University of Colorado at Denver
2016
Jocelynn Bell Burnell Outstanding Leadership Scholarship
I am a senior at the University of Colorado Denver, majoring in physics and minoring in astrophysics and mathematics. After an arts degree and nearly a decade working in performing arts and education, I returned to school in 2014 to retrain as a physicist. My involvement with SPS, both as a chapter president and Associate Zone Councilor, has proven to me that an artistic background (or any background) can still be an asset: skills gained in seemingly unrelated pursuits are absolutely useful in our work as physicists! I am currently conducting research at HAO/NCAR building models of the solar corona, and I am looking forward to beginning graduate school in 2017. My academic interests include astrophysics, diversity and inclusion, and creating a strong line of communication between the scientific community and the general public. In my free time, I take classes in ballet and aerial acrobatics, play a few stringed instruments, and produce an occasional physics podcast.