Alya Sharbaugh

Alya Sharbaugh graduated Magna cum Laude from the University of Colorado Denver with her Bachelor of Science in Physics in May 2023. Early in her undergraduate career, she discovered a passion for science communication. She quickly built a strong portfolio of research experiences, ranging from processing candidate dark matter signals to developing machine learning models to predict solar flares. Her internships took her everywhere from Tsinghua University in Beijing to NASA Marshall Space Flight. She is the recipient of two first-place research awards from national physics conferences and one teaching award from the American Association of Physics Teachers.

Alya’s passion for teaching and leadership led her to serve a term on the Society of Physics Students National Council – representing the states of Colorado and Wyoming – in which she organized numerous events and outreach programs within the physics community. She now works as a research physicist but always appreciates the opportunity to tutor and inspire enthusiasm for the sciences in others.

In her free time, Alya can be found hiking, camping, or curled up with a good book. She also enjoys getting lost in her latest arts & crafts projects, alongside her two spoiled cats who enjoy destroying them.