High Energy Physics
Education: BS in Physics (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, IL); MS in Astrophysics and PhD in Astrophysics and Planetary Science (University of Colorado at Boulder, CO).
Hobbies: Amy enjoys cycling, hanging out with her cat, and playing board games
Amy Bender is a physicist and experimental cosmologist at Argonne. Her work involves measuring the components and evolution of the universe to learn more about physics. Amy focuses on the pursuit of knowledge, with the hope that it will be useful to society in the future. Amy is part of the team that works with very powerful telescopes, including the South Pole Telescope and CMB-S4, to observe the earliest light in the universe, known as the cosmic microwave background. These experiments require new technologies to make increasingly precise measurements.
Amy enjoys working as part of a team, using instrumentation to identify problems and discover solutions. She enjoys that each day in the lab is different and describes experimental cosmology as a “great big puzzle” where researchers get to create new tools to solve it.
As a child, Amy was very interested in animals and thought she wanted to be a veterinarian. “I spent summers volunteering and working at the local zoo.” Amy had several other interests as well and went on to say, “I was a Girl Scout and liked outdoorsy things like camping. But I also did science competitions and mock trial in high school.”
Amy earned a bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (IL), a master’s degree in astrophysics from the University of Colorado at Boulder (CO), and a PhD in astrophysics and planetary science from the same institution. These degrees paved the way for her current role as a physicist at Argonne, a U.S. Department of Energy laboratory.
Amy believes that her research at Argonne will provide valuable insights into the most basic building blocks of the universe and the laws of nature itself.
“It can sometimes be hard to draw a direct link between basic research and the impact on society, but I would advocate that by better understanding these fundamental pieces of the universe around us, we’ll turn that knowledge to useful applications in the future,” she said. “Perhaps more concretely though, we’re continually developing new state-of-the art technology, like detectors, that then spin off into industrial applications. One of my favorite examples of this is the world wide web, which was invented by a physicist looking to share data quickly.”
Drawing from her experience, Amy reminds students that they “don’t have to have everything figured out right now.” She encourages them to keep trying new things and to “find something that is fun to focus on for a while.” Amy also recommends getting involved in research experiences, particularly through paid summer programs for undergraduates, which are available both at labs and universities.
In her inspiring words, “You have no idea what amazing things you’ll get a chance to do the next 20 years because you have chosen science!”