I was born in April, 1989 in the smallest borough of New York City, Staten Island, and lived there all of my life until I came to Stony Brook. I have one brother, four years my senior, who just graduated from college.  Both my parents were born in Italy and moved here separately when they were children.  Thus, my brother and I are first generation Italian-Americans.  In addition, we are the first generation in my family to ever attend college, let alone graduate. When I first enrolled in Stony Brook, I was a biology major.  Then chemistry came, and went! I learned very quickly that, although I love biology, at least three more semesters of chemistry would not be fun.  That's when I look a big leap of faith and became a mathematics major.  Though I struggled first semester in calculus II, I was always up for the challenge.  I loved the feeling when I finally got a solution to a hard problem that I was working on.  That feeling was ultimately the driving force behind the switch.  When many people hear the word physics, they associate negative connotations.  However, physics, to me, is nothing more than applied mathematics.  Anything that deals with math, count me in!  So, I was thrilled to learn that I was placed in the Laser Teaching Center.  When I'm not using a myriad of paper to solve one math problem, you can find me rocking out to music.  Ask my friends, or better yet my roommate, that I am ALWAYS singing. I love everything from country to hip-hop.  It's a source of stress release, but moreover, it lets me share with the unfortunate people around me the wonderful talent I do not have!   Maria Giachetta / 12 Feb 2008 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Possible Topics to Investigate - 1. optical illusions 2. how images are distored 3. how a line moves by placing a glass on it 4. faster: cable or fiber optics?