Dr. Svenja Fleischer

I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Western Washington University. I received my PhD in physics in 2005 from the University of Heidelberg in Heidelberg, Germany. Following postdoctoral positions at the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics, at the Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, and at the University of Washington, I was a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Washington and a Visiting Professor at Grand Valley State University. My research interests include precision experiments in fundamental physics, gravitational physics, and research and development for gravitational wave detectors.

Outside of work, I love to spend time outdoors, including climbing, backcountry skiing, trail running, sailing, and volunteering with mountain rescue.

Oliver del Rio (Undergraduate Student)

Oliver is a senior in the Physics department working toward a B.S. in Physics with a minor in Mathematics. He joined the Gravity Group in Spring Quarter of 2024 and has been working on software to automate the data collection in the LIGO instrument science experiments.

Outside of physics Oliver spends his time as a trip leader for the climbing club, playing water polo, and enjoys building and flying drones.

Veronica Russ (Undergraduate Student)

Veronica is a third-year student working towards a B.S. in Physics with additional minors in Astronomy, Mathematics, and Materials Science. She joined the Gravity Group in Summer of 2023, and she is working on an interactive model of the LIGO test mass suspensions for the LIGO Exploration Center LExC at LIGO Hanford.

When not in the lab, Veronica enjoys playing video/board games, drawing/painting, reading, and playing/cuddling with her cats.

Leah is a third-year student working towards a B.S. in Physics with minors in Astronomy and Mathematics. As part of the leadership of the student club “Physicists for Inclusion in STEM”, she is also working to give everyone a voice in science. She joined the Gravity Group in Spring 2023 and is currently assembling a cryostat for LIGO-related instrument science.

Outside of work and school, Leah enjoys playing board games, climbing, and exploring the beautiful nature around Western.

Alumni

• Reginald Hart
• Parker Lamb
• Kathryn Szymborski
• Raina Shaw
• Jackson Larsen
• Douglas Slater

Your name could be here!

If you are a WWU student interested in research opportunities, don’t hesitate to reach out!