Erin Blauvelt is a physics graduate student at Lehigh University studying strongly coupled quantum phases of matter through AdS/CFT or holography which is a duality that comes out of the framework of string theory.
It is an exciting time to be exploring quantum gravity! There are many open questions to investigate from cosmology to holographic condensed matter systems. Erin is passionate about fundamental physics and feels lucky to be able to contribute.
Erin's path through academia has been non-traditional. She attended Michigan State University after dropping out of high school and traveling around the country. After receiving a bachelors in physics at MSU, she worked for a software company before attending Lehigh University, where she is now.
She is a strong advocate for supporting the scientific curiosity of all interested persons and keeping an open mind. It is very important not to exclude people based on quick judgments or the way they look.
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Meet Theory Girl Erin
Meet Theory Girl Erin
Delilah Gates is a physics graduate student at Harvard University. She studies on high-spin black holes and gravity working to analytically characterize observational signatures of near extremal Kerr black hole using the emergent near-horizon conformal symmetry.
Delilah's interests include (near) extremal black hole geometries, black hole binaries, AdS/CFT correspondence, and black hole entropy. She never expected to live in the time where black holes transition from science fiction to science fact. So exciting!
Before joining Harvard, she earned two Bachelors of Science, one physics and one math, from the University of Maryland, College Park.
Delilah has a passion for support and community building within the physics community with a mindfulness towards equity for those who are members of underrepresented groups.
Meet Theory Girl Erin
Welcome to our site! Science belongs to everyone and that includes you.
Erin graduated in 2021 with a PhD in physics from Lehigh Univeristy.
New ideas and a great group of people are the spark for incredible connections that can spur new technologies. From investigating the properties of black holes and high-temperature superconductors to navigating the daily needs of a pool of thousands of programmers that are writing, removing, and compiling code to improve healthcare record-keeping across the country, she has had the pleasure to explore many new and engaging topics throughout her career. She has experience working in an academic research setting and in industry. Early on, she studied genetics, small bodies in the Solar System at NASA, and Higgs boson decay. In graduate school, she focused on a fascinating discovery in theoretical physics, a duality known as holography. This duality was born out of string theory and it offers such an incredible perspective on gravity. Her thesis work examined holographic models with condensed matter applications which, in essence, allow us to relate concepts that have been found through studying string theory to materials with industrial applications. Holography is a very active field of research and an incredibly interdisciplinary field. She has always enjoyed a wide-open area of study and to collaboratively put thoughts into motion.
Scientific communication between researchers and broad audiences is also very important to her. At theorygirls.com you will find the science outreach podcast she has helped to co-found and some examples of how she enjoys engaging with the public about advanced physics topics.
Contact: e.k.blauvelt@gmail.com