Meet Our Graduate Students
Meet Gabe Hoshino
I grew up in the East Village area of NYC. I attended Yale University for undergrad where I studied physics and mathematics. During my time at Yale I worked with the HAYSTAC group to look for a dark matter candidate called the axion and with the CUORE group looking for a rare process called neutrinoless double beta decay.
Who inspires you?
Of course, I have always been inspired by all of the great figures of physics and mathematics (Noether, Euler, Einstein, Wiegmann, etc.). I am also very privileged to have a wonderful grandfather with a PhD who has definitely played a part in inspiring my own PhD journey.
What are you fans of?
Outside of physics, I am a huge fan of classical music and jazz. I especially enjoy classical composers from the 19th and 20th centuries like Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schubert, Brahms, Mahler, Shostakovich, Prokofiev, etc. I also really enjoy hard bop greats like Charles Mingus, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Lee Morgan, Cannonball Adderley, and Dexter Gordon.
Why did you choose to study physics?
I have always wanted to be a scientist (basically since elementary school) so I guess for me the question was always what specific type of science I wanted to do. In the end, I went with physics because I appreciate the more mathematical formulation of physics relative to other scientific disciplines.
Why did you choose U Chicago?
I chose U Chicago because of its proximity to the exciting research at Fermilab and Argonne. There is so much exciting research happening in the department and there were quite a few groups doing exciting research in the fields I was interested in (particle and astroparticle physics).
What are the best things about your PhD program?
My advisor (David Miller) is very attentive to my research interests. He helps me taylor my projects to my interests and I always feel motivated to do good research. I think the flexibility to construct your own research program (with the help of great mentors of course) is what makes a PhD program both scary and wonderful.
What was the best surprise about U Chicago or life in Chicago?
The research group I currently work with wasn’t even on my radar when I applied to U Chicago actually! I highly recommend looking around at groups beyond the ones you might have considered during the application process and talking to as many professors as you can about their research. You might be like me and find that a group which you hadn’t considered before is a better match for you than the ones you were considering initially.
If you could share any advice to your colleagues, what would it be?
Do not overload your first quarter of graduate school. It is tempting to take tons of classes, but it’s worth cutting yourself a little slack so you can do a good job picking a research group that matches your interests and has people who you can work with productively.