Diti Nainwal
Major: Physics
Year: ‘2028
Honors: DaRin Butz Scholar
Research Groups: Mahmood Group, Illinois Mathematics Lab
Diti’s undergraduate research journey began by exploring faculty lab websites and reaching out to professors whose work aligned with her interests. She joined Professor Fahad Mahmood’s experimental condensed matter physics lab, where she researches broadband phase control in the terahertz regime, and later expanded her experience through the Illinois Mathematics Lab, applying mathematical analysis to complex models of cooperation. As a DaRin Butz Foundation Research Scholar, she spent a summer immersed in full-time research, building technical skills, working closely with mentors, and solidifying her goal of pursuing a PhD.
Q: How did you first become interested in undergraduate research?
Diti—“Many professors mention on their lab websites that they are seeking undergraduate researchers, so I spent time reading about their work and reaching out to the faculty whose research genuinely interested me.”
Q: What research project(s) are you involved in, and what is your role?
Diti—“I’m currently involved in Fahad Mahmood’s lab, which focuses on experimental condensed matter physics. My project centers on broadband phase control in the terahertz regime. It is a design-oriented project that explores the role of polarization in our spectroscopy setup and explores how we can 3D-print waveplates to maximize control over that polarization…I also participated in the Illinois Mathematics Lab during the Spring 2026 semester. That project was much more mathematically oriented, and my role primarily involved applying analytical methods (such as linear stability and bifurcation analysis) to coupled PDEs. We used those tools to better understand the spread of altruism through cooperation and defection models.”
Q: What was the most valuable aspect of your experience as a DaRin Butz Foundation Research Scholar, and how did it contribute to your growth as a student and researcher?
Diti—“The scholarship granted me the opportunity to work in the lab over the summer. Doing research 35 hours a week teaches you far more than participating only intermittently during the semester. It gave me the opportunity to be mentored by brilliant graduate students, postdocs, and the PI in the lab. It allowed me to fully immerse myself in the project and spend time thinking through problems in ways that simply are not possible in the middle of a busy semester.”
Q: What skills or knowledge have you gained through research?
Diti—“The number of skills I’ve gained has been enormous: learning to fail (and, in fact, to expect failure); learning how to approach problems that depend on dozens of interacting factors and devise strategies to isolate what might be going wrong; learning to be comfortable with being wrong; learning how to actually read a scientific paper; learning to make plots; learning to write academically; learning how to communicate results to different audiences. And, of course, learning a great deal about optics.”
Q: How has participating in research influenced your academic, professional, or career goals?
Diti—“Participating in research has strongly encouraged me to pursue a PhD. There is so much left to learn, and I really look up to my mentors. I hope to pursue a career similar to theirs.”
Q: What advice would you give to students who are interested in getting involved in undergraduate research?
Diti—“My biggest advice is to start early and be willing to learn from people more experienced than you. Don’t be discouraged by being wrong; be discouraged by not learning from it. It’s also important to recognize when you should push yourself to work independently and when you should step back and ask for help.”
Q: Is there anything else you would like students to know about your research experience?
Diti—“Science in a lab setting and science in a classroom setting are two entirely different experiences. You may not always enjoy your physics classes, and you still may end up loving research. I was fortunate to be given the autonomy to design my own experiment, and I’ve made more mistakes than I can count (I still don’t have much figured out). Engage deeply with the materials available to you (papers, books, and especially people) but don’t expect yourself to know everything going in, because you absolutely won’t.”