About Me

My name is Emily Alicea-Muñoz, and I am currently a Ph.D. student in the School of Physics at the Georgia Institute of Technology, working on Physics Education Research (PER) under the guidance of Professor Mike Schatz. I have a B.S. in Physics from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez and an M.S. in Astronomy & Astrophysics from the Pennsylvania State University. In the recent past I carried out research on cosmological black hole mergers at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

I've had a lifelong love of science for as far back as I can remember, particularly astronomy and physics, and my main career objective is to inspire others to understand and enjoy science as much as I do. To achieve that goal, my current and future work is focused on two different aspects of science education: university instruction at the introductory level, and informal science education ("outreach").

When it comes to introductory-level university instruction, I am interested in helping students develop a strong conceptual understanding of physics and astronomy, in particular by addressing preconceptions that can hinder their learning. An important part of this work includes giving teaching assistants (TAs) adequate training and preparation, since TAs are usually the instructors with whom students most often interact. Because of this, my thesis work focuses on TA career development, both in general and also in the specific context of introductory physics in a flipped classroom environment.

Science education is not limited to the classroom. In fact, I consider it essential to get students interested in science before they reach university, and also to keep the interest alive in adults who have already completed their formal education. The benefits of this are both individual, as each person gets to discover the beauty and awe of the universe and its physical laws, and societal, since it results in a more scientifically literate society. To this end, I plan on studying the development of outreach methodologies within a PER framework, specifically when it concerns target audiences at different educational levels (K-12, university, adult).

In my spare time, I enjoy watching animated shows, reading, playing video games, browsing the internet, playing silly games on my phone, and spending time with my husband, John Wise, and our two cats. I should also mention that my husband and I got married in the coolest place ever -- the Arecibo Observatory, as you can see in the picture to the right.

I was born and raised in Puerto Rico, and before going to grad school I had only ever left the island during summer internships in the continental US (oh, and two weeks I spent at Disney World with my family when I was younger). I moved to the States at age 22, and I spent the next eight years living in northern states... or relatively northern, at least for my standards. But in spite of living through "real" winters for almost a decade, I never got totally used to the cold and the snow, which means I still need to wear a coat when the temperature goes below 65 degrees Fahrenheit. I guess you can take the woman out of the tropics, but you'll never take the tropics out of the woman.

For a detailed view of my academic history, please see my CV. Have any questions or comments? Then take a look at the Contact Info page.