Mary Becker Email and Phone Number

My name is ​Mary Becker and I am an undergraduate student at San Diego State University, pursuing dual majors in Physics, with a focus on Modern Optics, and Psychology, emphasizing Neuroscience. My educational journey accelerated at age 15 through the Early Entrance Program at CSULA. Despite facing personal challenges, my commitment to education remained unshaken as I conducted research with the LIGO group at CSULA on Brownian noise in interferometers, under the guidance of Drs. Riccardo DeSalvo, Marina Mondin, and Harry Themann. My growing interest in data-intensive research and Python programming was nurtured through NASA's DIRECT-STEM Program at CSULA. Then a transformative experience came through an REU at the Center for Axion and Precision Research in South Korea, where I examined cavity geometry effects on axion haloscopic systems under Dr. Yannis Semertzidis.My father's Stage 4 cancer diagnosis prompted me to return to San Diego to provide care, an experience that enhanced my resilience and compassion, and ignited an interest in medicine and emergency care. My tenure as a City of San Diego lifeguard allowed me to make a significant impact in reducing drowning incidents, the leading cause of death for children under four in San Diego County. After being my father's caretaker, my respect and love for medicine grew and I saw how important being trained in emergency care was. I became an Emergency Medical Technician and I am incredibly grateful for all the lives I was able to impact with that knowledge. I remember one day while I was working, I began explaining to my colleagues how AEDs operate through RC-circuits and I realized that my love of physics had never gone away. I want to fundamentally understand how our universe works and how humans process and perceive this very reality.Returning to academia in Fall 2023, I immediately took on the role of President of Women in Physics at SDSU. My current research endeavors include working with Dr. Sanjay Behura on 2D-materials for quantum computation hardware. I have had the amazing opportunity to attend and present at APS CUWIP at USD, S3 SDSU's Student Research Symposium, and APS March Meeting in the past year. I have also recently been elected by my peers to be the President of the Society of Physics Scholars at SDSU for 2024-2025. I am currently participating in a SURP Fellowship (SDSU Undergraduate Research Program) this summer and I have just been accepted as an NIH MARC Scholar (Maximizing Access to Research Careers) and a Cal-Bridge Scholar.