2023 Outstanding Young Alumnus Award

Rakshya Khatiwada ‘08 has dedicated her life to learning and discovery in the field of physics. As one of Linfield’s international students, her experience is unlike many that have attended Linfield. Her exceptional career is rooted in her uncommon education at Linfield.  

Dr. Khatiwada nursed her interest in physics throughout her childhood in Nepal.

She was accepted to Linfield with a full tuition scholarship. She credits late Floyd Schrock and the international admission team who saw her potential early on and invested in her education.

Linfield’s intimate campus setting gave Rakshya the ability to form connections with her professors and classmates. Her participation as a residence life advisor and in Linfield’s host family program for international students provided her with the financial and social support she needed to feel at home in the U.S. Her professors, Joelle Murray, Tianbao Xie, the late Donald Schnitzler, Jennifer Heath, and others, provided her with the tools she needed to embark on her career.

She completed a Bachelor of Science with a double major in physics and mathematics during her time at Linfield – all the while working 20 hours per week on campus to support herself financially throughout the four years of college. She continued her education at Purdue University, earning a Ph.D. in physics in 2015 and completed postdoctoral training at the University of Washington Seattle from 2015 to 2018 and subsequently at Fermilab from 2018 to 2020.

Dr. Khatiwada’s career began with summer internships and a position as a laboratory assistant at Linfield.

Throughout her undergraduate years, she secured summer internships at various institutions and national labs – typically extremely limited for international students due to funding agency restrictions.

She is still considered young in her field but has already accomplished more than some do in their entire career.

Dr. Khatiwada is currently working as both an assistant professor of physics at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) and an associate scientist at Fermilab. Her research is centered on answering the fundamental questions about the composition of the universe and the role and nature of dark matter, utilizing quantum technology.

In her role as a professor, she has led the development of a new undergraduate course in quantum computing, redesigned the advanced lab courses offered to undergraduate students and served as a member of both the Graduate Ph.D. Qualifier Exam Committee and Faculty Research Council at IIT. She received the Sigma Xi Junior Faculty Award for outstanding accomplishments from IIT in 2023.

At Fermilab, she is the primary investigator on a quantum technology project through the Department of Energy National Quantum Initiative, Quantum Science Center Award.

Her other projects include:

• Serving as deputy task lead of a DOE QuantiSED Fermilab Dark Matter consortium
• Advising as a cryogenic and quantum electronics and noise expert in the Axion Dark Matter Experiment
• Serving as a coordinator in Coordinating Panel for Advanced Detectors (CPAD) for Quantum and Superconducting detectors

In recognition for her work in the field of physics, she is often invited to advise and talk about her research nationally. She was also awarded Fermilab’s Laboratory Directed Research and Development Award in 2021.

Dr. Khatiwada is a strong advocate of diversity, equity and inclusion in the STEM field.

Her desire to promote and retain diversity in physics led her to redesign and implement a new format of a graduate qualifier exam, addressing issues that disproportionately impacted women and minority students. She continues to offer mentorship to undergraduate, graduate and postdoc students at many institutions along with public outreach talks to small colleges and underrepresented communities.

Join us in honoring Rakshya Khatiwada as Linfield's 2023 Outstanding Young Alumnus!