Current Grad Students in Physics

Jason Bennett

At Ursinus College, Bryn Mawr College, Lehigh University, University of Groningen, Stony Brook University, and now Bryn Mawr again, Jason has studied atomic physics, AdS/CFT, gauge theory, condensed matter theory, and now biophysics. He is starting his PhD part time in Professor Asja Radja’s biophysics lab while working as a continuing non tenure track lecturer at Villanova University. He just spent a year teaching and advising at the Claremont Colleges and is passionate about helping students combat imposter syndrome’s dangerous cousin, self-selection, by helping them in their applying to grad school, scholarships like the Fulbright, and undergraduate research experiences like NSF REU. Reach out anytime for help with anything!

Alex Driehaus

Alex Driehaus earned a B.S. in physics and a B.A. in Mathematics from Western Kentucky University. During her undergraduate experience, she worked in interdisciplinary research with both a nuclear physicist and, during a brief internship, a seed scientist. She is currently working with Dr. Asja Radja in biophysics and pattern formation. In her free time, Alex enjoys reading, the semi-occasional cat nap, and general shark appreciation.

Olivia McAuley

Olivia received her B.S. in Physics with a concentration in Astrophysics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. As an undergraduate student, she was an active member in Women in Physics (currently named Visibility in Physics) becoming president of WiP her last year. She joined a research group focusing on galaxy evolution in the southern compact group (SCG). As a graduate student, she works on tracer particle simulations where she studies the dynamics of a star cluster residing at a stable Lagrange point. For more information, see her website.

Jennifer Rittenhouse

Jennifer Rittenhouse is a nontraditional student who earned her B.A. in Psychology in 2010 and worked with Children and Adults with special needs around south-central PA. In 2016 She made a major career change to study physics, working part time with before and after school children and earning her B.S. in Physics in 2023 from Millersville University. As an undergraduate, she fabricated and analyzed nanoscale thin films of PMMA, Silicon, Silicon with Silicon Dioxide and gold and their optical and electronic properties.  As a graduate student at Bryn Mawr College, she is hoping to continue to study nanoscale materials. In her free time, Jennifer enjoys playing piano, hiking, participating in group exercise classes and playing RPG dice games with her friends.

Sarah E. Spielman

Sarah E. Spielman received her B.S. in Physics in 2021 from Denison University. As an undergraduate, her research focused on high-precision laser spectroscopy of negative ions. As a Ph.D. student at Bryn Mawr College, she is currently working with Dr. Michael Noel, studying dipole-dipole interactions in ultracold Rydberg atoms. Her current research interests combine both experimental and computational techniques to investigate the thermodynamic evolution of quantum many-body systems. In her free time, Sarah enjoys hiking, swimming, playing her guitar, and cooking.