Hi, I'm Alison
I am a physics major and mathematics minor at UC San Diego and an undergraduate researcher at the Paesani Group
I am currently developing data-driven many-body energy (MB-nrg) potential energy functions (PEFs) to study large molecular systems with the Paesani Group. In the summer of 2025, I will be working as a Materials Science intern at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab through the SULI Program.
Previously, I interned at Los Alamos National Laboratory, where I studied computational condensed matter theory. I also conducted research at the UCSD School of Medicine, investigating the synergistic interactions between bacteriophages and antibiotics to combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
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Check out my research below!
News!
Presented My Paesani Group Research at ACS Spring - March 2025
In March, I had the privilege of presenting my research at the American Chemical Society Spring Meeting in the Physical Chemistry Poster Session. I’m grateful for the opportunity to engage in insightful conversations with experts in this field!
Selected for SULI at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab - March 2025
I am so thrilled to have been selected for the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships (SULI) program at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) for Summer 2025! Under the mentorship of Research Scientist Anubhav Jain and PhD student Hrushikesh Sahasrabuddhe, I will investigate the phonon band structures of materials with negative thermal expansion (NTE). I will attempt to predict the NTE properties of known materials and explain the origin of this phenomenon via phonon modes.
Presented My LANL Research at CU*IP - January 2025
I am incredibly grateful to have participated in the 2025 Conference for Undergraduate Women and Gender Minorities in Physics and to have had the opportunity to share my research with such an inspiring community of physicists!
Presented My LANL Research at SoCal TheoChem 7 - October 2024
In October, I had the opportunity to share the work I was able to perform at Los Alamos National Laboratory as a summer intern at the Southern California Theoretical Chemistry Conference in San Diego.
Selected to Intern at Los Alamos National Lab - February 2024
I am so excited to be one of three UCSD Undergraduate Physics Students to have been selected to intern at Los Alamos National Laboratory for the upcoming Summer of 2024! I will have the privilege of working with Dr. Jianxin Zhu, a distinguished researcher at the Physics of Condensed Matter and Complex Systems Theoretical Division at Los Alamos National Laboratory. This research project will employ theoretical frameworks and computational methods to explore the magnetic properties of strongly correlated electron systems. Click on the image to read about my colleagues that were selected.
Visit to Los Alamos National Lab - December 2023
I am so grateful to have been one of thirty UCSD undergraduate and graduate physics and engineering students invited to a multi-day visit at LANL. It was such a privilege to speak with staff scientists that push the boundaries of computational physics and the witness Los Alamos National Laboratory's interdisciplinary tradition, wealth of resources, expertise, and constant innovation.
SoCal TheoChem 6 - October 2023
Zoe Solomon and I were so excited to represent the Paesani Lab and present our research on developing potential energy functions for organic and biological molecules at our first ever conference. Thank you to all the wonderful people we met at the 6th annual Southern California Theoretical Chemistry conference!
Phage-Antibiotic Synergy Paper Submitted - August 2023
The Pride Lab submitted our work on creating a new assay for evaluating phage-antibiotic synergy to the American Society of Microbiology Journal. So proud of the work I was able to do with this team!
Check out our paper here!