Session L5: Promoting Excellence: Preparation, Execution, and Opportunities

Photonics, Diversity and Mentoring -- 30 Years of Experiences and Strategies of an African-American Physicist

As requested by our Session Chair, I hope to share a career that emphasizes cutting edge research in ultrafast optical phenomena, as well as outreach to women and underrepresented minorities that began over three decades ago at Bell Laboratories. My research career in Optical Physics owes it foundation and perspective to my mid-70s participation in the Bell Labs diversity programs the Summer Research Program for Minorities and Women (SRP) and the Cooperative Research Fellowship Program for Minorities (CRFP). 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. Now approaching 15 years in academia, 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!   

Opportunities in the Department of Defense

The Department of Defense has many research and fellowship programs. In particular, DARPA, Army, Air Force, Navy and DTRA all have basic research programs that sponsor research in various physics and related areas. Some of these agencies and the DOD also have student and internship programs, including a few targeted to minorities. This presentation will describe some of these programs and opportunities, application procedures, etc., highlighting specifically DTRA's research and internship opportunities.   

Opportunities in Neutron Science

National Laboratories often have unique facilities that cannot be normally found at universities, and that provide unique opportunities to perform research using world class instrumentation in collaboration with teams of experts. This synergy of expertise and world-class facilities also offers unique opportunities for mentoring and training of students in settings different from the university environment. In this talk I will discuss the opportunities of scientific research, mentoring and training at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) and the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The SNS is the world's most intense pulsed accelerator-based neutron source, the HFIR is the highest flux reactor-based neutron source for condensed matter research in the United States, the combination of these provides neutron scattering capabilities unavailable anywhere else in the world. The SNS and the HFIR at ORNL are funded by the Division of Scientific User Facilities, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, US. Department of Energy.