Alina Gearba-Sell

Dr. Alina Gearba-Sell is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physics at the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) and faculty advisor of the USAFA chapters of the Society of Physics Students (SPS) and Sigma Pi Sigma, the Physics Honor Society. Dr. Gearba received her Ph.D. in Physics in 2001 from Polytechnic University of Bucharest in Romania. She furthered her knowledge in physics at Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen, Denmark and in the United States at Colorado State University and Kansas State University. Dr. Gearba started her academic career in 2004 at the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) and in 2014 she joined the physics faculty at USAFA.  Her research interests include experimental atomic, molecular and optical physics and involve laser cooling and trapping, coherent blue-light generation, precision measurements of excited state atomic lifetimes and collisional excitation transfer studies for alkali laser development.

Dr. Alina Gearba-Sell has been involved with SPS and Sigma Pi Sigma since 2004. She previously served as faculty advisor of the USM SPS and Sigma Pi Sigma chapters. Both USAFA and USM SPS chapters received their first Outstanding SPS Chapter Awards under Dr. Gearba’s leadership. The USM chapter continued to receive the Outstanding Chapter Award for six additional years, while USAFA just received their second. Several Future of Physics, Marsh White, Chapter Research, Student Research and Sigma Pi Sigma Awards (12 between the two chapters) were also received under her leadership. In addition, both USAFA and USM SPS chapters hosted their first SPS Zone Meetings during Dr. Gearba’s tenure as faculty advisor. She was also instrumental in installing the USAFA Sigma Pi Sigma chapter.

Dr. Alina Gearba-Sell served in the SPS National Council as faculty representative of SPS chapters from Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas and western Tennessee. As council member, she chaired the “Underrepresented Groups in Physics” committee tasked with drafting the SPS Future Faces of Physics Award designed to promote physics across cultures. She also chaired the “Undergraduate Research” committee tasked with evaluating the SPS programs, activities and initiatives aimed at encouraging undergraduate research. Dr. Gearba also served as planning committee member of the 2016 Quadrennial Physics Congress held in San Francisco this past fall.