Local Organizers
Meet the team that helped make this conference possible
Dr. Stephanie Majewski
Local Organizing Committee Chair
she/her/hers
Stephanie Majewski is an Associate Professor in the Physics Department at the University of Oregon. She got her PhD from Stanford University in 2007, working on the BaBar experiment at SLAC. She is a member of the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, and was stationed at CERN (outside of Geneva, Switzerland) from 2008-2012 while a postdoc at Brookhaven National Laboratory. She has been on the faculty at the University of Oregon since 2012, and earned a Department of Energy Office of Science Early Career Award in 2014. In her free time, she enjoys hiking and playing bass guitar.
Kara Zappitelli
Local Organizing Committee Chair
she/her/hers
Kara Zappitelli is a 4th year Ph.D. student in physics at the University of Oregon. Her current work in the Alemán lab is aimed at studying the complex interface between neurons and conductive substrates for retinal implant applications. In addition to her research, she is actively involved in efforts to improve diversity in STEM as co-founder and treasurer of UO Women in Physics, and graduate coordinator of the North Star Project. In her free time, she enjoys camping, hiking, boating, paddling, and her cat, Puff.
Dr. Spencer Chang
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Spencer is an Associate Professor of Physics at the University of Oregon and a member of the Institute for Theoretical Science and Center for High Energy Physics. He is a theoretical physicist whose research explores the theoretical frameworks and signals of the Higgs boson, dark matter, and the early Universe. Outside of work, Spencer spends time with his wife and two kids, cooks, and plays guitar.
Dr. Tristan Ursell
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Tristan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics leading a research group that explore the physics of collective behavior in organismal groups like ants, fish, and bacteria. Outside work he spends time hiking, gardening, and listening to music.
Dr. Stacey York
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Dr. Stacey York, Director of the Graduate Internship Program at UO, combines her passions of STEM and relationship management by connecting master’s students with industry employment. Prior to her position with UO, Stacey was an R&D Principal Scientist for Johnson & Johnson skin care brands such as Neutrogena, Aveeno, Clean & Clear and Johnson’s Baby. Stacey's graduate research resulted in over 900 citations and her time at J&J led to 3 issued patents, a pending patent application, and 3 internal awards for leadership. Stacey spends her free time exploring the Pacific NW with her husband Adam (who is also a polymer chemist) and two children.
Anne McGinley
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Anne is an administrative program assistant at the Center for High Energy Physics. She’s worked at the University of Oregon for twenty years and thinks physicists are the best group on the planet. Outside of work, she enjoys remodeling houses and spending time with family.
Taylor Contreras
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Taylor is finishing her final year as a physics undergraduate at the University of Oregon. She is currently involved in undergraduate research with Professor Stephanie Majewski on the Large Hadron Collider upgrades as well as with Dr. Scott Fisher on galaxy evolution. Taylor hopes to pursue High Energy Particle Physics in graduate school and beyond.
Alice Greenberg
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Alice Greenberg is a third year graduate student in the physics department and member of the McMorran Lab. Her research focuses on developing new techniques in Electron Microscopy. As President and co-founder of the UO Women in Physics group, Alice is working to ensure the UO physics department is a welcoming and inclusive community. Alice spends her free time looking at cute animals on Instagram or re-watching Bob’s Burgers on Netflix.
Quinten Konyn
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Quin is a fourth year physics undergraduate student and does research in the McMorran Lab and hopes to learn more about combining their love of physics and programming. They like sewing, embroidery, and tinkering in Python.
Peace Kotamnives
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Peace Kotamnives is a fourth year physics undergraduate student working with Eric Torrence in the Center for High Energy Physics. Her undergraduate research is involved with the improvement of high-mass sensitivity in the search for Di-Higgs with the bbWW final state. In her free time, she enjoys travelling, running, and practicing Muay Thai.
Hannah Liss
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Hannah is an undergraduate physics student in her senior year. During her time at University of Oregon she's been involved in research concerning Atta Cephalotes (leaf cutter ants), high energy physics with the ATLAS group, as well as an REU at the University of Chicago studying diffuse interstellar bands and the interstellar medium. After graduation, she hopes to continue her education at graduate school. In her free time, Hannah enjoys reading, attending concerts, and going back home to Seattle to spend time with her dog, Krackers.
Savannah Logan
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Savannah is a fifth-year graduate student in the department of physics and a member of the Parthasarathy Lab. Her research focuses on the structure and dynamics of the gut microbiome and the development of new instrumentation for host-microbiome research. Outside of the lab, Savannah can be found rock climbing, mountaineering, backpacking and drinking coffee.
Lindsey Oberhelman
Amanda Steinhebel
she/her/hers
Amanda is a third year physics graduate student working with Jim Brau in the Center for High Energy Physics. Her current research is with the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, and she has previously worked on research and development for the proposed International Linear Collider (ILC). She is actively involved in promoting diversity within STEM as co-founder and mentorship coordinator of UO Women in Physics and previous Executive Board member of UO Women in Graduate Sciences. Amanda also enjoys cooking and sipping large cups of coffee.
Rebecka Tumblin
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Rebecka Tumblin is a physics Ph.D. student in her 4th year at the University of Oregon. She received the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship in 2014, and is currently working with the Imamura group studying solar system formation with an emphasis on binary and multiple star systems and planet formation in circumbinary disks. After receiving her Ph.D. she dreams of working at the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array for a few years before becoming a professor. Outside of research, she enjoys playing guitar, archery, foraging, mountain bike riding, and making beer.
For questions, contact uo.cuwip2018@gmail.com
Hosted by the University of Oregon physics department, the UO Master's Industrial Internship Program, and UO Women in Physics, and supported by the American Physical Society and local sponsors.
These conferences are supported in part by the National Science Foundation (PHY-1622510) and by the Department of Energy Office of Science (DE-SC0011076). Further details are available on the APS conference website.
