Creating a more connected student community

From modeling the fluid dynamics of “hairy surfaces” like the human tongue to exploring how physics students learn, Danielle Maldonado has spent her academic journey bridging fields and building a more connected physics community. Now a fourth-year graduate student, she is advancing physics education research while strengthening the physics community through leadership, outreach, and mentoring as an APS student ambassador.

“Physics discoveries are made by people,” she says, so the physics community should encourage and invest in anyone interested in physics.“It is important to cultivate relationships that uplift and support people in this field and encourage others to do so.”

A high school chemistry lesson on atomic orbitals sparked Maldonado’s interest in the field. “From that moment, I pretty much knew that I wanted to be a physicist,” she says. Maldonado became a physics major at the University of Texas at Austin and conducted research in a biophysics fluid dynamics lab. Maldonado was active in the school’s Society of Physics Students chapter, eventually becoming president and supporting department outreach events.

During her senior year, two pivotal moments shaped Maldonado’s plan for the future. First, she noticed that several of her peers — particularly students of color and LGBTQ+ students — wanted to leave the field. Second, she discovered physics education research and its aim to improve physics teaching and learning. She decided to pursue physics education research to help create a more inclusive undergraduate experience and someday put what she learned into practice as a professor.

As a graduate student at West Virginia University (WVU), Maldonado studies how students’ self-efficacy and sense of belonging evolve over the calculus-based introductory physics sequence. One of her findings is that self-efficacy, a student's belief in their capacity to perform a task adequately, tends not to evolve linearly over the two-course sequence. Instead, it often decreases during the first semester, then rebounds by the time students start the next course. She also explores whether students’ self-efficacy and sense of belonging are impacted by demographics such as first-generation college student status, gender, and minority status.

Maldonado’s commitment to physics at WVU isn’t limited to the lab. She has served as president and vice president of the school’s Physics and Astronomy Graduate Student Organization, and she served on the organizing committee for WVU’s 2024 APS Conferences for Undergraduate Women in Physics.

Maldonado’s first foray into professional service with APS came in 2023 when she was elected to the APS Forum on Education Executive Committee. She now serves on the APS Forum on Graduate School Affairs Executive Committee and as an APS student ambassador at WVU, representing the society on campus and connecting her fellow physics students with APS resources and opportunities.

“Not everyone has time to go out of their way to look for extracurricular opportunities that can advance their education or careers when they are balancing classes and research,” Maldonado says. As an ambassador, she works with APS to spread the word about webinars, travel and outreach grants, and other resources directly to target audiences, like students in a particular subfield.

This spring, hundreds of local families are expected to attend a Magic of Physics show organized by WVU’s Physics and Astronomy Graduate Student Association. The new event is supported by a grant from the APS Forum on Outreach and Engaging the Public, which Maldonado identified through her work as an APS ambassador.

“In my capacity as a student ambassador, I was able to connect people with these resources and shoulder that burden for them,” she says.

Maldonado sees her efforts as a way to support her local physics community and hone her leadership skills. “The APS Student Ambassador program is a great introduction to APS if you want to take on more leadership in the future,” she says.

The program is open to undergraduate and graduate students at any degree-granting institution. Applications for the 2025-26 cohort are due April 4.

New ambassadors engage in virtual professional development sessions over the summer to learn about APS and develop their communication and leadership skills. Then, during the academic year, they host an information-sharing event, pass on APS-related opportunities to their peers, and promote the society in coordination with APS staff and fellow ambassadors. They may also be invited to attend the Annual APS Leadership Meeting or other APS meetings with travel support.

As a student ambassador, you learn how APS opportunities can help you and your community, says Maldonado. “Getting involved in this organization and sharing those resources with others will be immeasurable in your career.”

To join the next cohort of APS student ambassadors, apply by April 4, 2025. Not an APS member? Become one today to shape the future of physics, advance your career, and support peers as a student ambassador.