Prize Recipient

Sarah Leu
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Background:

My name is Sarah Leu and I am from Pasadena, California. Since elementary school, I have been interested in math and science, and dreamed of being a scientist. In addition, my high school math and physics teacher at Pasadena High School inspired me to achieve my goal. In past summers, I have attended the Women’s Technology Program at MIT and participated in SpaceSHIP, an internship at Jet Propulsion Laboratory. From a young age, I have also participated in musical theater through school and with Children’s Theater Experience, a theater company. This year at MIT I had the opportunity to participate in a musical and a dance show.  Academically, this year was the biggest challenge and yet most rewarding of my life thus far. Although I am not sure what kind of Physics I want to focus on, I am thinking of double majoring with either Earth and Planetary Sciences or Nuclear Engineering. During the winter, I participated in an on-campus research project with the DMTPC (Dark Matter Time Projection Chamber) which is trying to create a dark matter directional detector. This summer I will be working with an astronomy group at MIT on several different observational projects. I am honored and thankful to receive the American Physical Society Scholarship for a second year.