Bulletin of the American Physical Society
APS March Meeting 2018
Volume 63, Number 1
Monday–Friday, March 5–9, 2018; Los Angeles, California
Session L06: Hidden Figures and Diversity Champions in PhysicsInvited
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Sponsoring Units: COM Chair: Garfield T. Warren, Indiana University, Bloomington Room: LACC 153A |
Wednesday, March 7, 2018 11:15AM - 11:51AM |
L06.00001: Hidden Figures: From Football to Physics – An Unusual Path Invited Speaker: Willie S. Rockward The pathway to a career in physics can be full of twists, turns and, most of all, unusual entry points. Growing up in the bayous of Louisiana, my dream and goal in life was to play professional football. Although I had the speed, the size (somewhat), the stats, and the athletic scholarships, my dream institution, Grambling State University, only offered me a physics scholarship because of my strong ACT scores in math and science. Through a series of unexpected events, mentors, and opportunities, I became a professional physicist instead of professional football player. In this presentation, I will share my unusual path into the community of physics while providing useful tips, tools, and techniques to attract, recruit, and/or retain women and underrepresented minorities in both undergraduate and graduate physics. |
Wednesday, March 7, 2018 11:51AM - 12:27PM |
L06.00002: A Career Encompassing Optical Physics, Diversity and Mentoring Invited Speaker: Anthony M. Johnson The Bell Laboratories Cooperative Research Fellowship Program for Minorities (CRFP) founded in 1972, followed closely in 1974 by the Graduate Research Program for Women (GRPW) and the Summer Research Program for Minorities and Women (SRP), were among the first programs of their kind in the US to address the issue of underrepresentation of women and minorities in the STEM fields and had a particularly strong impact in Physics. In 1981, four PhDs were awarded to African-Americans in the US in Physics and two (including me) were Bell Labs CRFP Fellows. In addition to striving to produce leading edge research, these programs made me a strong proponent of the recruitment and retention of women and underrepresented minorities into the scientific enterprise. After 14 years in the Bell Labs Research Division and now approaching 23 years in academia (including Physics Dept. Chair at NJIT), I have had the good fortune to continue the research tradition, where the majority of my graduate students are women and underrepresented minorities. Indeed, these students are out there, hungry for the experience, motivated to give their best effort, and thrive when given supportive and nurturing environments – but you must expend the energy and resources to find them and I guarantee it will be worth it! On the professional side, I was a Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff at Bell Labs and had the good fortune of serving as President of the Optical Society of America (OSA) in 2002, Editor-in- Chief of Optics Letters (1995-2001), Co-Chair of the 1992 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics (CLEO) and Fellow of the following organizations: OSA (1991), NSBP (1992), APS (1996), AAAS (1996) and IEEE (2000). |
Wednesday, March 7, 2018 12:27PM - 1:03PM |
L06.00003: Never Give Up: Ferroelectrics and Liquid Crystals to Ferroelectric Liquid Crystals Invited Speaker: Luz J. Martinez-Miranda I summarize how I got to physics, and to condensed matter physics specifically. I review the people, from those who did not know physics, but loved the process of learning, like my maternal grandmother to my Master’s and PhD advisors. My PhD advisor told me to run as far away from what he was doing when I had just graduated, and more recently told me to never give up. I will discuss one of my research endeavors that illustrates why you can never give up. We had worked with these liquid crystal and magnetic nanoparticle nanocomposites, and proposed they would be good for biological applications. An opportunity arose to apply them as a contrast agent for MRI. |
Wednesday, March 7, 2018 1:03PM - 1:39PM |
L06.00004: Diversity and Inclusion – Uncovering the Hidden Figures Invited Speaker: James H. Stith Edward Bouchet, the first African American physics PhD, graduated from Yale University in 1876. Forty- two years later, Elmer Imes earned his PhD (1918) from the University of Michigan. Imes was followed, 19 years later (1937) by John M. Hunter receiving his degree from Cornell University. Sixty- five additional African American men had earned the physics PhD by 1972 when the first African American woman, Willie Hobbs-Moore earned her degree from the University of Michigan. It is of note that in 1972, thirteen African Americans earned the PhD. It took another twenty-four years to exceed that number. In the first century after Bouchet, one hundred and six African Americans earned the Doctorate in physics, four of them women. What will the numbers look like in the 2 nd century after Bouchet? What is the story behind these numbers? Who are the unsung heroes/sheroes on whose shoulders so many students stood to become a physics professional? This talk will pull back the curtains on some of these questions. |
Wednesday, March 7, 2018 1:39PM - 2:15PM |
L06.00005: Hidden Figures Panel Discussion Science and Technology has always had its cultural and societal challenges, but along the way there have been physicists who went beyond the science to open doors and provide access to people from underrepresented groups so that they might contribute and enrich the scientific community. Ultimately, these actions benefited not only those groups, but the scientific community and humanity. These are the scientists we call “Hidden Figures;” those who had tremendous impact on the numbers of underrepresented people participating in physics, but who themselves, were largely unknown for these efforts. The film, Hidden Figures depicts the story of black female mathematicians working for NASA in the 1960s, a time in our nation’s history when “separate but equal” was the law of the land, yet blacks faced many challenges to overcome racial inequality. Still, there was a larger, shared mission that led to a change in the cultural climate within NASA Computing, where they are all able to witness the integration of facilities and the creation of a new integrated group. During the 70’s and 80’s underrepresented groups enjoyed tremendous success in the production of Ph.D. graduates. Companies like AT&T, Bell labs, Hewlett Packard, National labs, and others were at the heart of this Renaissance largely due to the efforts of specific individuals. In this session, we feature (highlight) several speakers who will share their perspectives (both personal and professional) with respect to the champions and hidden figures who were instrumental in increasing, promoting, and advancing the numbers of underrepresented people participating in the field of physics. They will share thoughts, experiences, and data illustrating the impact of the research developed during this period, the cultural and climate challenges, and the tremendous societal implications. Following their talks, the speakers will participate in a panel discussion. Those who are interested in improving the diversity of their departments and workspaces will find this session particularly informative. |
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