Speakers
National Keynote Speaker
Andrea Liu, University of Pennsylvania – Saturday (01/18)
11:00 am – 12:30 pm (Humanities Instructional Building 100)
Andrea Liu is a theoretical soft and living matter physicist who received her A.B. and Ph.D. degrees in physics at the University of California, Berkeley, and Cornell University, respectively. She was a faculty member in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at UCLA for ten years before joining the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Pennsylvania in 2004. Liu is currently Speaker-Elect of the Council of the American Physical Society (APS) and Chair-Elect of the Physics Section of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). She is a fellow of the APS, AAAS and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.
UCI Chair: Astrid Anker, Anne-Katherine Burns, & Amy Wu, Graduate Students, UCI
Q&A Communication: Lisabeth Santana & Justin Amin, Undergraduate Students, UCI
Plenary Keynote Speakers
Linda Shore, Astronomical Society of the Pacific – Friday (01/17)
7:00 pm – 7:50 pm (Crystal Cove Auditorium)
“How to Thrive as a Woman in Physics”
Dr. Linda Shore is the Chief Executive Officer of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP) – a science society founded in San Francisco in 1889 and dedicated to improving the understanding of science through the art and wonder of astronomy. Shore holds a doctorate in science education from Boston University and a masters degree in physics and astronomy from San Francisco State University. Her current projects include a major NSF funded research project looking at ways to help early career scientists become more effective at communicating with the public. Prior to assuming leadership of the ASP, Shore was a staff scientist at the Exploratorium and Director of the Exploratorium Teacher Institute. She has written numerous popular science articles and co-authored several science activity books for children, including the award-winning Science Explorer series and more recently, The Total Skywatchers Manual. Linda is also an avid knitter, rescues greyhounds, and writes science-fiction short stories.
Chair: Arianna Long, Doctoral Candidate, UCI | Introduction: Diana Rivera, Undergraduate, UCI
Elizabeth Simmons, University of California, San Diego – Saturday (01/18)
8:40 am – 9:30 am (Humanities Instructional Building 100)
Dr. Elizabeth H. Simmons is the Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at the University of California San Diego. In this capacity, she serves as UC San Diego’s chief academic officer and is responsible for policies and decisions relating to all academic programs and curriculum, instructional support programs, and faculty appointments and performance. She is the institution’s second-ranking executive officer and acts on behalf of the Chancellor in overseeing the University in his absence.
Simmons is a theoretical high-energy physicist whose research focuses on the origins of the masses of the elementary subatomic particles, especially the top quark. She is currently studying how physics beyond the Standard Model might manifest in experiments in progress at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. She enjoys teaching physics courses at all levels, and a central tenet of her mission as an educator is to encourage students from groups under-represented in physics to consider studies and careers in the physical sciences. She is a Distinguished Professor in the UC San Diego Department of Physics.
After completing her undergraduate degree in physics at Harvard University magna cum laude and being inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, Simmons earned an M.Phil. in physics at Cambridge University as a Churchill Scholar. She returned to Harvard for her doctoral degree and postdoctoral fellowship, and then spent a decade as a professor at Boston University before joining the faculty at Michigan State University in summer 2003. She moved to UC San Diego in 2017. She is a Fellow of the AAAS, a Fellow, Outstanding Referee, and Divisional Councilor of the American Physical Society and an Honorary General Member of the Aspen Center for Physics. She won the ACE Michigan Network’s Distinguished Woman in Higher Education Leadership Award in 2005 and MSU’s Robert F. Banks Award for Institutional Leadership in 2013.
Simmons has served as a US Delegate to the International Conference on Women in Physics in 2008 (Korea) and 2011 (South Africa) and has co-organized 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019 conferences on professional development for women physicists in the developing world at the International Center for Theoretical Physics (Italy). Simmons is a member of the Organizing Board of the advocacy group lgbt+physicists and a co-author of the recent LGBT Climate Report commissioned by the American Physical Society.
Chair: Astrid Anker, Graduate Student, UCI | Introduction: Elvira Cruz-Cruz, Undergraduate Student, UCI
Aomawa Shields, University of California, Irvine – Sunday (01/19)
8:30 am – 9:20 am (Humanities Instructional Building 100)
Dr. Aomawa Shields is the Clare Boothe Luce Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics & Astronomy at UCI. She is an astronomer and an astrobiologist whose research focuses on exploring the possible climates and potential habitability of Earth-sized planets orbiting cool, low-mass stars. She uses a hierarchy of computer models along with observational data from space- and ground-based observatories to carry out her research.
Dr. Shields received her Ph.D. in Astronomy and Astrobiology from the University of Washington in 2014, an MFA in Acting from UCLA in 2001, and an Sc.B. in Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences from MIT in 1997. She held an NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship and a UC President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship at UCLA and at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics prior to joining the UCI faculty in 2017. She was awarded the prestigious NSF CAREER award to pursue an innovative program of research and education at UCI. Her research is also supported by the NASA Habitable Worlds program.
A 2015 TED Fellow, Dr. Shields’ TED Talk “How We’ll Find Life on Other Planets” has garnered over 1.7 million views. She is Founder and Director of the organization Rising Stargirls, which encourages girls of all colors and backgrounds to explore and discover the universe using theater, writing, and visual art.
Chair: Katy Rodriguez Wimberly, Doctoral Candidate, UCI | Introduction: Christina Stonier, Undergraduate Student, UCI
Panelists
Plenary Parallel Panels
Saturday, January 18th 9:40 am – 10:25 am
Careers in Physics (Humanities Instructional Building 100)
Chair: Clare Yu (cyu@uci.edu), Professor, UCI
- Jane Shtalenkova (yshtalen@slac.stanford.edu), Accelerator Systems Operator, SLAC
- Vasileios Paschalidis (vpaschal@email.arizona.edu), Assistant Professor, University of Arizona
- Chen Heinrich (chenhe@caltech.edu), Postdoc, JPL/Caltech
- Ted Hodapp (hodapp@aps.org), APS Representative
- Suzanne Genc (sgenc@verizon.net), Physical Scientist, Rand Corporation
- Carol Hood (chood@csusb.edu), Professor, CSUSB
Diverse Paths Through Higher Physics Education (Humanities Gateway 1800)
Chair: Alex Rudolph (alrudolph@cpp.edu), Director of Cal-Bridge, Cal Poly Pomona
- Gundrun Magnusdottir (gudrun@uci.edu), Professor, UCI
- Arianna Long (arianna.long@uci.edu), Graduate Student, UCI
- Raquel Nuno (rgnuno@ucla.edu), Graduate Student, UCLA
- Freida Rivera (flrivera@uci.edu), Graduate Student, UCI
- Coral Wheeler (coral@caltech.edu), Hubble Fellow, Caltech
Breakout Session I
Saturday, January 18th 3:10 pm -3:55 pm
Astronomy (Humanities Instructional Building 100)
Chair: Courtney Klein (kleinca@uci.edu), Graduate Student, UCI
- Chen Heinrich (chenhe@caltech.edu), Postdoc, JPL/Caltech
- Sophia Nasr (sophia.nasr@uci.edu), Graduate Student, UCI
- Vivian U (vivianu@uci.edu), Assistant Project Scientist, UCI
- Briley Lewis (blewis@astro.ucla.edu), Graduate Student, UCLA
Condensed Matter (Humanities Gateway 1800)
Chair: Javier Sanchez-Yamagishi (javier.sanchezyamagishi@uci.edu), Professor, UCI
- Brian Casas (bcasas1@uci.edu), Graduate Student, UCI
- Judit Romhanyi (jromhany@uci.edu), Professor, UCI
- Shankari Rajagopal (shankari@stanford.edu), Postdoc, Stanford University
- Steven Crisostomo (crisosts@uci.edu), Graduate Student, UCI
Biophysics (Humanities Hall 262)
Chair: Clare Yu (cyu@uci.edu), Professor, UCI
- Jin Yu (jin.yu@uci.edu), Assistant Professor, UCI
- Clarice Aiello (cla@ucla.edu), Professor, UCLA
- Matt Blosser (matthewblosser@gmail.com), Postdoc, USC
Transitioning to a 4-year Institution (Humanities Hall 143)
Chair: Arianna Braconi (abraconi@uci.edu), Graduate Student, UCI
- Carol Hood (chood@csusb.edu), Professor, CSUSB
- Alexis Romero (alexir2@uci.edu), Graduate Student, UCI
- Lisset Ayala (lsayala@uci.edu), Undergraduate Transfer Student, UCI
- Jane Shtalenkova (yshtalen@slac.stanford.edu), Accelerator Systems Operator, SLAC
Mentoring: A Tool to Thrive as an Intersectional Minority (Humanities Hall 178)
- Arianna Long (arianna.long@uci.edu), Graduate Student, UCI
- Katy Wimberly (wimberlm@uci.edu), Graduate Student, UCI
Breakout Session II
Saturday, January 18th 4:50 pm – 5:35 pm
Plasma (Humanities Hall 178)
Chair: William Heidbrink (bill.heidbrink@uci.edu), Professor, UCI
- Amina Hussein (hussein1@uci.edu), Postdoc, UCI
- Yu Lin (linyu01@auburn.edu), Alumni Professor, Auburn University
- Franklin Dollar (fdollar@uci.edu), Professor, UCI
- Yasmeen Musthafa (ymusthaf@uci.edu), Graduate Student, UCI
Particle / HEP (Humanities Gateway 1800)
Chair: Michael Ratz (mratz@uci.edu), Professor, UCI
- Tim Tait (ttait@uci.edu), Professor, UCI
- Rachel Rosen (rar2172@columbia.edu) Professor, Columbia University
- Seyda Ipek (sipek@uci.edu), Postdoc, UCI
- Jessica Howard (jnhoward@uci.edu), Graduate Student, UCI
- Alexis Romero (alexir2@uci.edu), Graduate Student, UCI
- Rebecca Riley (rriley1@uci.edu), Graduate Student, UCI
Undocu-STEM (Humanities Hall 143)
Chair: Jonathan Feng (jlf@uci.edu), Professor, UCI
- Elizabeth Dunn, Assistant Academic Counselor, UCI
Life in Graduate School: Motivations, Mental Health, and More (Humanities Instructional Building 100)
Chair: Shankari Rajagopal (shankari@stanford.edu), Postdoc, Stanford University
- Julian Richter (jmrichter@email.arizona.edu), Graduate Student, University of Arizona
- Manuel Paul (mppaul@uci.edu), Graduate Student, UCI
- Kira Hart (khart@optics.arizona.edu), Graduate Student, University of Arizona
- Freida Rivera (flrivera@uci.edu), Graduate Student, UCI
- Francisco Mercado (mercadf1@uci.edu), Graduate Student, UCI
Careers in Education (Humanities Hall 262)
Chair: Phil Collins (collinsp@uci.edu), Professor, UCI
- Carol Hood (chood@csusb.edu), Professor, CSUSB
- Carrie Menke (cmenke@uci.edu), Lecturer, UC Merced
- Ted Hodapp (hodapp@aps.org), APS Representative
- Laura Tucker (tucker@uci.edu), Assistant Professor of Teaching, UCI
- Britt Hyland (bhyland@sdccd.edu), Assistant Professor, San Diego Miramar College
Breakout Session III
Saturday, January 18th 5:45 pm – 6:30 pm
Out in STEM (Humanities Hall 262)
Chair: Manuel Paul (mppaul@uci.edu), Graduate Student, UCI
- Yasmeen Musthafa (ymusthaf@uci.edu), Graduate Student, UCI
- Anne-Katherine Burns (annekatb@uci.edu), Graduate Student, UCI
- Nancy Williams (nwilliams@kecksci.claremont.edu), Assistant Professor, Claremont McKenna College
Self Care in Adversity / Recognizing and Defeating Sexual Harassment (Humanities Gateway 1800)
Chair: Tammy Smecker-Hane (tsmecker@uci.edu), Associate Professor, UCI
- Elizabeth Dunn (dunnes@uci.edu), Assistant Academic Counselor, UCI
- Shankari Rajagopal (shankari@stanford.edu), Postdoc, Stanford University
Building a Community in Your Department (Humanities Hall 178)
Chair: Tim Tait (ttait@uci.edu), Professor, UCI
- Bethany Campbell, Masters Student, San Diego State University
- Rachel Rosen (rar2172@columbia.edu, Professor, Columbia University
- Katy Wimberly (wimberlm@uci.edu), Graduate Student, UCI
- Stacy Copp (copps@uci.edu), Assistant Professor, UCI
- Christine Muccianti (cmuccianti@email.arizona.edu), Graduate Student, University of Arizona
International Physicists (Humanities Hall 143)
Chair: Joakim Olsson (olsson@uci.edu),Postdoc, UCI
- Clarice Aiello (cla@ucla.edu), Professor, UCLA
- Michael Ratz (mratz@uci.edu), Professor, UCI
- Seyda Ipek (sipek@uci.edu), Postdoc, UCI
- Adreja Mondol (amondol@uci.edu), Graduate Student, UCI
- Yvonne Ng (ywng@uci.edu), Graduate Student, UCI
Applying to Grad School: Student Edition (Humanities Instructional Building 100)
Chair: Arianna Long (arianna.long@uci.edu), Graduate Student, UCI
- Kira Hart (khart@optics.arizona.edu), Graduate Student, University of Arizona
- Alexis Romero (alexir2@uci.edu), Graduate Student, UCI
- Maya Silverman (msilver2@uci.edu), Graduate Student, UCI
- Courtney Klein (kleinca@uci.edu), Graduate Student, UCI
Breakout Session IV
Sunday, January 19th 9:25 am – 10:15 am
Managing Imposter Feelings and Other Challenges of Being a Woman in Physics (Humanities Instructional Building 100)
Chair: Katy Wimberly (wimberlm@uci.edu), Graduate Student, UCI
- Brit Hyland (bhyland@sdccd.edu), Assistant Professor, San Diego Miramar College
- Juliana Richter (jmrichter@email.arizona.edu), Graduate Student, University of Arizona
- Claire McLellan (camcl@stanford.edu), Stanford University
- Arianna Long (arianna.long@uci.edu), Graduate Student, UCI
- Tammy Smecker-Hane (tsmecker@uci.edu), Associate Professor, UCI
- Freida Rivera (flrivera@uci.edu), Graduate Student, UCI
Transitioning into Industry (Humanities Hall 178)
Chair: Kaleb Hatfield
- Emily Belli, General Atomics
- Jimmy Chen, Google
- Meghan Frate (mfrate28@gmail.com), Data Scientist, LinkedIn
- Trisha Hinners (trisha.hinners@ngc.com), Systems Engineer / Chief Architect, Northrop Grumman
- Georgia Sandoval, (Georgia.sandoval@intel.com), HPC Performance Architect, Intel Corporation
Breakout Session V
Sunday, January 19th 10:45 am – 11:30 am
Defining Success as a Woman in Physics (Humanities Instructional Building 100)
Chair: Stacy Copp (copps@uci.edu), Assistant Professor, UCI
- Livia Casali, General Atomics
- Tesla Jeltema (tesla@ucsc.edu), Professor, UC Santa Cruz
- Claire McLellan (camcl@stanford.edu), Stanford University
- Christine Muccianti (cmuccianti@email.arizona.edu), Graduate Student, University of Arizona
- Judit Romhanyi (jromhany@uci.edu), Professor, UCI
Applying to Grad School: Faculty Edition (Humanities Hall 178)
Chair: Manoj Kaplinghat (mkapling@uci.edu), Professor, UCI
- Lucy Aghaian, General Atomics
- Vasileios Paschalidis (vpaschal@email.arizona.edu), Assistant Professor, University of Arizona
- Carrie Menke (cmenke@ucmerced.edu), Lecturer, UC Merced
- Michael Ratz (mratz@uci.edu), Professor, UCI
- Tim Tait (ttait@uci.edu), Professor, UCI
- Franklin Dollar (fdollar@uci.edu), Professor, UCI
Unconference Session
Sunday, January 19th 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm
Leads: Arianna Long (arianna.long@uci.edu), Doctoral Candidate, UCI & Katy Wimberly (wimberlm@uci.edu), Doctoral Candidate, UCI