Cynthia J. Olson Reichhardt (also published as C. J. Olson) is an American condensed matter physicist whose research involves the use of computer simulations to study disordered media and non-equilibrium systems, with applications to the understanding of how aging affects stockpiled nuclear weapons. She is a member of the technical staff at the

Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos National Laboratory (often shortened as Los Alamos and LANL) is one of the sixteen research and development laboratories of the United States Department of Energy (DOE), located a short distance northwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico, ...

, where she is affiliated with the Physics and Chemistry of Materials Group, and with the Center for Nonlinear Studies.

Education

Reichhardt majored in physics at

Luther College (Iowa) Luther College is a private college, private Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Lutheran Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Decorah, Iowa. Established as a Lutheran seminary in 1861 by Norwegian Americans, ...

, graduating

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

in 1994 with minors in Spanish and mathematics. She went to the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

for graduate study in physics, earned a master's degree there in 1995, and completed her Ph.D. in 1998. She became chair of the

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of k ...

's Topical Group on Statistical and Nonlinear Physics in 2022.

Recognition

Reichhardt was named a

Fellow of the American Physical Society The American Physical Society honors members with the designation ''Fellow'' for having made significant accomplishments to the field of physics. The following lists are divided chronologically by the year of designation. * List of American Physic ...

(APS) in 2011, after a nomination from the APS Division of Condensed Matter Physics, "for characterization of collective phenomena in driven systems with long-range interactions, including non-equilibrium phase diagrams, avalanches, noise and fractal flow". In 2018, she was named a Fellow of the Los Alamos National Laboratory.

References

External links

Home page
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Reichhardt, Cynthia Olson Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American physicists American women physicists Condensed matter physicists Luther College (Iowa) alumni University of Michigan alumni Fellows of the American Physical Society