Ella Baldwin is the Associate Zone Councilor for Zone 7. She was elected to the SPS National Council for the 2025-26 academic year.
Ella is an undergraduate sophomore at Grove City College majoring in physics and minoring in astronomy. Her career goals include achieving a PhD and eventually teaching at the university level. Ella has a passion for sharing physics with the community and has served in her college's SPS chapter since her first semester. She is now taking on the role of Grove City College's Physics Club President along with her position as Associate Zone Councilor. Ella is currently involved in research covering the Casimir Effect and nanotechnology. As Associate Zone Councilor, Ella looks forward to facilitating Zone meetings, meeting fellow chapter members, and continuously improving the Zone.
Email: BaldwinES23@gcc.edu
Dr. Laura DeGroot is the Zone Councilor for Zone 7. She was elected to SPS National Council in 2025.
Dr. DeGroot is an assistant professor of physics at the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio, where her research focuses on galaxy evolution and morphology. Dr. DeGroot has a PhD and MS in Physics from University of California, Riverside and a BS in Astrophysics and Physics from Michigan State University. She is the faculty advisor for both the Physics (SPS) and Astronomy student clubs on campus, which have a very active outreach program within the local community. Dr. DeGroot is very passionate about student experiences in physics beyond the classroom. She first became involved with SPS as a sophomore at Michigan State University, where she eventually served as secretary of the chapter. She has greatly benefitted from her active engagement with SPS throughout her physics journey, and she is excited to support students doing the same. As Zone Councilor, Dr. DeGroot aims to continue to build connections between all the chapters in Zone 7 by engaging in conversations to find out how to best support other chapters as well as how we can better support each other. By working with the Associate Zone Councilor, we will maintain regular communication among the chapters, encourage membership and attendance at the Zone meeting, and pass along the many benefits of SPS to the chapters, new and existing, within Zone 7.
Email: ldegroot@wooster.edu
Phone: 330-287-1974 (office)