Allison Jo Mercer was raised in Maitland, FL where she was educated in the public schools system up until graduation from the International Baccalaureate program at Winter Park High School. Mercer went on to earn her BA in Astrophysics and Mathematics from Agnes Scott College and recently completed her MS in Physics from The University of Iowa under the guidance of Assistant Professor Cornelia C. Lang.

Mercer's professional research interests are diverse, but include star formation...