Hi, I'm Alison
I am a senior physics major and mathematics minor at UC San Diego, an undergraduate researcher at the UCSD Paesani Group, and in the Hacking Materials Group at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab.
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 worked as a SULI Materials Science intern at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and continue to contribute to my project with the Hacking Materials Group as a student researcher.
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!
Attended the 11th BerkeleyGW Tutorial Workshop - August 2025
While in Berkeley for the summer of 2025, I attended the 11th BerkeleyGW Tutorial Workshop and the 6th Berkeley Excited States Conference (BESC2025). The workshop provided hands-on training in BerkeleyGW, a many-body perturbation theory code for excited-state calculations, with a focus on the GW method for quasiparticle excitations and the GW–Bethe-Salpeter equation (GW-BSE) for optical properties. Attending talks from pioneers in the field was such a privilege, and I came away with a deeper understanding and appreciation for the field. Thank you to all the instructors, speakers and organizers!
Presented at the LBNL WD&E Intern Poster Session - August 2025
Alongside my fellow interns at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, I presented my research developing a first-principles framework to calculate the thermal expansion coefficients of materials via lattice dynamics under the mentorship of Dr. Anubhav Jain and Hrushikesh Sahasrabuddhe. Ultimately, this framework will be implemented into a high-throughput pipeline to facilitate novel materials design and discovery.
Presented at the ACS-SA Undergrad Research Symposium - May 2025
I shared my work developing data-driven many-body potential energy functions for large molecular systems at the American Chemical Society Student Association Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium. It was such a fantastic opportunity to discuss this research with my peers and faculty members and gain insights on future directions.
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!