Sarah Bolton (physicist)

Sarah Bolton

Sarah Bolton is an American physicist and university administrator. She became the twelfth president of The College of Wooster^[2][3][4] in Wooster, Ohio, on July 1, 2016, following twenty-one years as dean of the college and professor of physics at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts.^[1] She was inaugurated as the twelfth president of The College of Wooster on Saturday, October 22, 2016.^[5]

Education

Bolton received her B.S. in physics and biophysics from Brown University (1988), and her Masters (1991) and Ph.D. (1995) from the University of California, Berkeley in Physics.^[1][2] Her doctoral thesis is titled "Dimensionality dependence of indium gallium arsenide nonlinear optical response."

Career

Bolton came to Williams College as an assistant professor of physics in 1995,^[1] was promoted to associate professor in 2001, and full professor in 2007. She served as chair of the physics department from 2007-2010.^[1] She won Williams College’s Outstanding Mentor Award for Fostering Inclusive Academic Excellence in 2009. As dean of the college at Williams, Bolton supervised academic advising and supported programs such as off-campus study, international student services, and the registrar’s office.^[2] She was also active in creating policies and procedures for sexual assault prevention and response.^[6] In addition, she worked on projects addressing first-generation college students, and on efforts toward equity and inclusion on Williams’ campus.

Research and scholarship

Bolton’s research and scholarship explores the properties of novel, nanostructured materials, which have features made up of only a few atomic layers. She uses ultrafast pulsed lasers to investigate the ways that energy is transferred in these quantum mechanical systems. She has published in physics journals such as Physical Review A and Physical Review B.^[7]

References