CLARKSVILLE, TN – For four weeks this summer, Austin Peay State University’s campus hosted some of Tennessee’s brightest high school students as they challenged themselves in the Governor’s School for Computational Physics—a program that connects theoretical physics and practical computing.
Every summer for the last 18 years, Austin Peay has been home to this program, taking some of the highest-achieving students in Tennessee and immersing them in an academic cocoon—designed to nurture, yes, but also challenge every thought they’ve ever had about physics, computing and mathematics. In 2026, APSU offered a new Governors School curriculum under Dr. Justin Oelgoetz, who took over the program this year with a fresh perspective.
Among this year’s cohort were Dream Kang from West High School in Knoxville, Karina Boyd from Westview High School, and Mina Malty from Smyrna High School. All rising seniors, they came with different backgrounds but shared curiosities about physics, mathematics, and computational problem-solving.
For Kang, the program represented a second chance.
“This was my second year applying,” she said. “I went through all the lists of the Governor’s Schools because it was really promoted at our school to apply for any of them. This one was the most interesting one that caught my eye. Computational physics—it sounded hard and fun at the same time.”
Beyond the Classroom Walls
The program’s intensity surprised even students with strong academic backgrounds. Without a traditional syllabus, participants discovered each day’s lessons as they unfolded, tackling everything from quantum mechanics to machine learning.
“Dr. [Daniel] Mayo’s lectures are always on point,” Kang said, referring to one of APSU’s most popular professors of mathematics and statistics. “He actually went into all the math behind quantum mechanics and how everything works together. I had only learned about it conceptually before, so that was actually entertaining.”
Boyd, who had never participated in a summer program before, found herself drawn to unexpected areas.
“I really enjoyed the machine learning aspects and getting to learn how it worked mechanically, but also mathematically,” she said. “I never really thought about things that way before.”
For Malty, who entered with AP Physics experience, the computational focus opened new possibilities.
“I thought, what if I take physics and put it into computational physics?” he said. “I got catapulted through calculus and learned the basics of quantum computing with superpositions and Monte Carlo methods for the Ising model.”
In addition to classwork, the students toured Oak Ridge National Laboratory for a day and conducted a host of experiments designed to put their studies into practice, including charting music tones with Austin Peay Professor of Music Dr. Korre Foster.
Building Community Through Challenge
The community the students built during their month on campus was perhaps as important as the academic content. Living in residence halls and working together daily, they formed bonds that helped them tackle difficult material.
“I think it’s been really nice to build my own community from the ground up,” Boyd said. “I came here not having connections, and being here for even a month showed me that I have the ability to build what I consider quite a strong community.”
Malty emphasized how the group dynamic evolved quickly.
“In the first four days, we all kind of pushed each other to be ourselves,” he said. “There was no shame in being yourself.”
Boyd said the program’s social aspect was essential for the students’ academic success.
“I don’t think anybody in this program could have completed a day without asking for help,” she said. “That’s probably one of the biggest skills this program teaches you.”