Program

Tentative Conference Program

Eastern Time Zone

(Draft 102124)

Friday, January 24, 2025


Bus pickup from the Hotel to the Physics Department, Gant South (GS) at 2pm and 3pm

2:30 – 4:45 PM One Site Check In Registration- Lobby Physics Department GS. (Follow Signs)

3:00 – 4:15 PM Optional Lab tours; Options below. Choose at the registration desk.

  • Astrophysics (Cara Battersby, Dani Lipman, Meg Davis)
  • Ultra Cold laboratories in AMO Physics (Kaley Wilcox)
  • Condensed matter Physics (Elena Dormidontova, Lea Ferreira dos Santos)
  • Low and medium energy Nuclear Physics (Juliette Stecenko, Peter Schweitzer)
  • Ultrafast laser labs (Cameron Brady, Tobias Saule)
  • Particle Physics (Thomas Blum, Gerald Dunne, Luchang Jin)

4:15 – 4:45 PM Opening Reception (Light Court)

4:45 – 5:15 PM Welcome by Provost Prof. Anne D’Alleva, Dept Head Prof. George Gibson and CU*iP   Chair Nora Berrah. (GW002)

5:30 – 6:30 PM Dinner (Light Court)

Session 1: Chair Laura Green (FSU)

7:00 – 7:30 PM Plenary Lecture 1 (20 mins) and Q/A (10 mins): Kate Kirby (APS). “Overview of APS Resources for Careers in Physics

7:30 – 8:30 PM Panel discussionGraduate Students Experiences

8:30 – 9:30 PM Social activity-I led by Matt Guthrie and his team.

Bus pickup from the Physics Department, Gant South, to the Hotel at 8:30 pm and 9:30 pm

Saturday, January 25, 2025

Bus pickup from the Hotel to the Physics Department, Gant South at 7:00 am and 8:00 am

8:00 – 8:30 AM Breakfast

Session 2: Chair Kate Kirby (APS)

8:30 – 9:00 AM Plenary Lecture 2 (20 mins) and Q/A (10 mins): Laura Greene (FSU)My Journey as a Condensed Matter Scientist

9:00 – 10:15 AM Parallel Panel Session A

  • A1. Applying to graduate school. Is it right for me?
  • A2. Exploring post-undergrad physics careers – SPS Careers Toolkit
  • A3. Career Paths in Academia
  • A4. Balancing personal and professional lives
  • A5. Discrimination, Harassment and LGBTQ+

10:15 – 10:45 AM Coffee Break

10:45 – 12:00 PM Parallel Panel Session B

  • B1. Career Paths in Industry. How Studying Physics Can Develop Needed Skills
  • B2. Applying to graduate school. Is it right for me?
  • B3. Balancing personal and professional lives
  • B4. Discrimination, Harassment and LGBTQ+

12:00 – 1:00 PM Lunch

Session 3: Chair Meg Urry (Yale)

1:30 – 1:45 PM Group Photo– Everyone has to be in the Lecture room (TBD)

1:45 – 3:30 PM National Keynote Lecture; Meghan Anzelc, Head of Data and Analytics

3:30 – 6:00 PM Refreshment and Poster Session

Judging will be done on Saturday. Keep poster up if for second viewing on Sunday

6:00 – 7:00 PM Conference Dinner

Session 3: Chair Cara Battersby (UConn)

7:00 – 8:00 PM Plenary Lecture 3 (20 mins) and Q/A (10 mins) Priya Natarajan (Yale U.) “Dark matter, Dark energy, Black holes

8:00 – 9:30 PM Social activity-II led by Matt Guthrie and his team.


Bus pickup from the Physics Department, Gant South, to the Hotel at 8:30 pm and 9:30 pm

Sunday, January 26, 2025

Bus pickup from the Hotel to the Physics Department, Gant South at 7:00 am and 8:00 am

8:00 – 8:30 AM Breakfast

8:30 – 9:30 AM Informal Networking & Poster Session- (Fill out conference post- survey)

Session 4: Chair Erin Scanlon (UConn)

9:30 – 10:30 AM Plenary Lecture 4 (20 mins) Q/A (10 mins) Prof. Phiala Shanahan (MIT)                                           Particle Physics and Machine Learning

10:30 – 11:00 AM Coffee Break

11:00 – 12:00 PM Parallel Panel Session C

  • C1. How to Get Involved in Research: Theory, Experiment or Computational. Which is for me?
  • C2. Confronting imposter syndrome
  • C3. Depression and Anxiety: Dealing with Mental Health While in School)
  • C4. Career Paths in Industry. How Studying Physics Can Develop Needed Skills

12:00 –1:00 PM Lunch with panel on minorities and women in physics

Session 5: Chair Elena Dormidontova (UConn)

1:00 – 2:30 PM Small Groups Networking & Mentoring

(Fill out conference post- survey)

2:30 – 3:00 PM Poster Awards & Closing Ceremony


3:00 pm Bus pickup from the Physics Depart., Gant South, to Hotel or train station, depending on Friday’s registration form.

Parallel Panel Sessions Information

Friday, January 24, 2025

Panel Panelists Description
Graduate Students Experiences
  • Cameron Brady (UConn)
  • Meg Davis (UConn)
  • Dani Lipman (UConn)
  • Jessica Mitlehne (UConn)
  • Juliette Stecenko (UConn)
  • Kaley Wilcox (UConn)
  • Andrea Mejia (UConn)
Students will describe their research experiences and will engage the audience to ask questions, to share their aspirations and to discuss opportunities and challenges as students in physics.

Saturday, January 25, 2025

 

Panel Panelists Description
A1: Applying to graduate school. Is it right for me?
  • Laura Greene (FSU)
  • Meg Urry (Yale)
  • Lea Ferreira dos Santos (UConn)
The panelists will share their experience as researchers, mothers, professionals and will answer questions from the audience
A2: Exploring post-undergrad physics careers – SPS Careers Toolkit
  • Kate Kirby (APS)
  • Toni Sauncy (TLU)
  • Amy Courchesne (UConn)
  • Aislinn Daniels(UConn)
The panelists will share briefly how they decided to follow their career paths and will answer questions from the audience
A3: Career Paths in Academia
  • Phiala Shanahan (MIT)
  • Priya Natarajan (Yale)
  • Elena Dormidontova (UConn)
  • Emily Rice (MHC, CUNY)
The panelists will share how they decided to follow their career paths in academia and will engage the audience
A4: Balancing personal and professional lives
  • Stacey Hanlon (UConn)
  • Sarah Trallero (UConn)
  • Cara Battersby (UConn)
The panelists will share how they balance their personal and professional roles and will engage the audience
A5: Discrimination, Harassment and LGBTQ+
  • Katherine Capshaw (UConn)
  • Erin Scanlon (UConn)
  • Kathleen Holgerson (UConn)
  • Crystal Bailey (APS)
The panelists will provide guidance on how to handle difficult situations and how to get help

 

Panel Panelists Description
B1. Career Paths in Industry. How Studying Physics Can Develop Needed Skills
  • Gabriela Ilie (Mirion Technologies)
  • Sadhana Suresh (Mevion Medical System)
  • Jen Carini (Pratt and Whitney)
  • Erin Curry (Coherent laser Inc.)
  • Maggie Sundberg (Volaris Capital Management- Financial industry)
  • Kara Phillips (Mirion Technologies)
  • Priya Menon (ITW Graphics)
The panelists will share how they decided to have a career in industry and will engage the audience
B2: Applying to graduate school. Is it right for me?
  • Laura Greene (FSU)
  • Meg Urry (Yale)
  • Lea Ferreira dos Santos (UConn)
The panelists will share their experience as researchers, mothers, professionals and will answer questions from the audience
B3: Balancing personal and professional lives
  • Stacey Hanlon (UConn)
  • Sarah Trallero (UConn)
  • Cara Battersby (UConn)
The panelists will share how they balance their personal and professional roles and will engage the audience
B4: Discrimination, Harassment and LGBTQ+
  • Katherine Capshaw (UConn)
  • Erin Scanlon (UConn)
  • Kathleen Holgerson (UConn)
The panelists will provide guidance on how to handle difficult situations and how to get help

Sunday, January 26, 2025

 

Panel Panelists Description
C1: How to Get Involved in Research: Theory, Experiment or Computational. Which is for me?
  • Phiala Shanahan (MIT)
  • Giulia Semeghini (Harvard)
  • Nora Berrah (UConn)
The panelists will provide guidance on how to choose a research program that is right for you
C2. Confronting imposter syndrome
  • Rachel Gabriel (UConn)
  • Cara Battersby (UConn)
  • Kathleen Holgerson (UConn)
  • Nancy Naples (UConn)
  • Emily Rice (MHC, CUNY)
The panelists will provide guidance on how to confront imposter syndrome
C3. Depression and Anxiety: Dealing with Mental Health While in School
  • Erin Scanlon (UConn)
  • Marisa Chrysochoou (UConn)
The panelists will provide guidance on how to deal with mental health at school
C4. Career Paths in Industry. How Studying Physics Can Develop Needed Skills
  • Gabriela Ilie (Mirion Technologies)
  • Sadhana Suresh Mevion medical Systems)
  • Jen Carini (Pratt and Whitney)
  • Erin Curry (Coherent laser)
  • Maggie Sundberg (Financials)
  • Kara Phillips (Mirion Technologies)
  • Priya Menon (ITW Graphics)
The panelists will share how they decided to have a career paths in industry and will engage the audience