Dear Physics Community,

As the election approaches, many of us are becoming distracted, to say the least.  This will be a time for us to be extra patient, focus on those around us and what we can do for each other, and not expect so much from ourselves.  Regardless of the outcome or lack of outcome, we are all Physics Community members, whether politically we are republicans, democrats, or independents.

The Physics Department follows the guidance from the Academic Policy and Requirements Team’s (APART) expanded guidance (here) item 17:

Activities around Election Day Instructors are strongly encouraged to avoid scheduling exams or having major assignments due on Election Day and the day following Election Day (November 3 and 4).

All of our lectures should be available online, and this will allow for voting.  MIT has also posted guidance for on-campus gatherings around electron time here.

November 4 will be a difficult day for many, regardless of political views.  As with any difficult time, sometimes the best we can do is acknowledge that others may be in distress, let them know they are part of our community, and leave it at that.

I must admit to being pretty distracted and nervous myself, “Like a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.” as Jed Clampet would have said.  I try to remind myself that I am really okay in a Maslow’s Pyramid sort of way – whatever happens in the next week will not change who or where I am, and I am in a place with a strong mission and values.  Still, it’s hard, and there is no way around that.

Peter

Resources

• http://mitvote.mit.edu/ has all kinds of information about the voting process
• There will be special events all election week Nov. 2-11 here.
• MIT has resources (faculty and staff here, students here)  if you find yourself in need of help or feel bad and don’t know what to do.  Getting help when you need it is a sign of strength.

Announcements

• New academic calendar here – Spring term starts Feb 16, 2020
• Insight Fellows Program announcement here.
• Spring 2021 Planning – Chancellor’s talk at Faculty meeting Oct. 21, 2020, here
• A new program in MIT Physics, Statistics, and Data Sciences, here
• Nominate a colleague for an Excellence or Collier Award
• Caltech WAVE summer program

Physics

• “Fundamentals: Ten Keys to Reality,” a new book from Frank Wilczek, cover here
• ORISIS-Rex: another cool sample return mission to an asteroid.  It seems to have worked out.
• I found “A system hierarchy for brain-inspired computing” in Nature fascinating here.

Dear Physics Community,

Despite the difficult times, I am looking ahead and thinking more of the future.  A third COVID-19 surge is underway, but we are managing well so far.  Success will depend testing, distancing, masks, and not taking chances. It is hard, but we have been doing these things at MIT is it is working, so keep it up.

Christina and Ryan keep a departmental calendar of events.  There are instructions on how to access it at the bottom of this announcement.  Please contact one of them if you have an event to advertise.

There is a lot of career news – our students have been working hard on bringing alumni onto campus to talk about their career, so please check it out.  Also, a friend of mine, Dawna Wright, and EE for the State Department, will be presenting on opportunities on the Bureau of Overseas Buidlings Operations, a very cool job.

Peter

Above the Fold

• Tavneet Suri and I wrote a FNL piece about our reports.  Much shorter than the report themselves.
• MIT has entered Research Restart 3 (RR3) in which hourly resitrictions on lab work have been ended.  This is good news.
• Nov. 3 looms.  Here are WorkLife/WellBeing tips on election stress

Physics

• Sample return mission to asteroid Bennu.  OSIRIS-REX did a touch and go to collect samples from Bennu to return to Earth.

Career News

• Subscribe here to the new weekly careers newsletter from SPS and PGSC! Every Wednesday, you’ll receive a list of upcoming job, internship, and career development opportunities including information relevant to both grad students and undergrads. ​Thank you to our physics careers team, consisting of Quinn Brodsky, Joseph Johnston, Eugene Knyaev, Maya Reese, and Prof. Mike Williams for setting this up.
• If you have opportunities you would like advertised to the physics student newsletter, please email them to 8careers-owner@mit.edu.
• Research Opportunities with the Department of Defense
• Princeton Princeton Electrical Engineering faculty  position
• Faculty position in astroparticle physics at Louvain
• Interested in careers in industry? Want to get a sense of the many options available to you? Come attend the Fall 2020 Alumni Careers Panels hosted by the Society of Physics Students! The two panels will be held on Wednesday, October 28, from 6-7 PM EDT, and Thursday, October 29, from 5-6 PM EDT. Each panel will feature five alumni from varying career fields, such as software, finance, consulting, teaching, and many more. Further details to be announced shortly!
• Career Fair information here

Announcements

• Teaching position at Deerborn academy here
• SoS teaching prize nominations here
• Moore inventor awards announcement
• Experiential Learning Grants Request for Proposals
• Nominate for the MITx prize

From SPS

• Next week: SPS is hosting alumni panels! Come hear about the diverse options available to Course 8s beyond academia and research.
• Contribute to the first version of the Course 8 Handbook, a guide to the department for underclassmen and prospective majors! Sign up here to help.

From PGSC

Upcoming events

• Thursday, October 22: from the producers of Pciture a Scientist, Bending the Arc – Oct. 22, 2020, 7 pm
• Friday, October 23: Mark your calendars — PGSC will be holding a Zoom trivia night this Friday (10/23) and movie night next Friday (10/30).
• Sunday, October 25-Saturday, October 31: Black in Physics Week – professional development; mixers for undergrads, grads, postdocs, and faculty; jobs fair
• Friday, October 30: Deadline for students living in the US to get a flu shot and submit documentation here, lest MIT block your spring registration

Outreach and recruitment

• The  Black in Physics Week Job Fair will run on Friday, Oct 30, from 11am – 1pm ET and the PVC will have a virtual booth in the job fair. We invite you to join the MIT Physics booth and to advertise any open postdoc positions you may have during the event. Please contact the Physics Values Committee at at physics-values@mit.edu .
• Help applicants out through PhysGAAP! Dominika Durovcikova and Mason Ng have created a new graduate application assistance program through PGSC’s Grads Advising Graduate Admissions (GAGA). Graduate students should sign up here.
• GAGA and APO staff are also managing a student-led Q&A service. Learn more and please sign up to help out here.

More ways to get involved

• The Physics Values Committee is looking for a new undergraduate student member! For more information, please click here.
• There are currently open positions for Graduate Community Fellows, who work on projects for the community and receive a stipend of $675/month

Resources

• MITvote has a help form if you have any questions about the upcoming election on Tuesday, November 3
• GAGA and Sydney Miller worked together to significantly update the Physics Graduate Admissions website and FAQs pages.
• Information about campus dining during the pandemic. MIT also provides food resources and family food grants​.

Accessing the Physics Community Calendar:

• In cooperation with Christina Andujar and myself an MIT Physics Community Calendar was created for use in Microsoft Outlook.If you want your Physics event on the calendar please email Christina Andujar (candujar@mit.edu) and myself (higginsr@mit.edu) with all of the information for the talk itself as well as how to access it (e.g. a zoom link).When you set up this calendar, you will be able to view and open the individual appointments on this calendar to find the zoom details and eventually the DropBox link will be added with the video if the talk was recorded. Our hope is to have all events posted to this calendar during our time working remotely to help you have a place where the zoom links can live and login information can be accessed.Windows Users:
  Steps to access the calendar for those who use Microsoft Outlook:
  1.     Go to the calendar in Outlook
  2.     Click on “Open Calendar” and then “Open Shared Calendar…”
  3.     In the text box type: PHYSICS: Community Calendar
  4.     When you press “OK” the calendar should appear on your end.

  Apple Users:
  Steps to access the calendar for those who use Microsoft Outlook:
  1.     Go to the calendar in Outlook
  2.     Click on “View” then “Go to” and then “Calendar” and then “Open Shared Calendar…”
  3.     In the text box type: PHYSICS: Community Calendar
  4.     When you press “OK” the calendar should appear on your end.

  Please note: For this calendar to appear you must type the name exactly as I have it listed, “PHYSICS: Community Calendar”

Dear Physics Community,

For the first time, nothing too weird happened in the last week…

Above the Fold

• Alumna Andrea Ghez shares Nobel Prize in Physics with Rienhard Genzler and Roger Penrose – Tran found Andrea’s senior thesis cover page
• Finally, MIT has a communictions plan for when a community member tests positive for COVID-19.  Flowchart here
• Science News named Phiala on of the top 10 Scientists to Watch AND Phiala won the APS Maria Goeppert-Meyer award. Talk about a good week.

Physics

• The skinny on face masks from Nature
• Cooling with capacitors in Science
• Quanta article on black holes vis. Nobel Prize

Connect with us

• Department leadership office hours for students alternating Wednesdays 4-5 pm, look out for emails! We went into academia because we enjoy talking to students. Please drop by; we don’t bite.
• You can also route questions for Peter through Anjali and Stella, who meet with him every Friday
• You are welcome to start conversations about any topic on the department Piazza page and department Slack
• List of other resources in our department and around campus, courtesy of Physics Values Committee

Announcements

• Stanford Science Fellows Announcement – Oct. 15 (i.e. very soon)
• Stanford Physics Identity and Equity event – Oct. 23-24 on applying to graduate school, focus on URM students – information and flyer here
• Family support from Office of WorkLife and Welbeing – here

June 10 recommendations updates

• Science Council is working in earnest on SOS and department staff positions dedicated to furthering equity and inclusion. There are many moving parts, ranging from soliciting Science GSC input to HR to finances during the pandemic, but you will hear from us as soon as we can. ​
• Deepto and I will be asking the Physics Values Committee to consult with us regarding trainings for the spring semester and beyond
• The Department has asked the Physics Values Committee to keep track of recommendations and make scorecards to hold us accountable. Check out their webpage for comprehensive updates on division and department initiatives
• Given the pandemic, the Physics Visiting Committee visit was canceled this far. However, we will be asking SPS and PGSC to contribute a section to the report when they come in 2021.