Touring Berry put Jacob Sylvie of Austin, Texas, on the path to the Ph.D. nuclear engineering program at North Carolina State University. He says his journey started with a click on a website: “I looked up the prettiest campuses in the United States, and Berry was number one.”
On Jacob’s first visit, it was evident “that the faculty in the School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences are very passionate about student learning, both inside and outside of the classroom.” The high level of research available to undergraduates also impressed. Jacob dived in, majoring in physics, chemistry and mathematics.
Joining professor’s lab leads to pivotal scholarship
“I started my research with Dr. Zachary Lindsay by just emailing him and asking if he'd be willing to show me his lab,” Jacob remembers. “He gave me a tour and then asked me if I wanted to work with him.”
That conversation launched collaborative research focused on developing benchtop electrochemical methods to grow crystalline semiconductor materials (i.e., finding cheaper ways to fabricate materials for optical and electronic devices). Their findings resulted in Jacob’s first publication in Physica B: Condensed Matter in March 2025.
He earned a prestigious Goldwater Scholarship during his junior year. Each recipient receives an amount equal to the cost of tuition, fees, books, and room and board up to $7,500 per academic year.
Rounding out a competitive resume
Jacob mentored first-year physics and engineering students during their transition to college. He added depth by holding positions as a physics research specialist, chemistry research associate and teaching associate in physics and the physical chemistry lab. Jacob went on to co-author another article and presented at the American Association of Physics Teachers and the Southeastern Section of the American Physical Society.
Jacob anticipates finding solutions to pressing environmental issues, such as the shortage of clean energy production. Lindsay is confident of his success: “From his first day in the lab, Jacob displayed unmatched curiosity, motivation and a seemingly unquenchable thirst for science. The work he accomplished at Berry not only transformed the capabilities of my research lab but also demonstrates the skills and qualities that will continue to bring him success as a scientist and nuclear engineer.”
