The rumors that Tamara is a rocket scientist are greatly exaggerated. However, as Tamara did her graduate research in planet formation, she can understand your confusion. Tamara has always had a fascination with how the world works. Her interest in physics began in highschool. As an undergraduate at Utah State University, Tamara's studies focused on nuclear and particle physics. Her senior thesis was about the solar neutrino problem. This problem was solved between 2001 and 2003 when SNO observed, and Super-K confirmed that the mixing angle of neutrinos was much greater than previous measurements indicated. This was about the time that Tamara began grad school at the University of Utah. In grad school, Tamara took an interest in fluid dynamics, which led to her graduate research in planet formation. Tamara earned a Master's of Science in physics, but did not complete her Ph.D. After her Bachelor's degree, but before grad school, Tamara taught science and math for several years in the public education system. After grad school, Tamara again taught science and math in the public education system. Tamara now is the academic advisor for the Department of Physics & Astronomy at the University of Utah, and an adjunct professor teaching astronomy at Salt Lake Community College. This will be Tamara's third year working with the SPS. Tamara is grateful for the opportunity to work with our amazing SPS students; it allows her to merge her twin passions of talking about physics and working with students.
