Getting Involved in Research

CUWiP Stanford/SLAC 2024

Alex Miller, Elsa Vazquez, Nicole Neveu

Jan. 21, 2024

Alexandra (Alex) Miller

She/Her

Assistant Professor

Sonoma State University

About Me

I am… a mother, a wife, a

daughter, a granddaughter,

a teacher, a physicist, a soccer

player, a rock climber

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I am… a white, cisgendered, bisexual woman

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My Academic Trajectory

My Research Experiences

“Nonlinear beam deflection in photonic lattices with negative defects”

Quantum Optics

Quantum Gravity

Quantum Chaos

“Superposition induced topology changes in quantum gravity”

“Classical and quantum Chaos plus RMT and some applications,” A. Lakshminarayan

Research Opportunities

• NSF REU Website
• SPS Internships - Includes a variety of opportunities from research to policy related.
• Cal-Bridge Summer - Only for CSU and Cali CC students
• GROWTH Program - High Energy Physics Traineeship for students at: SSU, SFSU, CSU East Bay, Fresno State, UC Merced (hopefully will expand in future)

Recommendations

• Just apply!
• Don’t be afraid to ask questions and put yourself out there!
• Any research experience is good. Working in a particular field does not mean you are committing to work in that field forever.
• Pay attention to your email. Your professors likely forward a lot of emails to you about research opportunities.
• Google is a great resource. If you just search “Physics REUs”, you’ll find a lot of opportunities.
• Many research opportunities are available to international students, even at national labs. Most websites will have a section with requirements for applicants, just be sure to check that.

Elsa Vazquez

She/her

Graduate Student

UC Merced

About Me

I am … a granddaughter, a daughter, a sister, a first generation college student, and a physicist.

​

I am latine, cisgendered woman, trying to reconnect with my family’s traditions.

My Academic Journey

2016-2019

2019-2020

2020-Now

Research

2D Layered Moiré Materials

Undergraduate Research Opportunity Centers and their programs

• A good place to start if you don’t feel ready to reach out to faculty on your own.
• Provide resources for students to get involved in research
• Programs specific to a campus each with their own source of funding, research focus, and eligibility requirements.
• Match students to a faculty member aka the principal investigator (PI)
• Are active during the fall-spring and summer terms, provide credit or stipends to the participants
• Provide additional resources such as … grad-school prep., communication/presentation skills, academic and professional development.

Try searching: undergraduate research programs “your school”

Recommendations

• Take advantage of all opportunities that come your way, even the ones that feel out of reach.
• Keep an unofficial written record of all your accomplishments (big or small) that can be fed into a CV or resume.
• Consider creating a list of topics that are interesting to you with pros and cons / what you know and don’t know
• Organizational skills!

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Once you have started:

• There’s a lot of reading, try not to get stuck on every detail
• Ask for what you need, be an active part of your learning

Nicole Neveu

she/her

Staff Scientist

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

About Me

I am … a granddaughter, a daughter, a sister, a wife, a physicist, an avid reader, a plant and cat parent.

I grew up below the poverty line in Houston, Texas.

​

I am a cis multiracial woman.

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My Academic Journey:

Spring 2013:

Fall 2018:

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2019-2021:

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2021-Today:

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Bachelors in Electrical Engineering

University of Houston

Born and raised in Houston!

PhD in Physics at Illinois Tech

Thesis work done at Argonne National Laboratory (AWA)

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Postdoc

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in Menlo Park, CA

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Staff Scientist at SLAC

Consider working for us!

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My Research Experiences

In accelerator physics, from 10 meters …

Argonne Wakefield Accelerator Facility (AWA)

Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS-II)

to 3 km (~2 miles)!

Research opportunities at DOE +

• Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI)
• Community College Internship (CCI)
• SULI/CCI open to US Citizens and permanent residents
• LCLS Research Support Internship
• Open to any nationality
• Other opportunities at SLAC

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Paid Internships

• GEM Fellowship - National lab or private company
• SCGSR - National labs

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Graduate Fellowships

• Al Ashley Fellowship (SLAC)
• SLAC Careers page
• Full time jobs for people with undergraduate and graduate degrees

Post-degree Opportunities

Join our mailing list!

We had 173 interns last year!  �

Recommendations

• So much good advice already, listen to them!
• Most graduate STEM programs (PhD) are free or very low cost.
• i.e. you can TA to receive a stipend and the program will pay tuition
• Don’t go for a PhD unless you really want to and enjoy school
• Make sure you know what you are signing up for (years of low pay, hard work, then a low paying postdoc, but can be very rewarding intellecually)
• You don’t need a PhD to be a physicist
• There are many high paid and fulfilling jobs available for bachelors and masters graduates in physics (especially at DOE National Labs).
• Sometimes people may discourage you with their actions/words, but stick with it. It can be a rewarding profession. I have my dream job, and I enjoy going to work.

Questions?