WaMPS MSU Campus Scavenger Hunt 2023
When (starts - ends): 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Where: BPS 1300
Why: To encourage the first year graduate students to meet each other and explore the campus!
Afterwards: Meet at the Jolly Pumpkin for drinks/food at 7:00 PM!
Anyone and everyone is welcome to the scavenger hunt and to the Jolly Pumpkin for drinks/food. There will be a prize for the team that finishes first, and teams with the most creative picture(s) will have the opportunity to be featured on the WaMPS website. Winners will be announced (and honorable mentions, of course) at the awards celebration taking place at the Jolly Pumpkin.
Fastest Team: Team Dave!
Most Creative Pictures: The Lumpy Spinning Potatoes!
Please join us in celebrating Latin/Hispanic Heritage Month by attending LatinXcellence, an event to raise awareness about the hispanic/latin population studying at MSU! There will be free food, café, and other goodies to enjoy together! Please follow the link in our bio to RSVP as either an attendee, or as a volunteer to provide a short presentation about your experience as a hispanic/latin student at MSU. All undergraduate, graduate, and professional students are welcome to attend or volunteer! This event is hosted jointly by Comunidad Latinoamericana (CLA) and Women and Minorities in the Physical Sciences (WaMPS).
RSVP Here: https://forms.gle/N54493HZJYNcc7os5
Dr. Kimberly Luthi
Please join WaMPS in attending Kimberly Luthi's presentation this week. Her talk will be on "The shared Experiences of Non-Traditional groups in Academic STEM Disciplines" for the Women and Minorites in Science Lecture Series.
Date: March 29, 2023 4:10pm
Location: Online vis Zoom. Please contact daniel@frib.msu.edu for more info.
Women Making Science
Join WaMPS and GWIS Mid-Michigan in celebrating and learning about women making science in the past and the present. We will hear scientists present their research along with their favorite scientists from the past, and learn what the women accomplished in STEM, though not always acknowledged for. There will be a brief “meet the speaker/panelist” session before presentations. Following the presentations there will be food and a panel discussion with the speakers along with extra invited panelists.
Date: March 31, 2023 5:30-8:00 PM
Location: FRIB room 1300
Speakers:
Dr. Ruby Ghosh - Research Associate Professor of Physics
Dr. Alyssa Gaiser - Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Dr. Stacy Camp - Assistant Professor of Anthropology
Please register through this form!
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Please join WaMPS in attending Dr. Hakeem Oluseyi’s presentation this week. Thanks to our Spartan Chapter of the National Society of Black Physicists (NSBP), Dr. Oluseyi, NSBP’s national president, will be joining MSU on Thursday, March 23, 2023 at 3:30 pm in the Facility for Rare Isotope Breams Auditorium (FRIB 1300) to present his work on stars.
"...a devastating series of earthquakes that struck ten cities in Turkey on February 6. After two earthquakes with a magnitude of 7.8 and 7.6 and several hundred aftershocks, the death toll has reached over 47,000, nearly equal to the whole population living in East Lansing. More than 100,000 people were injured. The number of collapsed, urgently demolished, and heavily damaged buildings is 230,000. The earthquake has affected more than 320 miles, equivalent to the distance from Philadelphia to Boston. The number of casualties and injured continues to rise."
"On this Friday, March 17, 2023, MSU Turkish Student Association is organizing a fundraising event where Turkish hors d'oeuvres will be served in International Center Room 303 between 4-7 pm on campus (Address: 427 N Shaw Ln, East Lansing, MI 48824). In return, we will be collecting donations to be made to the fundraising campaign."
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Please join us in streaming the William G. Anderson Lecture Series Slavery to Freedom: An American Odyssey on Thursday, February 23, 2023 at 5 PM in BPS 3239! The main event information can be found on the event webpage.
WaMPS will be providing free snacks from Sweet Encounter Bakery!
Please join the Women and Minorities in the Physical Sciences (WaMPS) to celebrate Valentine's Day by watching BROS with us on Friday, February 24 th starting at 7:00 PM in the Biomedical and Physical Sciences (BPS) Building, room 1400.
BROS is a 2022 American romantic comedy featuring two men in Manhattan, who avoid commitment but are drawn to each other. BROS is one of the first gay romantic comedies by a major studio, Universal Pictures, and has an openly LGBTQ+ cast. This event is open to anyone (graduate students, undergraduate students, faculty, staff, etc.) in the physical sciences - as well as friends and family!
Food and Drink: We will be bringing in Strange Matter Coffee along with additional snacks and drinks. We kindly ask that you RSVP here, so as to be able to do our best in meeting folks’ needs. If there are any accessibility questions or concerns regarding this event, please feel welcome to reach out to Carissa Myers at myersca6@msu.edu.
We hope to see you there!
The spring 2023 course "Tools for Women in STEM" is now open for applications.
Deadline: November 7th-December 15th, 2022.
Please see Dr. Filomena Nunes for more information
Please join the Women and Minorities in the Physical Sciences (WaMPS) for our Fall Feast Friday Oct. 21st at 5PM on the BPS Penthouse.
It is a time to gather with your peers and make new friends! This event is open to anyone (graduate student, undergraduate students, faculty, staff, etc.) in the physical sciences - as well as friends and family!
To plan for an appropriate amount of food, we kindly ask that you RSVP here.
NOTE: backup location is BPS 1400
To access the penthouse: take the elevators closest to Wilson Road to the floor labeled “PH”. Also note it’s very bright up there and tends to be a bit breezy (so sunglasses might be a good idea).
We hope to see you there!
To celebrate and recognize our coworkers and friends in the LGBTQIA+ community, WaMPS is excited to announce that we will be hosting a Pride Picnic. The event will take place on Friday, July 29th from 4PM to 6PM in the BPS courtyard. All are welcome, and members of the LGBTQIA+ community are especially encouraged to come.
To celebrate and recognize our coworkers and friends in the LGBTQIA+ community, WaMPS is excited to announce that we will be hosting a Pride Picnic. The event will take place on Friday, July 29th from 4PM to 6PM in the BPS courtyard. All are welcome, and members of the LGBTQIA+ community are especially encouraged to come.
In honor of LGBTQIA+ Pride month, WaMPS is hosting an outing to the Michigan Pride Rally at the Capitol this Sunday (June 26th) from 12PM-2PM with an optional lunch afterwards.
If you are interested in attending, please fill out this Google form (https://forms.gle/QEzqtPDbJ3QFvd5s9) for information regarding carpooling, meeting location, and other accommodations.
WaMPS Spring BBQ Event
Join us for the WaMPS Spring "BBQ" Event!
As the semester comes to an end, and you are able to start relaxing and decompressing, join WaMPS at our Spring "BBQ" Event this Friday (05/13/22) from 5:00p to 6:30p at the penthouse (PH) of BPS! Come join your peers and enjoy some food and sunshine!
To access the penthouse, take the elevators closest to Wilson Road to the floor labeled “PH”. Also note it’s very bright up there and tends to be a bit breezy (so sunglasses might be a good idea).
Of Equal Place: Isotopes in Motion
presented by the Wharton Center
WaMPS is proudly collaborating with major dance companies Dance Exchange and Happendance to produce the event "Of Equal Place: Isotopes in Motion" on November 5th, 2022, with a teaser event being held during the FRIB Countdown event April 23, 2022 from 1:00-1:45 PM.
If you are interested in volunteering for the teaser event, please fill out this interest form!
More information can be found at the following links:
Wharton Center
Dance Exchange
Any questions can be directed to Julia Hinds or Daniel Puentes.
Part III: African Americans in STEM Celebration Event
WaMPS is excited to announce we will be collaborating again with PGO to host a Part III: African Americans in STEM Celebration Event on April 26th, from 12:00 - 1:00! This event will be held in person in BPS 1420 during the regular PGO seminar, with free food and drink provided.
This event aims to continue the conversation from the previous African Americans in STEM Celebration Events, where we will continue to discuss issues of race and diversity within academia. The event will be an open discussion where we hope participants will feel brave and open to being vulnerable and sharing their thoughts, experiences, or ideas. Previously, we have given materials to digest prior to attending the event; however, with the end of the semester looming we understand the time commitment of folks is dwindling. Thus, WaMPS has identified a TED Talk that we will be watching during the beginning of the event and a discussion will follow. The TED Talk will still be linked at the bottom for folks interested in watching it ahead of time (or for those who are unable to attend the event but want the resource). There will also be a few moderators, including ourselves, who will occasionally ask the group questions/help to push the conversation along.
As an organization focused on equity for underrepresented folks in the physical sciences, we appreciate any feedback you may have about the event if you're willing to share it ahead of time. Our goal is to maximize the ability to educate and learn from each other. With your support and passion, we can do that. If you have attended the previous events (or if you were interested in attending the previous or future events), please fill out this quick survey so we can see how we’re doing.
TED Talk:
“3 myths about racism that keep the US from progress” by Candis Smith
Norms for Discussion:
-
This is NOT a debate over whether racism exists in academia.
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Share airtime equitably and balance your listening and talking.
-
Value differences and remember that your perspective is not the only one.
-
Own your impact. Your intentions may not be the same as your impact.
Part II: African Americans in STEM Celebration Event
WaMPS is excited to announce its second African Americans in STEM Celebration Event on March 29th, from 12:00 - 1:00!
This event will be held in person in BPS 1400 during the regular PGO seminar, with free food and drink provided. The event will be an open discussion where we hope participants will feel brave and open to being vulnerable and sharing their thoughts, experiences, or ideas. To help guide the conversation, WaMPS has identified one article and one TED Talk that participants are encouraged to read/watch and think about before attending. These can be found linked at the end of the email. This work is not meant to be a prerequisite but a guide to help generate discussion (so if you’re busy and only have time for one of these, that’s totally okay!) There will also be a few moderators, including ourselves, who will occasionally ask the group questions/help to push the conversation along.
Article:
“When and How to Respond to Microaggression” by Ella F. Washington, Alison Hall Birch, and Laura Morgan Roberts
https://hbr.org/2020/07/when-and-how-to-respond-to-microaggressions
TED Talk:
“The danger of a single story” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story?language=en
Norms for Discussion:
- This is NOT a debate over whether racism exists in academia.
- Share airtime equitably and balance your listening and talking.
- Value differences and remember that your perspective is not the only one.
- Own your impact. Your intentions may not be the same as your impact.
Supplemental Material:
Date:
March 25th, 2022 5:00-8:00 PM
Location:
Molecular Plant Sciences Room 1200
1066 Bogue St, East Lansing, MI 48824
or via Zoom
https://msu.zoom.us/j/93847712172
Masks are required for all in-person attendees.
Speakers:
Dr. Gemma Reguera - Professor of Microbiology
Dr. Kaitlin Cook - Assistant Professor of Physics
Dr. Emily Josephs - Assistant Professor of Plant Biology
African Americans in STEM Celebration Event
WaMPS is excited to announce its first African Americans in STEM Celebration Event on February 22nd, from 12:00 - 1:00!
This event will be held in person in BPS 1400 during the regular PGO seminar, with free food and drink provided.
This event aims to celebrate Black History Month by creating a more formal space to discuss issues of race and diversity within academia. The event will be an open discussion with WaMPS building a safe space where participants can feel vulnerable and share their experiences or ideas (for more on safe spaces, see Supplemental Material below for more on safe spaces). To help guide the conversation, WaMPS has identified three articles that participants are encouraged to read and think about before attending. These can be found linkedbelow. The readings are not meant to be a prerequisite but a guide to help generate discussion (so if you're busy and can only read one, that's totally okay!). There will also be a few moderators, including our first year liaison Ian, who will occasionally ask the group questions/help to push the conversation along.
As an organization focused on equity for underrepresented people in the physical sciences, we appreciate any feedback you may have about the event if you're willing to share it ahead of time. Our goal is to maximize the ability to educate and learn from each other. With your support and passion, we can do that.
For more information or to provide feedback, feel free to contact Ian.
- This is NOT a debate over whether racism exists in academia.
- Share airtime equitably and balance your listening and talking.
- Value differences and remember that your perspective is not the only one.
- Own your impact. Your intentions may not be the same as your impact.
Building Resumes / CVs for Academia Workshop
Date:
February 2nd, 2022 6:30-7:30
Location:
Held Virtually Via Zoom
Zoom Information: https://msu.zoom.us/j/2826427190
Meeting ID: 282 642 7190
Passcode: RESUME
This event is being held for all undergraduate students within the physics department!
Purpose:
Navigating Courses, Certificates, Funding and Research: An Extension of Mentoring
Date:
February 1, 2022 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Location: Gathertown
Password: NCCFR
Purpose:
The event is to create a more formal space where first and second year graduate students can speak with year three or above graduate students about the more senior level graduate students' experiences in navigating professional development opportunities within the Department of Physics and Astronomy or more broadly spaces or communities within the field of physics and astronomy. The upper level graduate students attending this event will share their experiences in navigating courses, certificates, funding, and research as well as perform some duties and responsibilities as mentors for the evening.
Come learn about Professional Development Opportunities with WaMPS!
If you are a third year graduate student or above, who would like to volunteer to be a part of the event, please fill out this Interest Form.
If you have any questions or concerns about the event, you can reach out to the organizers: Julia Hinds, Josh Wylie, Thomas Chuna, and Carissa Myers.
Hispanics in STEM celebration
Date: Oct. 15th @ 5pm
Location: BPS 1415
Purpose: WaMPS and La Comunidad Latinoamericana are co-hosting an event in light of Hispanic heritage month.
Come listen to scientists showcase their research and science communication in the comunidad.
Celebrate Hispanic heritage month with us October 15th @ 5pm BPS 1415
Snacks and refreshments provided.
Title
A topologist and a plant biologist go for a newly shaped beer
Synopsis
Shape plays a fundamental role across all organisms at all observable levels. Measuring and understanding the shape is key to extracting valuable information from data and push further our insights. Even if we limit our scope to plant biology, a simple glance outdoors reveals a large diversity of shape among flowers, leaves, fruits, and branches. A first attempt to characterize the shape of a plant could describe it in terms of height, stem thickness, or number of branches. But plants are more complex than that. We thus turn to Topological Data Analysis, a branch of applied mathematics that characterizes shape with algebraic topology representation. As a proof of concept, we harness the power of topology to characterize the shape of different varieties of 3D scans of barley seeds. This shape characterization will allow us later to link genotype with phenotype, furthering our understanding on how the physical shape is genetically coded in DNA.
Andrés Galindo-Olarte is a 4th year PhD student in the Department of Mathematics. His research broadly consist in how to best numerically approximate solutions for Partial Differential Equations that appear in Mathematical-Physics. He investigates both theory and computational algorithms.
He is also an international student coming from Colombia and the president of Comunidad Latinoamericana MSU (CLA), CLA is a student organization that promotes culture and community for international students from across Latin America.
I’m a social scientist interested in public health communication and education. I received my bachelor’s degree in University of Puerto Rico under the Interdisciplinary program of the Environmental Science Department, where I developed a capstone project addressing the current knowledge, and practices of the use of pesticides from agricultural workers in different sectors in Puerto Rico. I’m currently pursuing my Master’s degree in the Fisheries and Wildlife Department at Michigan State, and with the help of Michigan Sea Grant and Bowling Green State University we aim to develop a communication campaign about Harmful algal blooms targeted to vulnerable populations in several lakes in Michigan. I’m interested in administering research to further understand how we can better communicate science and health to the public, especially vulnerable populations.
Daniel Puentes is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, where he researches at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory. His research involves measuring the mass of radioactive nuclei with high precision and how it can tell us why protons and neutrons are arranged inside a nucleus providing clues to its shape. This research also helps scientists understand how the elements were created in different stellar environments! Outside of the laboratory, he also co-hosts “The Sci-Files” on WDBM with Chelsie Boodoo, and he helped start MSU SciComm, a science communication club on campus. Daniel has also served as a regional hub leader with the National Science Policy Network and participated in the City of East Lansing’s Emerging Leaders program. It is his passion to serve as an agent of change to his local community as a leader.
Contact
WaMPS
567 Wilson Rd,
East Lansing, MI 48824
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