Bulletin of the American Physical Society
2006 APS April Meeting
Saturday–Tuesday, April 22–25, 2006; Dallas, TX
Session P6: The Postdoctoral Experience |
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Sponsoring Units: FGSA Chair: Minesh Bacrania, APS FGSA Chair Room: Hyatt Regency Dallas Cumberland J |
Monday, April 24, 2006 10:45AM - 11:05AM |
P6.00001: What is a Post-Doc Invited Speaker: It is commonplace for physics Ph.D.'s spend a number of years at universities, government laboratories, and research institutes as postdoctoral associates before they assume permanent positions. In this talk the expectations and the responsibilities of this career stage will be explored from both the young scientists' and employer's perspectives. [Preview Abstract] |
Monday, April 24, 2006 11:05AM - 11:25AM |
P6.00002: Experiences from a Varied Career in Physics Invited Speaker: I received my doctorate in Experimental High Energy Physics from Michigan State Univeristy. My thesis was based on my work with QCD jet physics at the D0 collider experiment at Fermi National Laboratory. My first postdoctoral position was with Oxford University working on solar neutrino oscillations at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO). Following this, I joined what is now the Nuclear Nonproliferation Safeguards, Science and Technology group (N-1) at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Over this time, I've worked on a wide range of physics topics in a wide range of physical and social environments. I would like to share some of the experiences I've had working in such varied environment and the thoughts that have guided me on my path that eventually led me from basic research to a more applied field. [Preview Abstract] |
Monday, April 24, 2006 11:25AM - 11:45AM |
P6.00003: Postdoctoral Opportunities in Medical Physics Invited Speaker: The medical physicist is a professional who specializes in the application of the concepts and methods of physics to the diagnosis and treatment of human disease. Medical physicists identify their primary discipline to be radiation therapy (78{\%}), medical imaging (16{\%}), nuclear medicine (3{\%}), or radiation safety (2{\%}). They state their primary responsibility to be clinical (78{\%}), academic (9{\%}), research (4{\%}), etc. Correspondingly, medical physicists reveal their primarily employment to be a private hospital (42{\%}), university hospital (32{\%}), physicist's service group (9{\%}), physician's service group (9{\%}), industry (5{\%}), and government (3{\%}). The most frequent job of medical physicists is clinical radiation therapy physicist, whose clinical duties include: equipment acquisition, facility design, commissioning, machine maintenance, calibration and quality assurance, patient treatment planning, patient dose calculation, management of patient procedures, development of new technology, radiation safety, and regulatory compliance. The number of medical physicists in the United States can be estimated by the number of members of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM), which has increased $\approx $5.5{\%} annually since 1969, currently being $\approx $5,000. New positions plus retirements create a current need $>$300 new medical physicists per year, which exceeds supply. This is supported by the steady growth in average salaries, being $\approx ${\$}100,000 for PhDs entering the field and reaching $\approx ${\$}180,000. Graduate programs alone cannot meet demand, and physicists entering the field through postdoctoral training in medical physics remain important. Details of postdoctoral research programs and medical physics residency programs will provide direction to physics PhD graduates interested in medical physics. [The AAPM, its annual Professional Information Report, and its Public Education Committee are acknowledged for information contributing to this presentation.] [Preview Abstract] |
Monday, April 24, 2006 11:45AM - 12:05PM |
P6.00004: An Overseas Postdoctoral Experience: or There and Back Again Invited Speaker: It is possible for a U.S. citizen to gain a PhD in Hobbit-like fashion, never adventuring outside his or her home state, let alone outside the country. This is the story of one such Hobbitish PhD who found himself with the opportunity to have his first postdoctoral experience in north-east Japan, took it, and what happened after. The tale will include the following: my postdoc hunting experience and decision making process as a grad student (such as it was); my experience overseas; my experience finding a faculty position; and whatever lessons I can draw from this for graduate students preparing for the postdoc search today. [Preview Abstract] |
Monday, April 24, 2006 12:05PM - 12:35PM |
P6.00005: Question and Answer Session The audience is invited to participate in an open discussion with the speakers on the topics covered in this series of talks. |
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