Published on April 28, 2022

Lauryn Williams is a senior double major in Physics and Mathematics. She has a love for astrophysics and wants to pursue a career in research and outreach. As a freshman, she joined MU’s Initiative for Maximizing Student Diversity (IMSD) which helped her get started studying galaxy morphology and evolution under Dr. Yicheng Guo. She has had the opportunity to conduct research at the University of Colorado – Boulder and the American Museum of Natural History, thus getting the opportunity to present results at various national conferences as well as co-authorship on two publications during her undergraduate career. Lauryn has been involved in various service and academic orgs on campus such as STRIPES and the MARC/IMSD research program. She has been a Peer Mentor within the MARC/IMSD program for almost two years, mentoring 8 undergraduate students to help them get started with their research careers. She is passionate in her role as a Peer Mentor and is looking forward to engaging in outreach focusing on underrepresented minorities in graduate school. In 2022, Lauryn was awarded the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (NSF-GRFP) and will attend the University of Washington to pursue her Ph.D. in Astronomy studying massive stars.