Pangaea Finn

Degree: Bachelor of Science in Physics and Mathematics, Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance

Future Plans: Study high energy physics in the Harvard Physics Ph.D. program

Honored Faculty: Dr. Daniel Fologea, Professor, Department of Physics and Research Mentor

Scholarships: Alumni Legacy Scholarship, Alan & Anne Hausrath Math Scholarship, Ava C. Brinck Piano Scholarship, Carroll Meyer Memorial Piano Scholarship, Veness/Munson Scholarship, Del Parkinson Piano Scholarship, Mathemathics Endowed Scholarship, Carroll Meyer Memorial Piano Scholarship, Phillip & Venie Eastman Mathematics Scholarship, William K and Dorothy Dunkley Piano Scholarship, The King Family Honors College Scholarship

Pangaea Finn got her start with research mentor and professor Daniel Fologea of the Boise State University Department of Physics when she was 12 years old. “He took a chance on me in bringing me into his research group, and his thorough mentorship since has helped support me through research, scholarship and fellowship applications, and forward into graduate school, where he knows I plan to explore a completely different field,” she said.

The daughter of a Top Ten Scholar at Boise State, Pangaea enrolled in a calculus course at age 13, and was a fulltime first-year student by 14, triple-majoring in physics, mathematics and piano performance. Her early academic career was formative, she said. In 2022, she was named a Goldwater Scholar and received a HERC fellowship for her work on membrane response to mechanical stress, and an INBRE fellowship for her study of memory of the pore-forming toxin lysenin. She is also passionate about sharing physics with others; she has presented her work at several conferences, volunteered at numerous physics education events, and is currently teaching a physics department lab.

In addition to her work in physics, Pangaea has studied piano since age 3, and has performed with the Boise State Orchestra and the Meridian Symphony. She sings in Vox Angelis, the campus treble choir.

Her other activities include helping to found and directing the Orangutan Gang. This is an environmental group fighting against the palm oil industry and rainforest deforestation. She has also founded the Boise State Early College Club and volunteers with the Physics Department assisting with lectures, events and STEM days.

Pangaea is from Boise, Idaho.

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