As the Advanced Research program has grown, so has student interest in pursuing research in new disciplines. With well-established offerings in the core scientific areas of biology and chemistry already in place, physics was a natural addition to the Upper School’s AR lineup.

Of course, it also helps when students are asking for it.

“This year’s first AR Physics students were in my Advanced Topics (now AP Physics) class last year,” said teacher Robin Hori. “They were the ones who approached me about doing an AR class.”

Designed to go beyond the AP level, AR Physics lets students dive into the branches of physics that most interest them as they build advanced skills in experimentation, computational modeling, and scientific analysis. This chance to pursue self-directed research, rather than follow a set curriculum, greatly appealed to the five seniors who enrolled in the class’s first year.

“It’s refreshing to have that freedom,” said class member Hans Baker.

“You’re able to learn new concepts and go in depth into something you care about,” added Jane Borst.

This kind of educational freedom is important in students’ academic development. AR students, most often seniors, have spent years building knowledge and skills across their high school classes and are ready to pursue more independent, self-directed studies. Robin has often seen signs of this readiness to go deeper in his AP-level students.

It’s really valuable for students to learn more about what they’re curious about.—Robin Hori, Upper School science teacher

“We’d do these labs where they’d figure out how to complete a task—a lot of thinking and collaboration and tinkering with equipment,” he said. As they worked, Robin would often see students become interested in new ideas sparked by the projects, but time constraints limited how far they could explore them. “There were always moments where we’d say, ‘We could take this further if we had more time.’”

AR Physics provides the time to go down what Robin calls the “‘what if?’ paths” of students’ choosing. Choice is an important part of the Rowland Hall AR experience, allowing students to become more invested in their work while building the initiative and problem-solving skills that will help them succeed as undergraduates.

“It’s really valuable for students to learn more about what they’re curious about,” said Robin. “They already had ideas; I didn’t want to tell them something that I wanted to find out. And I learned from them as much as I possibly could.”

And what the students wanted to learn about was quite impressive. In the first year of the class, they took on research projects across three distinct areas:

• Hans Baker, Jane Borst, and Leo Pickron explored whether statistical models can predict cycling aerodynamics as accurately as advanced computer simulations and wind tunnel testing. 
• Kendra Larson studied how the size of Pluto’s moon Charon affects the stability of the Pluto-Charon system.
• Harrison Lasater worked on developing an AI system that can automatically identify tables in documents and extract data from them.

Because the projects spanned such a wide range of subjects, Robin’s primary role was to coach each student through their individual learning journey, providing support, enthusiasm, and just the right amount of skepticism to ensure the final scope of each project was realistic and achievable within the school year. And he was just one of the resources available to students, who were also required to find mentors working in their fields of interest. That meant class members had to practice the art of networking, pushing through discomfort to build professional relationships.

“It could be scary,” said Kendra of cold emailing her mentor, but it was worth it. “I wouldn’t have found my focus without a mentor.”

Mentors also greatly expanded what students were able to accomplish in their projects. “Finding a mentor basically opened up a new ballpark when it comes to access to resources,” said Hans, referring to the tools, software, and even facilities his group accessed through their mentor.

While the nature of the class required some flexibility, such as finding time to check in with mentors based on their availability, dedicated class periods each week gave students time to work on their projects. As a coach, Robin balanced assigning work that furthered students’ progress, such as asking them to read and review articles connected to their research, with giving them the freedom they needed to direct their work. On any given day, you could walk into AR Physics and see students analyzing data, sharpening their programming skills, troubleshooting complex coding challenges, or talking through an idea with the group.

To me and most students, physics is a class where you solve problems written by someone else. This class helped us see the real-world connection between knowing an equation and understanding what to do with it.—Leo Pickron, class of 2026

“The class was really self-paced and we focused on process and research, which I appreciated,” said Jane.

It was an experience that gave the students a clearer understanding of what physics looks like on a professional level.

“To me and most students, physics is a class where you solve problems written by someone else. This class helped us see the real-world connection between knowing an equation and understanding what to do with it,” said Leo. “I want to study physics, and at some point the work becomes less about solving equations and more about complex coding. This was a good first step.”

Looking back at the first year of the class, Robin is proud of how well prepared the students were for this level of scholarship, as well as the dedication they showed in pursuing this kind of research, which can be quite overwhelming at first glance.

“They were so self-motivated. They knew what their goal was, and I found it really amazing how they attacked the problem,” he said. “Once they settled in and thought about the path they were going to take, they stuck with it, even at times when things weren’t working.”

That persistence paid off: after months of hard work, all three of this year’s AR Physics projects qualified to compete at the University of Utah Science & Engineering Fair, the highest level of science fair competition for Utah students in grades 5–12, and all three earned awards. Hans, Jane, and Leo’s project placed second in the Physics, Astronomy, & Math category, Kendra’s project placed third in the same category, and Harrison’s project placed fourth in Electrical & Computer Engineering. The experience marked an exciting conclusion to months of work while also helping the students gain a clearer sense of what they hope to pursue after graduation.

“The class cemented for me that I really like doing physics research, and I feel so much more confident in my ability to take something and run with it,” said Kendra. “I’m so excited to do this in college and in real labs.”

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Special thanks to the professionals who mentored this year’s AR Physics students:

• Hans Baker, Jane Borst, and Leo Pickron were mentored by Ingmar Jungnickel, aerodynamic engineer at AiRO and Inspire Gold.
• Kendra Larson was mentored by Amaya Sinha, graduate research assistant in Physics and Astronomy at the University of Utah.
• Harrison Lasater was mentored by Dr. Morteza Fayazi, assistant professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Utah.

Robin also extends gratitude to the Upper School faculty for their support of these students throughout the year and to Rowland Hall for investing in Advanced Research opportunities.