Varun Makhija

Dr. Varun Makhija has been an assistant professor of physics at The University of Mary Washington (UMW) since 2019. He has a record of mentoring undergraduate research students who have authored peer-reviewed publications and presented posters and talks at professional conferences on their work. This work, in the field of ultrafast molecular physics, involves understanding how the light energy absorbed by electrons in an isolated molecule is transferred to the rest of the molecule, a quantum mechanical process occurring in a few millionths of a billionth of a second, leading to a deeper understanding of natural photochemical processes like vision and photosynthesis. Dr. Makhija also teaches across the undergraduate physics curriculum and is the faculty advisor of UMW’s Society of Physics Students (SPS) chapter. Through SPS he helps organize a number of science outreach events such as a colloquium series, astronomy nights and participation in STEM/STEAM outreach at local elementary schools.