Meet ‘Tony’ Yan, This Year’s Class Marshal
The physics and mathematics double major leaves his mark on Mayflower Hill
For Yutong “Tony” Yan ’25, the last four years have meant an opportunity to deeply immerse himself in the fields that interest him the most, including math, physics, and classical guitar.
It’s an opportunity the recent graduate absolutely took to heart. Yan, a physics and mathematics double major from Beijing, China, was named class marshal for the Class of 2025, the honor given to the graduating senior with the highest grade point average.
It is the culmination of many academic accolades Yan has earned during his time at Colby, including being one of a handful of students elected as a third-year student to join the College’s chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, America’s most prestigious academic honor society. He also collaborated with Associate Professor of Mathematics Evan Randles to discover and prove a mathematical theorem, the subject of a paper they are readying for publication.
Yan is now preparing to start a Ph.D. program in mathematical physics at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.
“Tony’s very bright, and he’s very hard-working,” Randles said. “A lot of people think that math is just for gifted folks, but that’s not true. There’s really an immense amount of work that needs to be put into things, and Tony being willing and eager to do that work is very much key to his success.”
An appreciation for the liberal arts
When Yan was deciding which college to attend, he knew he was interested in studying math and physics.
“I was also very interested in the humanities,” he said. “When I first got here, I took a bunch of philosophy classes, and really liked them. I think perhaps one reason I chose a liberal arts school like this is that I got to explore other things while doing math and physics.”
Among those were studying classical guitar, walking in the woods around campus, and making friends.
“I think of Tony as a really great example of a liberal arts student,” Randles said. “He’s somebody who’s interested in a lot of things, is willing to work really hard, and has a great sense of humor, as well.”
Math and physics
In philosophy, Yan is particularly interested in epistemology, the study of knowledge. That’s a framework that seems to undergird his work in both mathematics and physics.
“I would say that mathematics is much more concerned with structure than doing the actual, minute details of how to compute things. It’s more about how the pieces fit together, rather than what the pieces actually are,” Yan said.
In particular, he’s interested in mathematical problems inspired by physical situations. One example of that is calculus, which was developed by Isaac Newton in the 17th century because he wanted to solve physics problems.
“Throughout the history of mathematics and physics, there are just a lot of really complex, highly nontrivial problems from physics that turn into very important mathematical problems,” Yan said.
Robert Bluhm, Sunrise Professor of Physics, said that the graduate stands out for his exceptional ability in both of his majors. He has top-tier problem-solving and analytical skills, the professor said, and is able to figure out difficult new subjects on his own. Yan excelled in physics classes and completed two honors theses, one in theoretical physics and another in mathematics.
“Typically, theoretical physicists seek to find the best theories that describe nature and agree with experiments, while mathematical physicists operate on a higher level, trying to make sure that the theories are mathematically consistent and rigorous,” Bluhm wrote in an email. “I can definitely see Tony doing well at this, since he’ll get to use his immense talents in both theoretical physics and mathematics.”
A love of music
Yan was particularly excited that Colby provides students with the opportunity to study classical guitar, and since arriving on campus he has taken weekly lessons. He’s also played with the advanced classical guitar ensemble all four years, and he is proud of his recent senior recital. He performed a Bach sonata originally composed for the violin, a duet with a student flautist, and Cavatina, a hauntingly lovely piece made famous by the movie Deer Hunter.
“That’s one of the quintessential guitar pieces,” Yan said. “Very hard to play, but very, very beautiful.”
He takes lessons from Mark Leighton, who has taught guitar at Colby for 45 years. A few months ago, the instructor noticed something unusual. In their four years of weekly lessons, Yan had never once missed one. It’s the only time in the teacher’s long tenure at the College that has happened.
“There are a lot of students who have very good attendance. But at some point, either he or I should have, statistically, missed a lesson,” Leighton said. “Now, I never miss lessons. But it’s unusual to find a student who brings the same approach.”
But remarkable attendance is just the starting point for what Yan brings to music. Leighton described him as the foundation of the guitar ensemble, who is “endlessly” generous with the other student musicians.
“He’s one of the more polite young men that I’ve ever met, entirely gracious and grateful for everything,” the instructor said. “He plays music confidently, and he’s always curious about the best approach to working on a piece.”
They talked a lot about approaches during the years that Yan worked to master the Bach sonata, which Leighton described as complicated and difficult.
“Tony and I could have a conversation about all these different options, but the most gratifying thing was that I could confidently send him on his way knowing that he would then go and have an in-depth conversation with Bach,” Leighton said. “Through months, and even years, of playing music—that’s a conversation. And Tony is capable of having a really insightful conversation, even with Bach.”
At Colby, Yan has left his mark in large and small ways. One of the most unusual may be heard in the school guitar he used while he was here, Leighton said.
“If an instrument is played for a long time, and played well, with a good tone, the instrument starts to resonate in a different way, and keeps improving,” Leighton said. “And Tony’s guitar sounds better than any of the other school guitars. Isn’t that amazing? His guitar is just a pretty good, starter-level instrument. But it kept getting better because he played it so well.”
