This week's spotlight is Alexandria Mendoza, a research assistant in the physics department!
What interested you to pursue a career in STEM?
I enjoyed math in high school (but not enough to major in math) and when I mentioned this to an advisor during my school's orientation, he convinced me to major in physics (I am very easily convinced of things).
How would you describe your work to the public?
I work on large scale, numerical modeling of dusty plasmas. Plasma makes up over 98% of our known universe, so it's important to understand it! The dust in dusty plasma is essentially tiny pieces of material that are immersed in the plasma, and I study the interaction between the dust and the plasma.
Outside of the lab, what do you enjoy doing?
I enjoy watching movies, ignoring all my problems and encouraging my friends to drop out and live on a commune together.
Is there something during your research career that you have really enjoyed or want to share?
My favorite part of my career is meeting new people and gaining new perspective from them.
If you can give a piece of advice to the younger generation, what would it be?
Do what you want to do, it's your life to live and no one else's.
Is there a female scientist that particularly inspires you?
Margaret Cavendish