Carson Huey-You is far from the average TCU student.
He will be one of the first to graduate with a Chinese minor and at 14-years-old and will be the youngest TCU graduate to date.
A physics major, Carson was 11 when he became a Horned Frog.
“My favorite part was going to all of my classes and learning new things… really expanding my knowledge,” said Carson.
This desire to learn new things is reflected in Carson’s research projects.
Carson presented biophysics research related to cancerous tumor growth two years ago with Dr. Hana Dobrovolny. The two compiled articles about cancerous research to try to predict future tumor growth and the tumor’s behavior based on a few weeks or months of data.
Carson is currently working on research with his mentor, Dr. Magnus Rittby, to learn more about how to calculate energy eigenvalues of quantum mechanical states.
“So one of the things we’re looking at is states that exist for a short period of time,” said Rittby. “Those kinds of phenomenon where things come together and live for a while then disintegrate turns out to be very important in chemical reactions and nuclear reactions, for example.”
The pair are working to figure out how these states can exist by solving differential equations helps explain how all physical matter in our world exists the way it does.
If the research subject sounds confusing, don’t worry, it is for many people. The whole group laughed when Carson tried to explain it because the subject is so specific to quantum physics.
But Carson’s physics major is not the only unique aspect of his education.
Carson’s Chinese minor led him to the “Chinese Bridge” Proficiency Competition put on by the Confucius Institute.
Carson won third place against competitors from all of the Southern United States and was awarded a five-week trip to China which he declined due to the lengthy stay.
Carson said being one of the first people graduating with a Chinese minor is an honor.
“I know that [The Department of Modern Language Studies] have been trying to get it to be a minor for some time,” Huey-You said. “So, finally having it as a minor…to be able to have students take it, that’s exciting.”
Claretta Kimp, Carson’s mother, said TCU has done an amazing job of helping her son maintain his childhood even with a rigorous academic program.
“TCU is safe and they can still be children,” said Kimp. “Even after four years of being here they are still kids, their childhood has not been sucked out of them.”
This childhood preservation is part of the reason why TCU will add another Huey-You brother to its campus. Carson’s younger brother, Cannan, 10, was accepted into TCU’s undergraduate class of 2021 and will join Carson on campus this fall.
Carson will start graduate school at TCU in the fall with hopes of a future in research.
“I’ll be going to grad school, getting my Ph.D. in Physics, then going into research and probably teaching,” said Carson.
Carson will be pursuing a career in quantum physics.
