William (Gus) Milhizer

Class of 2024
Major in Chemistry, Biochemistry concentration; Minors in Physics and Medieval & Renaissance Studies

I am a chemistry major (concentration in biochemistry) and aspiring physician-scientist interested in the intersection between biochemical and physical principles with translational application. My experiences with the Medieval & Renaissance department (through the MedRen focus cluster) and German department (through Duke in Berlin as a Mac Anderson foreign language scholar) have also served as a unique opportunity to learn about the humanities and their historical and modern interactions with the traditional sciences. Outside of class I computationally model electron transfer in biological systems with the Beratan lab, for which I was also a summer research fellow in the ChemSURF program. I also love teaching and have been an organic chemistry and physics peer facilitator with SAGE in the academic resource center since my sophomore year. In my freetime I love to play piano (as a member of Pei-Fen Liu's studio) and am grateful to be a part of the Duke dance community as a performer in both Defining Movement and Embodiment Contemporary Dance.

Favorite Class: The Legend of King Arthur (MedRen315/German275) with Dr. Henry: Dr. Henry was a fantastic professor with energy and passion for every discussion and text we read. Additionally, having the ability to freely explore the artistry, history, philosophy, and linguistic traits of Arthurian literature from Welsh myths up to present day depictions in film has been a highlight of my MedRen coursework and Duke experience as a whole.