Madelyn Leembruggen, PhD
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mleembruggen.bsky.social
Madelyn Leembruggen, PhD
@mleembruggen.bsky.social
Science communicator and educator
Harvard | PhD in Theoretical Physics

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My 6-year PhD, distilled into just 4 minutes! This quick watch will tell you why I studied twisted ribbons and crumpled paper, and future applications of my research.

youtu.be/dmjuY8oxdCQ
I spent my PhD twisting ribbons and crumpling paper
YouTube video by Madelyn Leembruggen
youtu.be
There is a single sunbeam that makes it into my apartment. It only appears April - August, 9:30-10:00 am. My kitten has taken to laying in this brief sunbeam each morning.

But today it is cloudy, so she's laying in her sunbeam spot but there is no sunbeam. 😔

Luna in sunbeam on a sunny day:
April 21, 2025 at 1:51 PM
In the 1300s, time was no longer considered the measure of a thing, but a thing in and of itself, thanks to sophisticated mechanical clocks.

The "invention" of time revolutionized industry, philosophy, and science. We covered all that and more in this episode of SciShow!

youtu.be/H_1eVvkT_9w?...
The 14th Century Monk Who Created the Modern World
YouTube video by SciShow
youtu.be
March 31, 2025 at 7:20 PM
What a lovely surprise to find @chanda.bsky.social in the acknowledgements of Oathbound by @tracydeonn.bsky.social! Shelving these two masterpieces together so they can be friends on my shelf, too. :)

Okay, just gonna go wait in agony until Legendborn 4 and The Edge of Spacetime. 🥲
March 27, 2025 at 8:57 PM
I’ve been brushing my kitten a couple times a week ever since we got her, but lately she’s also started bathing herself whenever I start brushing like “yea, mom, you’re right, it is bath time, lemme roll over so you can get my belly” 🥹
March 6, 2025 at 10:25 PM
My 6-year PhD, distilled into just 4 minutes! This quick watch will tell you why I studied twisted ribbons and crumpled paper, and future applications of my research.

youtu.be/dmjuY8oxdCQ
I spent my PhD twisting ribbons and crumpling paper
YouTube video by Madelyn Leembruggen
youtu.be
March 5, 2025 at 8:11 PM
How deep does NYC go?

This question has been haunting me for over ten years, ever since I first visited the Big Apple. I've never found a satisfactory answer, so I finally did the research and wrote one, myself.
February 25, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Hey Pillsbury, these are not hearts these are Kirby’s.
February 15, 2025 at 2:26 AM
Sharing resources is hard, and for decades game theorists thought it was impossible. Turns out, communication and collaboration are the keys to this unsolvable game theory problem.

Check out my latest script for SciShow!

youtu.be/s4Z1SNhYs18?...
How To Solve Game Theory's Unsolvable Problem
YouTube video by SciShow
youtu.be
February 14, 2025 at 5:19 PM
I’m CRYING she looks so much older already and it’s only been one month!!!
February 11, 2025 at 4:37 PM
The art vs the artist
January 30, 2025 at 2:00 PM
This feed is a Luna Leemu fan account! Maybe someday I’ll post about science but for now it’s only Luna.
January 25, 2025 at 6:29 PM
Foundational education for our kitten (Helldivers II)
January 22, 2025 at 12:50 PM
I immediately loved this book, but five months later, I still can’t stop thinking about it!

Read my five-minute, spoiler-free review of Writers & Lovers by Lily King: mleembruggen.medium.com/in-review-wr...

#bookreviews #reading
In Review: Writers & Lovers by Lily King
Nostalgic and satisfying, one of my best reads of 2024.
mleembruggen.medium.com
January 21, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Reposted by Madelyn Leembruggen, PhD
When you turn it on and it works spectacularly!

The Rubin team has successfully completed the first on-sky engineering tests using the 144-Mpx engineering camera. Up next: installing the largest digital camera in the world, LSST Camera! 🔭🧪

rubinobservatory.org/news/rubin-completes-comcam-tests
January 14, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Using the index of a book feels like a cheat code
December 6, 2024 at 4:00 PM
Just cuz the drama is academic doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt!!
November 26, 2024 at 9:02 PM
Are you packing a suitcase this week to travel for Thanksgiving? Here are some Official Physics Tips for optimizing your carry-on!

Also, how neat that I got to cite my own dissertation in this script???

youtu.be/HoUybLNyUmk?...
How Science Says You Should Pack
YouTube video by SciShow
youtu.be
November 25, 2024 at 8:34 PM
This year I’ve been given the opportunity to revisit—in great detail—undergrad physics.

It is pure joy (okay, with a little bit of “ugh I can’t believe I don’t remember this”) to revisit the texts and topics that introduced me to physics.

I can see so much now that I couldn’t see 8 years ago. 🥹
November 23, 2024 at 6:08 PM
Big props to whoever edited #Survivor S47E10. A lot of really great moments and hilarious editing choices this week!
November 22, 2024 at 2:14 AM
I’ve finally started the Three Body Problem series! It is as good as everyone has ever told me! I will not learn from this experience and I WILL continue to procrastinate!

Anyway, some of the best physics I’ve ever read, including non-fiction! 💙📚
November 21, 2024 at 12:50 PM
One of the cutest physics experiments I've ever seen! Check out these dancing raisins from friends at UW-Madison. 😍https://arxiv.org/pdf/2308.12927.pdf
September 13, 2023 at 8:23 PM
Can’t read because I had my pupils dilated for an eye exam. Therefore just thinking about the resolution limit of a given aperture due to light diffraction. And remembering last semester when my students solved problems about the resolution of telescopes (optics unit of their course on waves). 😎
September 6, 2023 at 5:15 PM
Just got a newsletter from my undergrad institution sharing that 28% of their undergrad population is food or otherwise financially insecure. 🤯

Anyway, please consider donating to your local/campus food pantries and mutual aid groups.
August 30, 2023 at 2:38 PM
I am Sisyphus and brushing teeth is my boulder.
August 29, 2023 at 12:54 PM
People who sit in the window seat and keep the shade closed during a sunset/rise simply don’t have enough appreciation for the beauty of life
August 21, 2023 at 2:10 AM