I’ve always been insatiably curious and have spent most of my life learning about how the world hangs together and trying to show other people the amazing things I’ve found. I earned a BA in philosophy and a BS in physics from the University of New Hampshire before going to earn a BFA sculpture at Mass College of Art and Design. Fascinated by big questions, I spent 5 years working towards a Ph.D. in philosophy at Brown studying the philosophy of perception and the relationship between mind and world. While taking classes in cognitive science, I kept finding myself longing for more scientific answers then philosophy could produce and my hands missed making things. So, I left the program a year shy of my Ph.D. and started a studio furniture making business. After a divorce and trying to raise two girls by myself, I decided to go back to school to get a ‘practical’ degree. While earning my masters in mechanical engineering, I started collaborating with Sheila Patek and became fascinated with the interface of biology and physics. I completed my MSME in 2012 with David Schmidt and my phD in Organismic and Evolutionary biology in 2016 working under Gary Gillis. Presently am a post-doctoral research in kinesiology at Penn state in the Rubenson Lab. When I’m not making things or doing science, I love to white water kayak and build things (machines, houses, sculptures).
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
2016-Present Post-Doctoral Researcher Rubenson Lab Penn State Department of Kinesiology. Musculoskeletal plasticity in developmental disuse animal model. Neuromechanical plasticity of an animal model in response to wearable robotics. Research techniques: musculoskeletal computational Modeling, functional biomechanical analysis (Kinematic and kinetic data collection via motion capture, energetics), robotics, sterile in-vivo surgical procedures: botox injection, sonomicrometry, tendon force buckle construction and implantation.
2015-2016 Research Associate in Crosby Lab, University of Massachusetts Polymer Science Department. Size-scaling limits of impulsive elastic energy release. Research Techniques: Material testing, material testing machine development, computational modeling
2014-2016 Graduate Student in Gillis Lab, Mount Holyoke College Department of Biological Science. Motor control of landing preparation in Cane Toads. Research techniques: in vivo electromyography, motion capture, surgical ablations of sensory systems
2012-2014 Graduate Student in Patek Lab, University of Massachusetts Graduate program in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology. Cavitation and extreme biological motion in mantis shrimp. Research techniques: High-speed kinematics, biomimetic robotics
2010-2012 Graduate student in Schmidt Lab, University of Massachusetts Mechanical Engineering Department. Experimental investigations on kinematic contributions on to cavitation onset. Research techniques: High-speed video, biomimetic robotics, acoustic frequency spectrum analysis, computational fluid dynamics
Undergraduate Research
Research assistant in Hersman Lab, University of New Hampshire Nuclear Physic Department. Assembly of components for Continuous Electron Beam Accelerating Facility (CEBAF). Research Techniques: Circuit board and scintillator assembly and testing.
Research assistant in Mobius Lab, University of New Hampshire Space Science Department. Numerical simulation of ion detectors for solar wind research. Research Techniques: Computational modeling