Alix Ehlers

Alix received a B.S. in Geology and B.A. in Pure Mathematics from the University of Vermont. She started at Virginia Tech as an M.S. student determining how the degree of amorphization of zircon affects its equation of state using single-crystal X-ray diffraction.

She is currently a Ph.D. student interested in using the crystallographic and energetic properties of minerals to obtain information on their elastic properties and material strengths using experimental methods and molecular dynamics, and to apply these properties to explore to what degree certain minerals can cause damage to different regimes of a jet engine. She is always excited to talk about her passions, including swimming, knitting, high fantasy novels, and of course, very abstract fields of mathematics.