Archives: Alumni Profiles | Class Notes

Profiles of Success

Allison Lambeth Parlee. B.S. 2002, Physics and Aeronautical & Astronautical Engineering; M.S. 2004, Aeronautical & Astronautical Engineering

Allison Lambeth knew early on that she wanted to be a scientist. “I chose physics because it was a challenge,” she says. “I could do English and performing arts, because that’s what I grew up with. But physics was harder and I liked the challenge.”

Allison’s introduction to astrophysics came in the 7th grade when she did a report on the constellations. “I knew I could go into astrophysics or engineering, but the basis for all of that is physics.”

It was Purdue’s strong reputation in science and engineering that attracted Allison. The fact that it was also an Indiana school was important in her choice. “In my family you pay for your own college education,” says Allison, a native of Valparaiso, Indiana. “Purdue was the only school I applied to. And Purdue had all the astronauts, and that was a big attraction for me when I was in high school.”

Allison arrived on campus in the fall of 1997 to find herself one of very few women majoring in physics. “I started off with a couple of girlfriends and then slowly they left; one girl switched to math, and there were a couple of others who were there during the first week and then never came back, and another who left during the second semester. I was the only woman in the freshman class for a while, but there were some female upperclassmen,” she says. As she was making the adjustment to Science and Purdue, the male physics majors were adjusting to her. “At first, I would walk into class and all the guys stared at me like they didn’t know what to do,” she says. “So I always came to class and made an effort to say hi to everyone around me, and eventually they just got used to me.”

Being a woman in physics was a challenge for Allison throughout her student days, but her outgoing, friendly personality helped her deal with some of her classmates’ less than enlightened attitudes. “I never really felt like any of my professors or instructors treated me differently, though I did hear stories of some professors who did treat women differently,” she says. “It was more from the other students. I guess they weren’t used to working with girls, and some of them had a ‘girls can’t do that’ attitude. I just tried to ignore it.”

She encountered more resistance when she decided to pick up another major in the School of Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering (AAE). “I went in with my dual degree form in my freshman year to declare myself a double major and my counselor and the head of the department, both professors in AAE, laughed at me. They thought it was a waste for me to major in physics; it wasn’t very encouraging to me. So it made me really determined to do this. Years later when I saw the department head again during a poster presentation of my senior design project, I wanted to remind him that he had laughed at me and here I was still, but I didn’t say anything.”

Allison, an outgoing, sociable person, became involved with Science student groups almost immediately after coming to Purdue, including Science Ambassadors. “I loved Science Ambassadors,”she says. “I liked the whole experience of getting to talk to the incoming students, and the alumni, and all the other people in other areas of Science. I’m a very social person, so I enjoyed getting out and talking to so many other people.” It was for that same reason that she became involved with Women In Science Programs. “I didn’t get involved with WISP during my freshman year because I didn’t live in Earhart Hall where the residential program is, but during my sophomore year they asked me to be a mentor,” she says. “I mentored physics majors, but I mentored others too, especially some of the ones who were undecided about their major. And it was just nice to hang out with other women in science, regardless of their majors.” Allison was a member of the WISP leadership team during her junior, senior and fifth years, and was active in planning activities for the group. She also joined the Society of Physics Students early on in her undergraduate days. It was through SPS that she met her future husband, Matthew Parlee. Matthew is also a physics alum, graduating in December with a M.S. in physics.

“I loved my involvement with SPS because it was a good group of friends,” she says. “We would study together late at night, and we goofed off together—like the time we played Mission Impossible in the Physics building and we scared one of the custodians when we jumped out of the elevator. It was a study break where we could have fun together.”

“I love the College of Science, especially the Physics department,” Allison says. “I know all the staff and the faculty in Physics, and everyone was very friendly to me. And with my activity in Science Ambassadors and WISP, I got to know so many people. Everyone was always friendly to me and Science kind of felt like home.”

This month Allison begins her “dream job” with Northrop Grumman in Redondo Beach, California, where she’ll be working in the Space Technology Sector. She attended a presentation by the company on campus and was attracted by the links between her interests and the company’s projects. “I had taken a high energy astrophysics course, and the professor got a lot of his information for his research from the Chandra X-ray Observatory, which Northrop Grumman built,” she says. “I also did a report for my cosmology class on primordial stars, and learned that scientists are hoping to get a lot of information on the beginning of the universe from the James Webb space telescope, which is being built right now and will replace the Hubbell telescope. And then I found out that Northrop Grumman is building that. At their campus presentation I learned that Northrop Grumman has been chosen by the Jet Propulsion Lab to develop the preliminary design for Prometheus 1, which will enable a mission to explore Jupiter’s icy moons. I almost jumped out of my seat because that’s what I did my senior design project on—a mission to Jupiter, orbiting around Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons, and looking for life. It just couldn’t be a better match for me.”

Allison is looking forward to beginning her work at Northrop Grumman, not only the science and research aspects, but the opportunity to work with both the scientists and the engineers—“sort of an Ambassador thing again,” she says. “And I hope that I can come back to campus as a recruiter for Northrop Grumman in the future.”

As a member of the College of Science Alumni Board, Allison will continue to interact with students, faculty, and other Science alumni. She wants to use her experiences to encourage others to hang on and pursue their dreams. “Going through school, and especially encountering some of those walls in Engineering, with so many people telling me I wouldn’t be able to do it, I learned that if you really want something you just have to do it and not be discouraged,” she says. “My goal when I talk to younger kids or incoming students is to never be discouraging. I was told during my freshman year that I was too ambitious, but to me that’s a good thing—you should always encourage ambition.”

Allison also intends to serve as an example of what can be done with a physics degree. “There’s a lot you can do in physics without a Ph.D. There are a lot of students who love science and who love physics but who don’t want a Ph.D. I want to show them that there is a world of possibilities out there for them."

Archives: Alumni Profiles | Class Notes