I study astronomy at San Diego State University, with a minor in mathematics. I started off as a community college student. After this, I plan to pursue graduate school. I am grateful to be part of the Cal-Bridge community for their many forms of valuable support to help me achieve my goals. I am a member of the Society of Physics Students at school, and I will join the chess club if I can ever find them.
My studies and research do not leave me with spare time, but if they did, I would likely spend some on strategy games, sports, scenic runs, and cartoons. I also care about animal welfare and strive to keep a cruelty-free lifestyle. I am a volunteer for a no-kill animal rescue shelter and I am becoming a mentor for the Big Brothers Big Sisters foundation. I enjoy reading about nature and appreciate recommendations.
Joseph Soliz's Biography
My name is Joseph J. Soliz and for a very long time, I have always had this intense passion for science. Books, documentaries, and even science-fiction media always populated my mind that made me want to become a scientist. My dream has always been wanting to become a professional scientist and open my curious mind to the endless wonders of the universe. So as part of that goal, my education has been learning about physics since it encompasses every branch of science. In Spring 2020, I graduated from California State University, Long Beach with a Bachelor's of Science in Physics.
The next phase of my education is to do a Master’s degree in Astronomy at San Diego State University to gain some experience in graduate school. As I plan on applying for a doctoral (Ph.D.) program in astrophysics. Fields I am very interested in researching are discovering exoplanets, gravitational waves, studying neutron stars and black holes, and understanding the structure of the universe. My hope is to one day do my own research in this area and perhaps have a career working with NASA at JPL, an observatory, or a university.
Kaelyn is on her way to completing her B.S. in Physics and minor in Mathematics from CSU Fresno and will be graduating in Spring 2021. She has participated in CAMPARE and CHAMP, working with mentors from the University of Rochester and UPenn, respectively, on research projects in computational astrophysics. She has presented her CAMPARE work on supernova environmental classifications at the APS Far West section meeting in 2019 and AAS 235th Meeting in 2020. Over the summer of 2020, she will be working with HERA data to create images of the sky to search for anomalies. Kaelyn plans to attend graduate school in the Fall of 2021, working towards a PhD in Physics and researching in computational condensed matter physics or computational quantum mechanics.
Dominic Hernandez's Biography
My journey through college has been a long and winding road leading up to this point. Although I graduated high school in 2010, I stumbled and fumbled my way through life for most of the past 10 years. Attempting to financially secure my family and I eventually led me back to higher education. My winding road saw me employed with the Boy’s and Girl’s Club, the First Tee program, Monterey County Office of Employment and Training, San Benito County Health and Human Services, and Santa Clara County Social Services. Before attending classes full-time with San Francisco State University I also took classes part-time with Coastline Community College, Foothill College, DeAnza College, West Valley College, and Gavilan College. All of this has led me to San Francisco State University, where I am currently a senior studying Astrophysics and preparing to apply to graduate doctorate programs around the country. My ultimate career goal is to research and develop faster ways to travel in space and hopefully provide a stepping stone to reaching the stars.
