Edmundo Barriga

Edmundo Barriga left his home and most of his family in Mexico six years ago to come to Miami to finish high school and eventually earn a college degree. This May he will be able to say he accomplished both as he graduates magna cum laude from FIU with a bachelor’s degree in physics.

After graduating from Miami Beach Senior High as part of the school’s first International Baccalaureate graduating class and completing Miami Dade College’s Honors program, he transferred to FIU in 2014 to pursue a degree in physics.

While at FIU, Edmundo worked with Professor Jörg Reinhold on groundbreaking nuclear physics research – including research done for the GlueX Experiment, the primary goal being the definitive and detailed mapping of the spectrum of a new family of particles called hybrid mesons, at Jefferson Lab in Virginia.

He was also active outside the classroom as the president of the Physics Sigma Pi Sigma Honors Society and as an event coordinator for the Society of Physics Students. Within the honors society, he helped start a student service organization that tutors and advises fellow undergraduate students and does outreach recruiting to local high schools and career fairs.

Once he graduates, Edmundo will set his sights on pursuing a doctoral degree in physics with a concentration in particle and nuclear physics and is strongly considering staying at FIU to continue his education.