Irina Novikova

Irina Novikova is a physics professor at the College of William & Mary and has been serving as the faculty adviser for the Society of Physics Students chapter for the last fifteen years. She received her undergraduate degree in Moscow Engineering Physics Institute in Russia, after which she moved to US and received a Ph.D. in Physics from Texas A&M University, followed by three years as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Her main research interests are in the area of experimental atomic, optical and quantum physics, and she is excited to be an active participant in the ongoing second quantum revolution. She takes equal pride and joy in her scientific work devoted to creation of atom-based quantum devices and techniques, in service to physics community, and in teaching and mentoring many talented undergraduate and graduate students.

Irina is also passionate about making science more available, and as such science outreach and education has always been top priorities in her career. As William & Mary SPS chapter adviser she was lucky to help the chapter to grow and strengthen to become a large and important part of many physics majors’ college experience. She sees her adviser role as helping students to experiment and express themselves in different roles, so she is an enthusiastic supporter of all initiatives, such as mentoring club, Spooky and Silly physics “conferences” or physics jams. She also helps students to organize many outreach events, on campus or in local schools. For example, every year she looks forward to PhysicsFest – the day-long open house primarily organized by SPS members that bring together the whole department and is attended annually by hundreds of people.