| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Day of Week | Time | Location/URL | Facilitator | Title / Topic | Description | Submit Anonymous Questions URL | Will this be recorded? | Recording Link | Recording Password | Notes | ||
2 | 8/12/2020 | Wednesday | 12:00 PM | https://gmu.zoom.us/j/96036255331 | Dr Plavchan | Kickoff Meeting | Kickoff meeting: Goals, ground rules for discussion, survey | First week of semester - No speaker | |||||
3 | 8/19/2020 | No meeting | PhD Qualifying Exams | ||||||||||
4 | 8/26/2020 | Wednesday | 12:00 PM | https://gmu.zoom.us/j/96036255331 | Dr. Satyapal, Dr Berger | Senior Undergraduate and Early Grad Students Fellowship Opportunities | GRFP is due Oct 22nd. Come with questions and learn tips and advice on writing successful fellowship proposals | No | |||||
5 | 9/2/2020 | Wednesday | 12:00 PM | https://gmu.zoom.us/j/96036255331 | Graduate Admissions Committee members: Dr Zhang, Dr Tian, Dr Ghimire, Dr Weigel, ... | Applying to Graduate School | Applying to graduate school can be daunting, but it doesn't have to be! Members of the graduate admissions committee will share what the application looks like, what they look for in qualified applicants, and tips on how to transition from being an undergraduate student to a graduate student. They will also be giving relevant information to how application requirements have changed for this cycle due to the coronavirus. | Yes | https://gmu.zoom.us/rec/share/3ccP9t1YBjg5m6OFwo_En31sGhjqI4bmdq7eKlAOL8031SdGhVw8DlvBUDLL0V4B.96r1-jBUhTnCZNTN | 0#$iuGHz | |||
6 | 9/9/2020 | Wednesday | 12:00 PM | https://gmu.zoom.us/j/96036255331 | Peter Plavchan | Micro-inequities | What is a micro-inequity? Come learn how to recognize examples of micro-agressions that can often be unconscious but are pervasive and contribute to the marginalization of underrepresented groups in our field. Some examples to be covered include biases in recommendation letters and how to avoid them. | No | |||||
7 | 9/16/2020 | Wednesday | 12:00 PM | https://gmu.zoom.us/j/96036255331 | Chris Carr, VSE Chief Diversity Officer | Micro-inequities and micro-aggressions, redux | Come learn how to recognize examples of micro-agressions that can often be unconscious but are pervasive and contribute to the marginalization of underrepresented groups in our field. Some examples to be covered include biases in recommendation letters and how to avoid them.We will review strategies one can use to push back, with a solutions-based oriented approach | https://forms.gle/tJoHuLoba3LcmvA3A | Yes | ||||
8 | 9/18/2020 | Friday | 3:30 PM | https://gmu.zoom.us/j/98775437536?pwd=bTZVV2dMeGZ4T3lEUDlxUkR5MHphUT09 | Dr Plavchan, Faith Gaile, & Chris Carr | Bias & Inclusion Training | What does it mean, and what does it take, to foster an inclusive environment? We will cover definitions commonly used in bias and inclusion training. We will discuss real case studies that have directly contributed to the marginalization of underrepresented groups in our specific department. We will conclude with defining and discussing allyship, and present concrete actions to improve our department inclusiveness. Why should you care to attend? In one word, retention. Studies have shown that successful methods for inclusive interventions in STEM at the undergraduate academic career stage center around the concept of identity building. In other words, the more a student, staff or faculty member feels like they belong in the department - e.g. that their department or major is part of their identity - then the more likely it is that they will succeed. In the case of undergraduate students, identity association with a department/major is a predictor of retention and graduation rates. | https://forms.gle/dJZjxjTxS93Lvk4L7 | Note special day and time | ||||
9 | 9/23/2020 | Wednesday | 12:00 PM | https://gmu.zoom.us/j/96036255331 | Dr Plavchan | Bias & Inclusion Case Study Round Table | In continuation with the Bias & Inclusion Training Colloqia, more case studies will be presented and discussed as a group. What is an appropriate response to these scenarios? What was wrong with the language or actions of those involved? How can we use the knowledge we gain here to make our department a more welcoming, inclusive environment? | https://forms.gle/JDWKeuhGL3eUExAK8 | |||||
10 | 9/30/2020 | Wednesday | 12:00 PM | https://gmu.zoom.us/j/96036255331 | Kathryn Fernandez, Luis Fernandez, Jenna Cann, Sean Oliver, Jaydeep Joshi | Grad student panel | How do you prepare for grad school? What does the day in the life of a grad student look like? How do you succeed as a grad student? Our grad student panel will discuss these questions and answer them from their own perspectives. | https://forms.gle/KJGtagEBwwtUu4ny8 | |||||
11 | 10/7/2020 | Wednesday | 12:00 PM | https://gmu.zoom.us/j/96036255331 | Spectrum | Stress Mananagement & Self-care | Being a physics major can be stressful! Join us as we share our experiences in managing and coping with stressful situations. This will be an open discussion and we welcome you to share your experiences, too. | https://forms.gle/5CgbJXohYtWr1hBU6 | |||||
12 | 10/14/2020 | Wednesday | 12:00 PM | https://gmu.zoom.us/j/96036255331 | Monica Vidaurri | Ethics and Policy in Exploration and Science | As space science progresses to include the inevitability of the private sector influencing future crewed and non-crewed missions, as well as the growth and change occurring within academia as a result of the current global societal landscape, it is especially crucial that the science community strengthens, agrees upon, and adopts the appropriate ethical and political framework, beginning with establishment of norms. This framework includes but is not limited to: prioritizing ethical exploration practices and namely international collaboration and transparency, changing language away from “colonization” and colonialism, focusing on retention of underrepresented students, bystander intervention and mentorship training, ensuring planetary protection and bioethics are incorporated at the beginning of a mission timeline, and creating the necessary policies to uphold these principles. These norms ultimately shape international law, and the custom of early and regular collaboration with ethicists and planetary protection specialists (and other social scientists) is absolutely critical for not only mission safety, but mission and science integrity, as well as the well-being of those contributing to the mission. The most critical of these norms is establishing within the science mission traceability matrix planetary protection, ethics, safety, and anti-imperialism, which must fall shortly after mission conception. Creating a safe, responsible, and ethical space for peaceful purposes cannot wait for the international space community to create these practices de jure, but must be started at the individual level and regarded as custom for integration into international law, de facto, and require an uncomfortable self-assessment in the true goals of space science, as well as the ways that the academic structure has failed historically excluded minorities. In order to achieve a new ethical scientific foundation, scientists must seek out and receive proper communications, ethics, and policy training, including policy language, so as to ensure our science also works to serve our communities and actively pave the way for these practices to be considered standard. | https://forms.gle/x4YRQUNhtpsj8aZEA | |||||
13 | 10/21/2020 | Wednesday | 12:00 PM | https://gmu.zoom.us/j/98709641908?pwd=ei9iSlVkK2FQTUtROTdaUkJIbkE2UT09 | Jessica Rosenberg | Postdoctoral Fellowships | Come join us for a discussion of postdoctoral options. We will talk about the different kinds of positions that are available in academia, government labs, and science policy. | https://forms.gle/Bhdhb82YP2e5WiyK6 | |||||
14 | 10/28/2020 | Wednesday | 12:00 PM | https://gmu.zoom.us/j/99811566440?pwd=bnJLa0Q5cEovbnNtWEo5NEZIQkZjQT09 | Dr Christine Pfund | The Science of Effective Mentorship | Mentoring is associated with academic and career success across disciplines and career stages in higher education. Strong mentorship has been linked to enhanced mentee productivity, self-efficacy, career satisfaction, and sense of support. Moreover, graduate students cite positive mentoring as the most important factor in degree attainment. Unfortunately, few mentors have received formal training in effective mentoring practices, particularly for mentoring scholars from traditionally underrepresented groups. Even fewer scholars receive formal instruction on what it means to be a proactive mentee, and have not yet developed the self-efficacy required to articulate their needs to mentors. This has led to a national focus on the “science of mentorship” and calls for research on mentoring and tested interventions to optimize mentoring relationships across diverse groups and optimize their relationships. In this session, participants will: 1. Learn about core findings cited in the National Academies report on “The Science of Effective Mentorship In STEMM” 2. Learn about national models for mentorship education and evidence of their effectiveness 3. Explore resources and opportunities available for mentorship education | https://forms.gle/FgjvkdNsk3nUqptN9 | |||||
15 | 11/4/2020 | Wednesday | 12:00 PM | https://gmu.zoom.us/j/93566501701?pwd=eXEvV1pEUVJvQU1nNmoxekZuSk82Zz09 | Prabal Saxena, Andrew Hornstra, Cam Woods, Clarissa Rarick, Tina Hughes | Pathways after Academia | A physics degree can open doors to a wide variety of career pathways. Department alumni are returning to provide insight on job searching with a B.S. in physics or astronomy. Join us to ask questions and learn about the different careers that recent graduates have pursued! | https://forms.gle/itKz1J1eq47RC9Pd9 | |||||
16 | 11/11/2020 | Wednesday | 12:00 PM | https://gmu.zoom.us/j/93566501701?pwd=eXEvV1pEUVJvQU1nNmoxekZuSk82Zz09 | Patrick Vora, Nirmal, Igor, Karen | Department Research Opportunties: From Stars to Quarks | Faculty will advertise available research projects for graduate and undergraduate students | https://forms.gle/JkpRKCjungNVkotU6 | |||||
17 | 11/18/2020 | Wednesday | 12:00 PM | https://gmu.zoom.us/j/93566501701?pwd=eXEvV1pEUVJvQU1nNmoxekZuSk82Zz09 | Dr LaNitra Berger | Racism and Social Justice | How can social justice be a catalyst for change in international education? This talk looks at this question with some examples of how STEM faculty can advance their work with a social justice mindset. | https://forms.gle/mDNERJg5azeuXw7K9 | |||||
18 | 11/25/2020 | No Meeting - Thanksgiving | |||||||||||
19 | 12/2/2020 | Wednesday | 12:00 PM | https://gmu.zoom.us/j/93566501701?pwd=eXEvV1pEUVJvQU1nNmoxekZuSk82Zz09 | TBD | Faculty Perspectives: What we wish we knew after graduating | We've invited several faculty members to tell their stories and talk about what they wish they knew when they were a student or early career scientist. Mike Summers, Jessica Rosenberg, Karen Sauer, and Erhai Zhao will speak on a number of topics, including how they stay motivated, how they found their passion for science, and how they set up a healthy work-life balance with the demands of the field. | https://forms.gle/PNzcWKszpJABsn4N9 |