Abigail Harris

I was interested in research before I came to Penn, but was only able to enter that world in my freshman year with the help of a Research Peer Advisor. Now that I am on the other side of that mentoring relationship, I am excited to give back to the new generation of undergraduate researchers.

I work with Dr. John Spiesberger writing software with the intention of automatically detecting and locating whales based on their calls. Over the summer of 2022, we wrote software to locate whales based on time differences of arrival from an array of hydrophones. In the future, we will aim for a similar objective, but instead with data collected from the vibrations of underwater fiber-optic communication cables.

Research has taught me so much about my own interests, how I work in groups, and my potential career paths. I find it satisfying to explore new methods and add to human knowledge, and seeing months of effort come together and work is very rewarding.

Please reach out to me for any questions about research! I will be happy to answer or help in any way!

Research positions and Awards:

• Research Assistant working with Dr. John Spiesberger (Summer 2022-present)
• PURM Award 2022

Additional Interests: West Philadelphia Tutoring Project, Marks Family Writing Center, Mayor's Scholars, Women in Physics