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.
Shout-outs
- Thank you to the APO staff for always keeping students in the loop and providing a wealth of information through the weekly Physics Student Newsletter, even when ours goes on hiatus
- The Career Event on September 24 went extremely well. A huge thank you to all who served on the panel and all who attended the event.
- The Physics Values Committee is welcoming in a new co-chair, Associate Professor Yen-Jie Lee. Thank you to former co-chair Halston Lim. One of the first graduate student leaders of a department committee in collective memory, Halston did an extraordinary job leading the PVC during a period of great transition, on top of his significant and sustained efforts to improving the experience of marginalized members of our MIT community. Be like Halston.
Anjali, Peter, and Stella