{"id":18794,"date":"2017-03-10T09:18:33","date_gmt":"2017-03-10T14:18:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/college.unc.edu\/?p=18794"},"modified":"2024-07-02T16:35:39","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T16:35:39","slug":"women-in-science-wednesday-gulden-othman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/?p=18794","title":{"rendered":"Women in Science Wednesday: Gulden Othman"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gulden Othman is a third-year graduate student in the\u00a0Department of Physics and Astronomy<\/a>within the\u00a0UNC College of Arts & Sciences<\/a>. She currently works in the\u00a0Experimental Nuclear and Astroparticle Physics<\/a>\u00a0group and is also on the executive board of\u00a0UNC Women in Science and Engineering<\/a>\u00a0(WISE). Her research focuses on observing the interactions of the building blocks of matter to understand how the universe has evolved from the Big Bang to present day.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Gulden-Othman\"<\/p>\n

\n

When you were a child, what was your response to this question: \u201cWhat do you want to be when you grow up?\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

I always wanted to be an astronaut. I grew up in west Texas in an area where there was not very much light pollution. I spent a lot of time musing at the stars, imagining the vast unknown. I decided that, one day, I would go to the stars and discover the unknown myself.<\/p>\n

Share the pivotal moment in your life that helped you choose research as a career path.<\/strong><\/p>\n

When I began my involvement in research as a sophomore undergraduate, I was astonished at how much work was still being done to understand physics. What was even more amazing was that I was able to make a contribution, although small, to this field \u2014 to working toward a better understanding of our universe. The more I progressed through my undergraduate coursework, the more certain I was that I would not be done learning by the time I graduated. Now that I am in graduate school, I know that I am still not done learning and never will be.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s an interesting thing that\u2019s happened during your research?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

I spent a few months designing a large electromagnet that will be used in an experiment I am no longer involved in. Because of the complexity of the design, we could not build it on campus and needed to submit the design to a vendor. I was very worried that the magnet would be built and come nowhere near the specifications I intended it for. After double-checking my design, though, the vendor believed it would meet the specifications we desired. It\u2019s surreal to think that my design will actually be built and functional someday soon.<\/p>\n

\n
Othman hiking at Moran State Park on Orcas Island, Wash.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\n<\/div>\n

In honor of Women\u2019s History Month, share an anecdote that shows why women need to continue breaking barriers.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Upon beginning to do research my sophomore year, an upperclassman tutored me on advanced physics topics that I had not yet taken courses on, but that\u00a0would be necessary for my\u00a0research. He quizzed me on courses I had already taken and asked me to write down equations from memory. Being put on the spot was difficult, and I could not write down most of what he asked for. He responded by telling me I wasn\u2019t smart enough to be a physicist and that I\u00a0should consider other career options in sciences that are \u201cless difficult.\u201d He believed he was being helpful. I was distraught and, for one night, considered changing my major. But I couldn\u2019t think of any subject I wanted to study more than physics.<\/p>\n

The next day, I talked to the professor who was advising my research about what happened. I told him that I was fine with not being the best physicist, as long as I could study physics, and\u00a0that I would work hard and\u00a0not give up or change my major. He was very supportive of me, even after I chose to leave his group and transition into the field of research I am in now \u2014 experimental nuclear and particle physics. Almost six years later, I now have a\u00a0prestigious fellowship<\/a>\u00a0and am working toward my PhD in physics.\u00a0I am glad I did not let someone else\u2019s view of me discourage me from reaching my goals.<\/p>\n

What advice would you give to up-and-coming female researchers in your field?<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you love science, never give up pursuing it. You may at times, as I did, feel like everyone around you is so naturally brilliant, and that you will never be able to be as smart or talented as them. That is never the case. Hard work means a lot more than you might think. Always have a support group. At UNC, two great places to find support are the local\u00a0Women in Physics\u00a0group and the\u00a0Society of Physics Students\u00a0<\/a>chapter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

UNC Research is proud of every scientist on this campus, but we are especially excited to promote our female researchers in 2017. Each week this year, we will publish a short Q&A feature on one of them \u2014 whether she is an undergrad, PhD candidate, or full professor. Please click\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0to make a recommendation.<\/em><\/p>\n

Story courtesy of Endeavors.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gulden Othman is a third-year graduate student in the Department of Physics and Astronomywithin the UNC College of Arts & Sciences. She currently works in the Experimental Nuclear and Astroparticle Physics group and is also on the executive board of UNC Women in Science and Engineering (WISE). Her research focuses on observing the interactions of the building blocks of matter to understand how the universe has evolved from the Big Bang to present day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":18795,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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