2019-2020 Luce Scholar

Sophie Barterian is a senior at the University of Michigan majoring in Interdisciplinary Physics with Complex Systems. Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder at a young age, Sophie considers herself a student of human behavior, and her attention to detail and patterns has lent itself to her passions in both physics and language. She is the secretary of the Student Astronomical Society, works as a planetarium operator for the University of Michigan Museum of Natural History, and serves as the undergraduate representative on the Department of Physics Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. Sophie spent her freshman and sophomore years researching the role of particle sphericity in self assembly in the Glotzer research group, and presented her work at the American Physical Society (APS) March Meeting in 2018. In addition to APS, she has been sponsored to attend the Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics in 2017, and was selected to attend Caltech’s 2018 FUTURE meeting for women pursuing graduate studies in physics. Sophie is committed to a career combining her interests in computational physics and the study of human behavior, particularly with respect to language and cultural interaction. She also enjoyed rowing on the Novice Women’s Rowing team as a first-time rower.