By Jessie Thwaites, Annelia Anderson, and Amaya Sinha
Every year, the American Physical Society (APS) hosts conferences designed to support undergraduate women and gender minorities in their path through physics. These are the CU*iP meetings. This year, they also hosted a version for graduate students and postdocs! This Astrobite will cover some of the sessions from the first ever APS Conference for Graduate Women and Gender Minorities in Physics, which will become an annual conference, and also give information and perspective about applying to APS CU*iP for undergraduates! (Click on the link to jump to the relevant section.)
Astrobites at the APS Conference for Graduate Women and Gender Minorities in Physics 2024
The first Conference for Graduate Women and Gender Minorities in Physics took place in Washington, DC on August 19th-20th, 2024 (check out the website for more details!). The conference focused on key areas of professional development, mentor and leadership training, and support for women and gender minorities in physics.
Professional development
This conference brought together many graduate students nearing the next step in their career – in industry or in academia. Parallel sessions covered applying for jobs in industry (led by Dr. Crystal Bailey), as well as navigating the academic job landscape (led by Dr. Saptaparna Bhattacharya). An interactive session on Saturday, led by Dr. Lucian Walkowicz, focused on communicating science to audiences at any level. Dr. Walkowicz asked participants to choose a real or hypothetical talk at any level (for the public or for a colloquium, or anywhere in between!) and develop unique personas for people in the audience. Participants then shared their examples and discussed why they had chosen those examples. They discussed how this approach of imagining personas can help to develop more effective communication and foster a deeper connection with the audience.
In the evening on Monday, Winter Parts facilitated a career panel featuring Dr. Eliza Kempton, Dr. Veronika Kruse, and Dr. Neha Pachauri. The panelists shared their broad range of career perspectives, from academia to national labs to industry. They described their unique paths through physics, and how they achieved their current careers.
Mentor and Leadership Trainings
A central theme of the conference was developing effective leadership and mentorship techniques. In a plenary session, Dr. Kelly Diggs discussed important techniques, both for being a mentor and for harnessing mentoring relationships as a mentee, through a framework called “Mentoring Up”. Founded on evidence-based practices, she discussed how mentorship is multi-dimensional, and how mentees can develop a “mentoring map,” or a network of mentors to help them along the way.
In a parallel session, Ashley Walker discussed navigating relationships with advisors. She discussed the importance of community and how her community has provided support for her throughout her career as a student. She is also the founder of Black in Astro, and has also been interviewed by Astrobites for the Rainbow Village at AAS!
Support and advocacy
Two of the major themes discussed in the conference was advocacy (both for oneself, and others) and finding supportive communities on campuses. In the opening plenary session of the conference, Dr. Michelle Lollie discussed her path through physics. She highlighted the importance of advocating for oneself at all career stages. She discussed mentorship in her own career, and communicating her own needs, as well as how she was able to advocate for others along the way. In the final plenary session of the meeting, Dr. Andrea Welsh and Ryder Fox discussed the overlapping influences of mental health and how people interact with each other and the world in an interconnected matrix approach.
Several sessions also highlighted the importance of mental health in students’ persistence. Parallel sessions covered a variety of topics in this area, from forming inclusive campus communities and balancing research (led by Midhat Farooq and Winter Parts); to how identities impact interactions and career journeys (led by Raghav Kunnawalkam Elayavalli); as well as reporting harassment on campuses, led by representatives from the George Washington University’s Title IX office.
In another session, Dr. Jeremy Young presented about educational censorship legislation. He discussed several recent bills introduced in many states (which he called “educational gag orders” restricting DEI work in universities, as well as the universities’ responses to them (this has also been the topic of a recent Astrobite). These policies are inherently connected to offices which offer support for students, designed to increase persistence in science, which fall under DEI at the university level.
In a parallel session, Dr. Kirsten McMichael discussed how to implement Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives into departments and collaborations. She discussed her work with other scientists building the DEI group at nEXO, a neutrino experiment currently under development. She encouraged participants to realize they are already the experts in the room, and to develop their own DEI initiative to bring back to their institutions.
Are you an undergraduate who identifies as a woman or gender minority in physics? Apply for APS CU*iP!
The Conferences for Undergraduate Women and Gender Minorities in Physics (CU*iP) are coming up! In January 2025, CU*iP will be held at 15 institutions across the United States and Canada. If you’re interested in networking, presenting research, grad school/career advice, or learning how to navigate your physics degree and future career as a woman or gender minority, consider applying!
This year’s keynote speaker will be Meghan Anzelc, Ph.D. She received her Ph.D. in experimental high-energy particle physics from Northwestern University, and now works in industry as an executive leader in data and analytics. Each conference site will have plenary talks and panels led by professionals from a wide range of careers and backgrounds.
If your application is accepted, you will be assigned to a conference site (usually the site nearest to you), and you will need to pay the $45 registration fee. If your academic department cannot cover the fee for you, APS offers fee waivers. Often, academic departments will also provide assistance with travel costs. If your department can’t fund your travel, your assigned conference site may be able to provide travel and accommodation assistance.
CU*iP is a greatly beneficial experience for undergraduates, not only for providing new connections and skills, but also inspiration and a clearer understanding of your own goals and future path.
Applications will be open until October 23, 2024.
Click here for more information and CU*iP 2025 application!
CUWiP+ (UK and Ireland)
The Institute of Physics (IOP) runs the Conference for Undergraduate Women and Non-Binary Physicists (CUWiP+) for undergraduates in the UK and Ireland, which is modeled after APS CU*iP. The next conference will be held at the University of Warwick in April, 2025. Applications are expected to open in late October, 2024.
Click here for more information on CUWiP+ 2025!
Astrobite Edited by Storm Colloms
Featured Image Credit: The American Physical Society (APS)
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