AAPT: American Association of Physics Teachers

Meet Alexis

When I was an undergrad (Smith College, class of 2006), someone asked me about why I was a physics major. I was (and am!) genuinely interested in physics and at the time, the computational nuclear physics research I worked on as a student research. However, it wasn't just being interested in physics that led me to being a physics major. Part of the reason I majored in physics was I liked my department and classmates; I figured that if I were going to spend a considerable amount of my life working, ideally I would like my work, make the world a little or a lot better, and like the people with whom I am working. Since I was an undergrad, I've shifted over to physics/STEM education research during my graduate studies in hopes of contributing to positive change to physics doctoral education. After my graduate work, I've shifted yet again albeit quite as extreme. While I am often working on sustained change research and doing evaluation, I mostly describe my work as "it depends on what day you’re asking" as each project has different needs and employ different methods, participants, etc. Despite the changes in my career trajectory, striving to work with good people doing good things has been a consistent theme and a privilege I have been lucky to have in multiple endeavors.

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