I was terrified to take my first physics class in high school: I did not love my previous science courses, and physics was what Einstein did! After some supportive coaxing from my family, I found myself sitting in my first physics class, watching the teacher use math to explain the world around us, and I was hooked.

During college, I discovered that optics was one of my favorite subjects, thanks to Drs. Amy Sullivan, Arthur Bowling, and Gary Gimmestad: they showed me how lasers could be used to study the world and air around me with the use of Light Detection and Ranging (lidar) systems. In graduate school, I worked with the late Dr. Vincent Wickwar to probe the outer reaches of the atmosphere with lidar, in areas far beyond where most ground-based systems can sense.

In my current role as a research scientist at the Georgia Tech Research Institute, I work with a team of engineers and scientists to develop new optical remote-sensing instruments to study all of the atmosphere, from the air we breathe down in the troposphere, out to what most consider space, where the rarified air and charged particles of the ionosphere interact. In my applied-research role, I not only study the atmosphere to better our understanding of this complex system, but also to use that knowledge to address challenges in national security and to better the human condition.

While a career in physics is challenging on many levels, the biggest obstacle in my career has been myself, from my teenaged-self deciding I had to be Einstein to succeed at physics, to my current-self, still questioning whether I’m the right person for the job. Despite the support of family and many colleagues, gaps in my coursework or the fact that I am often the only woman in the meeting room lead to me to a lot of self-doubt.

What I am realizing now, and hope I can pass on to young women starting their own STEM careers, is that you can always learn what you don’t know, and your differences are valuable strengths that you bring to the table.

Leda Sox
Senior Research Scientist, Electro-Optical Systems Laboratory, Georgia Tech Research Institute
Born in United States / Resides in United States
Educational Background: BA in Mathematics-Physics and French, Agnes Scott College; PhD in Physics, Utah State University, United States