The Group
An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field.
Niels Bohr
The Gay Group is composed of a fantastic collection of minds who conduct the incredible research being done in the lab. From all levels and backgrounds, both past and present, the members of the group emerge from the depths of the Jorgensen basement to introduce themselves to you on this page.
Tim GayTimothy Gay was born in Ashtabula, Ohio on 23 March, 1953. He was raised in Pleasant Hill, Ohio, a farming community of 1000 people in western Ohio. An only child, his parents (both now deceased) were William Gay, a pastor in the United Church of Christ, and Annabeth McClelland Gay, a church musician. Gay attended Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachussets, graduating in 1971. At Andover, he was the manager of the varsity football team his senior year. Players on that team included Bill Belichick, the coach of the New England Patriots, Ernie Adams, Director of Research for the New England Patriots, and Milt Holt, a former State Senator from Hawaii and the starting quarterback for Harvard for four years. Gay got a B.S. in physics from the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California in 1975. While at Caltech he played tackle for its football team, a squad so notoriously inept that it was profiled by the Wall Street Journal in the fall of 1974. (A typical Caltech season record was 1-7, against such football powerhouses as LaVerne College, Harvey Mudd College, and the University of California - Riverside (freshmen).) Upon graduating from Caltech, Gay matriculated at the University of Chicago, where he earned his Ph.D. in Experimental Atomic Physics in 1980. He then worked as a Research Physicist and Lecturer at Yale University until 1983, when he joined the faculty of the Missouri University of Science and Technology. Since 1993, he has been on the faculty of the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, where he is now the Willa Cather Professor of Physics. Gay's research interests center on the scattering of electrons by atomic and molecular targets and elementary particle physics. His research group, comprising two postdoctoral fellows, three graduate students, and four undergraduate students, is funded by the National Science Foundation. During his career, Gay has been the principle investigator on more than $7 million of grants, and has published more than 100 articles in the refereed scientific literature, including two books. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and served as its Speaker of the Council in 2018. Gay married Anna Christine Nothstine of St. Charles, Missouri in 1975. They have two children, Frederick and Bertram. Besides being a rabid Cornhuskers fan, Gay's hobbies are Civil War history and rock-and-roll music. |
Faculty |
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Keith ForemanDr. Foreman is an Assistant Professor of Practice at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He was born and raised in Iowa and has been interested in science for as long as he can remember. He graduated from Buena Vista University (BVU) in Storm Lake, Iowa with a BS in Physics. During his time as an undergraduate, he contributed to several condensed matter physics and surface science projects at BVU, and participated in a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) project at UNL. The REU project, constructing and characterizing solid-state boron-carbide based neutron detectors cemented his decision to pursue a Ph.D. in condensed matter physics at UNL under the supervision of Prof. Shireen Adenwalla. Keith’s graduate research project focused on organic ferroelectric thin-films and the magnetoelectric coupling between these films and ferromagnetic thin films, working toward voltage-controlled magnetism. After graduate school, Keith decided to branch out into other areas of physics, and joined Dr. Gay’s atomic, molecular, and optical physics research group as a postdoctoral research fellow. After joining the UNL Physics Department as an Assistant Professor of Practice, Keith remains a member of Dr. Gay’s research group continuing the work he started as a postdoc: designing and constructing an optical polarimeter capable of measuring the polarization state of light to unprecedented accuracies. 
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Kenneth TranthamDr. Trantham is currently a professor of physics at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. 
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Grad Students |
William NewmanWilliam was born in Atlanta, Georgia and grew up in the small town of Newnan, Georgia for his early life. William’s first desire to pursue physics came while reading Death by Blackhole by Neil DeGrasse Tyson in the section describing the process of a star going supernova. He continued to study physics at Berry College achieving a B.S. in Physics and Mathematics. During his time at Berry, William discovered his interest in atomic, molecular, and optical physics. He continued his career in physics by attending the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as a Ph.D. candidate. Thanks to Dr. Tim Gay’s encouragement, William joined his research group and currently works on creating a fast bright spin-polarized source of electrons which is both interesting and satisfying. In his spare time, William is interested in applying exercise science, both in the gym and with rock climbing. William also performed in many plays in his undergrad and high school years and hopes to do more in the future. William also expresses his artistic side through cooking and Dungeon & Dragons. |
Niko StamosNiko originally hails from Chesterfield, MO a suburb of St. Louis. He ventured eastward past the arch to pursue his college degree at The Ohio State University. He originally set out to obtain a chemistry degree, but on his way he saw the light. The laser light to be specific. He was more excited by the research labs that dealt with physics topics than the ones that dealt with chemistry. His undergraduate research focused on higher harmonic generation of light in simulators using external laser fields. Now, in the Gay Group, he is investigating the piezo-electric properties of glucose and leading the neon resonance experiment with the troichoidal monochromator device. Outside of physics, Niko's interests include the Greek language (he also received a degree in Modern Greek from Ohio State) and Greek culture. He likes reading books, playing video games, and playing chess. Though his opponents fear his knights the most, his favorite piece on the chess board is the bishop. Niko also appreciates all varieties of good food, so feel free to send any restaurant recommendations his way. 
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Miranda BrysonMiranda grew up in High Point, NC. They originally wanted to study film at NYU but decided to go to Boston University to physics. After graduating Miranda joined the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where their original interests were in high energy physics. A few years later, Miranda met Dr. Gay and learned that AMO physics interested them more. Miranda owns two cats named Butters and Moon. |
Undergraduates |
Ivette QuintanaI was born and raised in Mexico. Studied physics in Mexico City, then moved here in 2020, and continue my studies in 2022. I originally wanted to work in Astrophysics, but changed my mind. Now I want to do something related to Computational Physics, that's why I chose the minors in Mathematics and Computer Science. I met Dr. Gay last semester when he was my Advanced Physics Lab professor, before that I thought I wasn't good at experimental physics, still believe it, but I learned to enjoy it with his class. Besides Physics I also like to learn new languages (not just programming languages), I studied English as second language for 10 years, after that I started French, now I'm studying Italian. |
Collaborators |
Dr. Dale TupaRadical-boardgame-loving scientist |
Marlon Weiss, M.D., FAAFPMarlon was born in Omaha, Nebraska and graduated from Central High. He attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a degree in Materials Science and Engineering. While at MIT, he was the first color editor, and associate night editor for "The Tech". He worked briefly at Boeing Military Airplane Company before going to UNMC and earning his medical degree. His wife, Cindi, managed his medical office and raised his 4 children allowing him time to diagnose physical problems (pun intended) and learn the nuances of electrons in the basement of Jorgensen Hall. Marlon is interested in symmetry of all kinds, gardening, efficiency, and auto maintainence. |