معرفی
Shelly Lesher is a Professor of Physics at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (UWL), currently on academic leave. She holds additional roles as Director of the Conference Experience for Undergraduate (CEU) program for the American Physical Society (APS) and served as the Director of the UWL McNair Scholars Program (2021–2024). She has held visiting fellowships at Yale University (2019–2020) and is a Guest Professor at the University of Notre Dame since 2010.
Education: Ph.D. in Nuclear Physics from the University of Kentucky (Lexington, KY), B.A. in Physics from Indiana University South Bend (South Bend, IN). Professional history includes postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Leuven (Belgium), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and the University of Richmond.
Research: Focuses on experimental nuclear physics, particularly nuclear structure studies using advanced detector arrays like the La Crosse fIREBAll. Key interests include collective vibrations in nuclei, rare-earth isotopes, and interdisciplinary projects like the podcast My Nuclear Life. Current research is supported by NSF grants PHY-1919364 and PHY-2011267.
Awards: Elected Fellow of the American Physical Society (2020), Presidential Visiting Fellow at Yale (2019–2020).
Teaching: Courses include Physics for the Life Sciences, Nuclear Physics Research, and Global Nuclear Issues (a general education course). Active in inclusive mentoring practices for undergraduate students.
Leadership: Chairs UWL’s Physics Department since 2021 and serves on the APS DNP Executive Committee (2023–present). Played a key role in the Nuclear Science Long-Range Plan for DOE/NSF (2023).
