Department of Physics
Faculty & Staff
Meet the Department of Physics faculty and staff.
Faculty
Ashley Cannaday, PhD
Assistant Professor
Bush Science Center – Room 214A
T. 407.646.1833
BA, Rollins College
PhD, University of Rochester, Institute of Optics
Ashley Cannaday joined the Rollins physics faculty in the fall of 2017. She received her PhD in optics in 2017 at the Institute of Optics in Rochester, New York. Her doctoral research in biomedical optics involved measuring the angular scattering from single cells to obtain information about their morphology over time. She also completed a BA degree in physics at Rollins College, where she had the opportunity to conduct research focused on using optical techniques to analyze the acoustics of musical instruments. As an alumna, she is happy to once again return to the Rollins physics department.
Whitney Coyle, PhD
Associate Professor, Pre-Engineering Coordinator
Bush Science Center – Room 118D
T. 407.691.1279
BS, Murray State University
MS, Penn State University
PhD, Penn State University
A trained musician-mathematician, Professor Coyle found her calling in acoustics, the science of sound. This all began by her studying clarinet performance and mathematics at Murray State University in Kentucky and then continuing on earn her PhD in acoustics from the Pennsylvania State University Graduate Program in Acoustics in 2016. Her dissertation research was performed primarily in Marseille and Paris, France, and focused on analytical models to describe acoustical characteristics of the clarinet. She is currently interested in research to better the understanding of the complicated mechanisms that contribute to the playability (or lack thereof) of a particular instrument. Coyle joined the Rollins faculty in 2015 and is passionate about education and teaching through research with undergraduate students. She is active in many scientific societies, including the Acoustical Society of America, the Association of Physics Teachers, and the International Clarinet Association, and is an enthusiastic clarinetist in the Rollins College Wind Ensemble.
Samantha Fonseca dos Santos, PhD
Assistant Professor
Bush Science Center – Room 169
T. 407.646.1836
BS, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro
MS, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro
PhD, University of Central Florida
Christopher Fuse, PhD
Associate Professor, Chair
Bush Science Center – Room 167
T. 407.691.1283
BS, St. Bonaventure University
MS, Miami University
PhD, Texas Christian University
Christopher Fuse has been an assistant professor of physics at Rollins College since fall 2008. He received his Ph.D. in physics from Texas Christian University in 2008 where he studied the photometric properties and X-ray emission of isolated early-type galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). He completed an MS in physics at Miami University where he studied the formation of planetary systems, emphasizing the formation of moons around gas giant planets. He also completed his BS in physics at St. Bonaventure University.
Anne Murdaugh, PhD
Associate Professor
Bush Science Center – Room 312A
T. 407.646.2225
BS, Georgia Institute of Technology
MS, University of Arizona
PhD, University of Arizona
Anne Murdaugh joined the faculty of Rollins College in the Fall of 2011. She received her PhD in 2009 from the University of Arizona where she focused on the visualization and characterization of heteroepitaxial crystal growth of natural minerals. After receiving her PhD in physics, she became an HHMI Postdoctoral Fellow at Mount Holyoke College where she applied her physics and atomic force microscopy skills to determining the adhesive properties of biofilms. She also completed her BS in physics at Georgia Tech and is happy to be located in sunny Florida.
Staff
Pamela Mason
Administrative Assistant
Bush Science Center – Room 110
T. 407.646.2223
Pam Mason has been employed by Rollins College since 1994. She currently supports the Departments of Physics and the Department of Chemistry. Before Rollins, she has had a long and varied work history including an orderly in a psychiatric facility, an assistant to a morgue pathologist, and a coordinator for a migrant farm workers education program. Pam was also a sergeant in the United State Air Force and worked as a Czechoslovakian translator for seven years.