Since she was a child in California, Sarah has been interested in science. One of her first interests was paleontology. During high school, she participated in an internship in Wyoming, where she would dig through layers of limestone, collect candidate fossils, and use special tools to remove the surrounding rock and unveil a prehistoric fish. She considered majoring in geophysics applied to paleontology but found she was more fascinated by physics.
For her bachelor’s in physics, Sarah experienced her first big move: from California to Chicago. It was there that she discovered her passion for research and neutrinos, which led her to a PhD in IceCube in Madison, Wisconsin. Since then, she has been using neutrinos that have traveled for millions or even billions of years to discover what happens in some of the most hidden locations in the universe. An example is the proximity to supermassive black holes, where only neutrinos manage to escape the dense surrounding environment. Just as she once used specific tools to remove the surrounding rock and uncover hidden fossils, she now uses neutrinos to uncover hidden phenomena in the universe.
“Do not compare yourself to other people; do your thing and try to better yourself.”
Sarah Mancina
Driven by her curiosity, Sarah moved to Padova, Italy, for her postdoc. She took it as an opportunity for a unique experience and finds it fascinating to discover how things work differently in another country.
In her free time, Sarah studies Italian; she even teaches a laboratory class in Italian. She also participates in book clubs and enjoys running. When she was in Wisconsin, she was into ultimate frisbee and even became the team’s coach.
Looking back on her studies and research experience, she offers early-career students helpful advice: “Do not compare yourself to other people; do your thing and try to better yourself.”