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.
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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.
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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.
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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! Physics belongs to everyone and that includes you.
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Dr. Erin Blauvelt graduated with her Ph.D. in physics from Lehigh University in 2021.
In graduate school, she focused on a fascinating discovery in theoretical physics, a duality known as holography, AdS/CFT, or gauge/gravity duality. This duality was born out of string theory and it offers an incredible new perspective on many areas of fundamental physics including how we view gravity in tandem with strongly coupled quantum systems in condensed matter. Her thesis work examined holographic models with condensed matter applications which, in essence, allow us to exploit concepts that have been found through studying string theory by applying them to materials with industrial applications. Holography is a very active field of research and an incredibly interdisciplinary field.
Scientific communication between researchers and broad audiences is also very important to her. On this site, you will find many examples of how she enjoys engaging with the public about advanced physics topics from quirky podcasts to science fiction.
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Contact: e.k.blauvelt@gmail.com