Alumni Spotlight – Angela Harper
Meet Angela Harper, Wake Forest Physics major class of 2017. While an undergraduate student at Wake they performed research in the laboratory of Professor Oana Jurchescu. Now they are a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society. In the following interview, Professor Jurchescu interviews Angela, discussing their undergraduate experience at Wake and subsequent academic career.
Prof. Jurchescu: What are you doing now career-wise?
Dr. Harper: I am an Alexander von Humboldt PostDoc Fellow at the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society, working in the Theory Department. For those who don’t know, the Max Planck Society is a set of research institutions in Germany that each have a different specialization, and the Fritz Haber Institute specializes in physical chemistry and surface science. I am currently researching ways of using machine learning to understand atomic-level processes in Li-ion battery materials with quantum mechanical accuracy.
Prof. Jurchescu: What did you do right out of Wake Forest?
Dr. Harper: Right after Wake Forest, I went on to do a Masters of Philosophy in Physics as a Churchill Scholar, and once I was at Cambridge, I decided to continue on and pursue my PhD in the lab of Prof. Andrew Morris, working on structure prediction in Li-ion battery materials. I ended up completing my PhD in Theoretical Condensed Matter Physics at Cambridge, and ultimately switched the topic of my research to focusing on modeling amorphous materials. In addition I tried rowing for the first time, and rowed in The Boat Race as the reserve coxswain, I worked on a science policy project as part of the Cambridgeshire County Council, and travelled through Europe and the UK when I could. It was a really exciting time in my career, and I’m glad I made the choice to stay at Cambridge.
Prof. Jurchescu: How did Wake Forest Physics help you get where you are today?
Dr. Harper: I first heard about the Max Planck Society at Wake Forest in the Physics Department. I remember David Carroll talking about his time at the MPI in Stuttgart, and ever since then I had in the back of my mind to one-day try and move to Germany to pursue physics. It goes without saying that the time during my undergraduate degree was fundamental in introducing me to the world of physics, and we are truly lucky at the WFU Physics department that the professors I had there acted as my mentors, and helped me pursue my passions both during and after my degree. I learned what it meant to do research from Prof. Jurchescu, I learned about my love of quantum mechanics from Prof. Thonhauser and I learned that I could do physics from everyone in the department, who were consistently supportive.
Prof. Jurchescu: Do you have an anecdote you would care to share either from your time at Wake Forest physics or from afterward relevant to Wake Physics?
Dr. Harper: Honestly, one of the most memorable times in WFU Physics outside the lab was our trips to Fancy Gap, which I don’t know if the group does anymore. But if they do, I am now living in Berlin really close to a board game shop and found this recently, which is the German version of “Power Grid” which we played every time we went hiking. Those trips were one small part of my undergraduate experience, but I haven’t stopped playing board games since. Now I own as many as I can afford to ship whenever I move, and this year I went to SpielEssen, the largest board game convention in Europe for the first time, with some new board-game friends I’ve made here in Berlin! I have WFU Physics to thank for introducing me to board games, and its a part of WFU I’ve taken with me throughout my career.
Prof. Jurchescu: Is there anything you would like to share with prospective or current students?
Dr. Harper: The WFU Physics department was really a home for me during my undergraduate career. I found lifelong friends, met professors who I am still in contact with today, and started my career as a physicist. And if you are lucky enough to find a place like that at Wake where the people make you happy, you’re learning something new, and having fun, then follow that path. WFU Physics was the “catalyst” in my own personal career, giving me enough energy to push me along the reaction pathway to where I am today, and I hope that it can be the same for those who are in the department now.