A Lasting Influence

A Physics student credits her late professor’s mentorship with inspiring her to explore and excel

By Kristin Baird Rattini

As Khushi Vandra '26 CLAS distinguishes herself in the field of high-energy particle physics, she is dedicated to carrying on the example of her late mentor, Amber Stuver, PhD, associate professor of Physics at Villanova.

In March, Vandra won the Barry Goldwater Scholarship, the preeminent award for sophomores and juniors preparing for research careers in the natural sciences, mathematics or engineering. A Physics major with minors in Education and Mathematics, Vandra was one of 441 scholars selected from a pool of 1,350 nominated students from 445 institutions. “I was thrilled to be selected,” she says. .

Dr. Stuver, who passed away in September 2024, would have been as well. Vandra, a first-generation student from Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley, was paired with Dr. Stuver through the Villanova Match Research Program for First Year Students, working with her on her field of expertise: gravitational wave research.

“Dr. Stuver’s research was cutting edge,” says David Chuss, PhD, ’95 CLAS, chair of the Department of Physics. A member of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration that won the prestigious 2016 Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, Dr. Stuver “provided a great opportunity for undergraduates to be involved in projects that stimulate the imagination. And she was an empathetic and caring mentor whose approach was really entrenched in Caritas.”

“I could see myself being the kind of researcher she was,” says Vandra, who helped Dr. Stuver develop BurstStatVeto, a tool integrating two statistical methods to aid in searching for burst gravitational waves.

With Dr. Stuver’s encouragement, Vandra applied for and was selected for a National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU), spending the summer of 2024 at European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Switzerland. She focused on searching for entanglement in the product of top quark decays and met fellow physics students from around the world. “Being at CERN was a dream come true,” she says.

Vandra has since investigated light matter coupling and, this past summer, participated in another REU at Columbia University for the Xenon Collaboration, an international effort involving more than 200 scientists searching for dark matter.

After graduating from Villanova this May, Vandra plans to pursue a PhD in high-energy particle physics and aspires to become a professor. She’s determined to carry on her beloved mentor’s legacy as a researcher and champion of women in STEM. “Dr. Stuver sometimes believed in me more than I did in myself,” Vandra says. “She was always supportive of me and encouraged me to follow my passions. I want to be that person for future scientists.”