Our first hybrid (and third overall) APS DPP Student Day was held 7 November 2021, in-person at the Pittsburgh, PA, convention center and online via Zoom.
This relatively informal session featured an alternating sequence of tutorial talks and research talks “for students, by students” (and also some postdocs). This year's speakers came from the fields of astrophysical plasmas, laser-produced plasmas, and magnetic confinement fusion. In addition, Student Day this year debuted lightning talks, a panel discussion on mental health, and more.
The goal was to offer graduate students an easier introduction to the annual meeting, a chance to learn the basics about sub-fields not found at their institutions, and an opportunity to connect with other student attendees. Other interested parties near the graduate studies phase of their education/career (including, e.g., postdocs, other recent Ph.D. graduates, and undergraduates) were also welcome to join.
Many thanks to all the speakers, panelists, and other volunteers who make Student Day possible!
1:00 - 2:25 Block One:
● Welcome to Student Day (Oak Nelson, Columbia) (5 min)
● Ice breakers (Ryan Chaban, William & Mary)
○ Find people you would write a paper with NOT from your institution
○ Make the largest group with a common PhD ancestor (20 min)
●Tutorial + Research Talks, Topic 1: Astrophysical Plasmas
○ Tutorial (Valentin Skoutnev, Princeton) (20 + 10)
○ Research (Rebecca Diesing, U Chicago) (10 + 5)
● Break (15 min)
2:25 - 4:15 Block Two:
● Tutorial + Research Talks, Topic 2: Laser Plasmas
○ Tutorial (Raspberry Antonia Simpson, MIT) (20 + 10)
○ Research (Liz Grace, GA Tech) (10 + 5)
● Lightning Talks! (35 min)
○ 2-5 minutes each
● Break (15 min)
4:00 - 5:20 Block Three:
● Tutorial + Research Talks, Topic 3: Magnetic Confinement Fusion
○ Tutorial (Sam Frank, MIT) (20 + 10)
○ Research (Tony Qian, Princeton) (10 + 5)
● Mental health discussion / panel (20 min)
● Break (15 min)
5:20 - 6ish: Trivia (Becky Masline, UCSD)
After trivia there was a post-Student-Day reception (with apologies to virtual participants whom we couldn’t figure out a way to feed from afar). This and the refreshments for the breaks were generously sponsored by the APS Division of Plasma Physics Executive Committee.
Session HE01: Committee for the Concerns of Students and Early Career Scientists Town Hall 12:45 PM–1:45 PM, Tuesday, November 9, 2021 Room: Rooms 401-402 CONNECT will hold the annual Town Hall Meeting during the Tuesday 9 November lunch break (12:45-1:45pm) of the 2021 DPP meeting. The event will take the form of a Q&A panel discussion, offering early career scientists the opportunity to hear from more established researchers about career choices and trajectories.
We would like to thank the panelists again for their time and insights:
| David A. Schaffner | Associate Professor | Bryn Mawr Plasma Laboratory |
|---|---|---|
| Mingsheng Wei | NLUF Manager | Univ-Rochester LLE |
| Alex J. Creely | Research Scientist | Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) |
| Maria G. Johnson | Research Scientist | PSFC-MIT |
Technical sessions will be held in the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. The DPP hotel is The Westin Pittsburgh Hotel, located at 1000 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222.