As a Ph.D. candidate in engineering and fluid and thermal science, Erickson conducts research in the laboratory of Professor of Engineering Kenny Breuer, studying how seals use their whiskers to locate objects in water and how those mechanisms might be implemented in new technologies.  

Erickson attributes her laser focus on her goals and academic interests to a “superpower” of autism — a childhood diagnosis that was initially predicted to hinder her development, but through which she persevered and excelled with therapies and a supportive family. 

“I’ve learned to channel it for good in my life, and it’s part of what makes me special and has made me successful in my life,” Erickson said. “There are some drawbacks, things that make my life a little more challenging, but I’ve persevered through those.” 

That grit has helped Erickson navigate and excel in environments where she’s often the only woman in the classroom — or the rink. 

At Georgia Tech, Erickson became the first and only woman to play on the men’s ice hockey club team. Gaining acceptance and respect on the team was tough, Erickson said. So when she attended the Student Activities Fair during her first year at Brown, Erickson steeled herself as she approached Brown’s club hockey table. She was prepared for pushback against her joining the team and ready to go on the defense. 

“I was like, ‘I mean business, and I’m going to play on this team,’” she said. “But then one of the boys was like, ‘Oh, my mom told me about you! You’re really good!’ It was great to be so accepted immediately with the team at Brown. Those guys are the best.”

It didn’t take them long to see that Erickson did, in fact, mean business. She is currently the club team’s captain, and beyond Brown, she’s an NCAA hockey official, serving as a linesperson during surrounding schools’ games. When she’s not in the Breuer lab, Erickson said there’s a pretty good chance she’s in the rink. 

But a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity found Erickson ditching the ice for the tropics last summer, when she took a leave from her studies at Brown to join the cast of the 48^th season of the CBS series “Survivor” in the Mamanuca Islands in Fiji. The show follows groups of players who are split into “tribes” and required to complete challenges while living outdoors. Each week, contestants vote each other out with the goal of being the last person standing to win a $1 million prize.

“It was actually so brutal,” Erickson said. “You don’t have any of your support system. You don’t even know what time it is. You’re just out there sleeping in the dirt and eating nothing but coconuts… The amount of coconuts I consumed will make me never, ever, ever want to eat a coconut again.” 

While sworn to secrecy on the results until the season finishes airing, Erickson is celebrating two major “Survivor” milestones: In addition to being the youngest cast member on the season, she’s the first openly autistic cast member in the show’s history. 

“My biggest message is that autism is not something wrong with you — and I want to share that with people who are on the spectrum, or who have children who are on the spectrum,” Erickson said. “It was a big thing for me to be open and vulnerable in this experience, and I think it is a different portrayal of autism than most people are used to seeing. I am so proud of myself for going out there, making a point and sharing my story.”

As she continues her graduate studies at Brown, Erickson hopes to unite her interests in fluid mechanics and sports. Harking back to the awe she felt watching her uncle’s kayak effortlessly glide through the water, she is looking to apply her research in the Breuer lab — particularly her work in vibration analysis — to develop state-of-the-art sports equipment. 

“Whether it’s helmets, shin guards, chest protectors or even the hockey sticks themselves, the equipment has to be able to withstand vibrations from all the different impacts that happen in a game,” Erickson said. “There's a lot a lot of science that goes into sports equipment, and I'd love to be someone who’s in the lab helping develop the next best thing.”