Allison Helferty

Biography

I am a rising senior majoring in physics at Juniata College. I became most involved in SPS my junior year. I've helped organize our mentorship program which provides a space for freshmen to seek advice from upperclassmen about majoring in physics. I have also helped organize future events like our plans for PhysCon 2022. This past spring, I participated in our annual Physics Phun Night, an outreach program designed to get kids interested in physics--usually through fire and explosions. With a partner, I demonstrated how an applied voltage can make pickles glow! Next academic year, I will lead SPS as chapter president. Beyond SPS, I have been involved in our Women in Physics (WiP) Chapter. As the secretary of Juniata's WiP chapter, I have worked to communicate regarding the Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics (CUWiP), its associated registration, talks available, and research presented by women in our department. I organized the viewing logistics and timing when the conference went virtual this year. At CUWiP, I also presented my own summer research involving eclipsing binaries. This upcoming summer, I will be participating in an REU at Lehigh University, likely involving optical tweezers. After Juniata, I hope to attend graduate school, specializing in optics or biophysics. Outside of physics, I love reading and writing fiction, hiking, and embroidery.