Brenda Fabela Enriquez
Senior LecturerPhysics Labs Director
Research Interests
My research interests are in high energy physics — specifically in supersymmetry as a model that solves many conceptual and observational issues in the standard model of particle physics, including the hierarchy problem and the nature of dark matter. As a senior lecturer and undergraduate Physics lab director, I am interested in science education and exploiting the potential the physics labs have to offer to students of all backgrounds, regardless of their academic path, and introducing a new narrative about Physics as a great discipline where many valuable skills can be taught and practiced for their use in many other disciplines.
Bio
Dr. Brenda Fabela Enriquez is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Physics and serves as the Undergraduate Physics Lab Director. She joined the department’s faculty after her Ph. D. graduation as a Lecturer in the Summer of 2022 and started her appointment as Lab Director in the Fall of 2022. She also serves as the Physics Teaching Assistant (TA) manager. She has a great interest and commitment to undergraduate teaching and to creating a space where both undergraduate students and graduate students serving as TAs have a meaningful experience in the Physics labs, where they can practice values like perseverance, curiosity, and a growth mindset. She also serves as a member of the Safety Committee and the Undergraduate Program Committee. In addition, she is currently involved in research projects carried out in the High Energy Physics at Vanderbilt University, as a member of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) collaboration of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).
Specializations
High energy physics; particle physics; supersymmetry; science education