you,” Caulkins said. “They are some of the smartest people that you have ever met — but don’t let that intimidate you because you will learn a lot from these professors.”

Dr. Keith Bonin, professor of Physics and vice provost for research & scholarly inquiry, was the advisor for Caulkins’ honors thesis.

“Will has worked on research with me since the spring of his sophomore year,” Bonin said. “Initially interrupted by the pandemic in Spring 2020, the following two years were fruitful, as Will and I worked on an National Institutes of Health project to track microscopic objects in 3D. Will learned many different skills, including Atomic Force Microscopy, plasma etching, spin-coating, fluorescence optical microscopy, data analysis in Matlab, and how to automate a state-of-the-art microscope and camera by programming python-based software.”

Bonin continued: “Will also worked closely with a co-advisor, Dr. Stephen Baker, who is a Teacher-Scholar Postdoctoral Fellow in the Physics Department. Finally, Will presented his work as part of a Physics Department seminar on April 14, and he also wrote an honors thesis based on his laboratory work on 3D microscopy. Both Dr. Baker and I thoroughly enjoyed conducting research with Will, and we will miss his hard work and intelligence, his good humor, and his fun attitude in the lab.”

Caulkins also participated in a successful “hackathon” last spring, in which his team developed a project that won the competition. The success prompted the sponsor of the hackathon to approach the team to further develop the project into a completed product. Caulkins’ team worked to develop an application that logs and tracks the provenance of artifacts.