Diversity & Inclusion in Physics at Penn - DIP

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Diversity & Inclusion in Physics at Penn - DIP

Diversity & Inclusion @ Penn strives to make the physics community more inclusive and welcoming for

The Diversity and Inclusion in Physics (DIP) group is a new startup group within the University of Pennsylvannia's Physics Department. There is a need for building such a community in physics - there is a lack of diversity because of the bias that exists (both consciously and subconsciously) against various underrepresented demographics of people. To counteract this, DIP aims to not only create a

community and a voice for those lacking representation in physics, but also to educate the Penn Science community on the issues that are related to or that contribute this disparity. This disparity became a topic of national conversation in when Justice Scalia asked, “What unique perspective does a minority student bring to a physics class?” and as stated in the response letter from over 2200 physicists, “implication that physics or ‘hard sciences’ are somehow divorced from the social realities of racism in our society is completely fallacious.”
http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/magazine/physicstoday/news/10.1063/PT.5.8155
But it isn’t just racism - it is sexism, femmephobia, LGBTQIA+ discrimination, classism, ableism, and any other type of oppression. We aim to fight these issues in the following ways:

1) Establish a firm community through monthly lunches - for management, discussion of issues, and planning events

2) Host a speaker on the issues faced by minorities in physics once a semester - to be held in the Physics Department, but open to all Penn students (to begin in Spring 2017)

3) Hold reading groups to educate ourselves on the hard numbers behind this disparity and on the experiences of previous/current scientists

4) Create a presentation on the issues based off of reading groups and seminars for new incoming students

5) Build “safe spaces” - meetings to be proposed by students attending monthly lunches to discuss issues within the department and more generally for all lunches, reading groups, and project-oriented meetings

Since we are just starting, we will not be able to find a speaker for this semester, but aim to do so in the future. We are beginning with monthly lunch meetings, reading groups, and project-based groups, such as creating a presentation to show to incoming students. We will coordinate with other campus centers and groups on these projects as well. We also plan to coordinate with many existing GAPSA affinity groups to help provide more support, education, and resources to our members as well as to collaborate to host events on overlapping topics of interest. Other Penn groups & centers of interest:
Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) - http://www.upenn.edu/ctl/
Graduate Student Center (GSC) - http://www.gsc.upenn.edu/
Graduate and Professional Student Assembly (GAPSA) - http://www.gapsa.upenn.edu/
LGBT Center - http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/lgbtc/
Penn's Women's Center (PWC) - http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/pwc/
Office of Student Disabilities Services - http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/lrc/sds/
Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) - http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/caps/
Lambda Grads - http://upennlambdagrads.com/
Penn Graduate Women in Science & Engineering (PGWISE) - https://pgwise-upenn.squarespace.com/
The Black Graduate Women’s Association - https://bgwaupenn.wordpress.com/
Black Graduate and Professional Students Assembly (BGAPSA) - https://upennbgapsa.wordpress.com/
Latin American Graduate and Professional Student Assembly (LAGAPSA) - https://upennlagapsa.wordpress.com/
Pan-Asian American Graduate Student Association (PAAGSA) - http://www.dolphin.upenn.edu/paagsa/
Rangoli - the Indian Association at Penn - http://www.dolphin.upenn.edu/rangoli/
Students Confronting Racism and White Privilege (SCRWP) - http://scrwp-penn.squarespace.com/
Quaker Peer Recovery - http://pennrecovery.org/

09/19/2019

Our first meeting of the semester will be tomorrow (Friday) Sept 20th at 12PM in DRL 4C4. Food will be provided :)

08/08/2019

We have some very sad news to report.

Some of you may remember Prof. Ann Nelson, a theoretical particle physicist from UWashington who visited Penn last spring and had a special meeting with DIP.

She has passed away tragically in a hiking accident.

Ann will live on in her work, all the students she inspired, and her loving family.

Ann Nelson loved a challenge. From becoming an accomplished physicist in a field dominated by men to summiting mountains, Dr. Nelson spent her life focused on the next goal — and on giving others a hand along the way. She...

03/15/2019

This may resonate with some of you (I know it did for me)

The crisis extends into the ways counseling and psychological services are provided at the University and into the intrinsic nature of graduate education.

03/12/2019

this event may be of interest to you all:

Balancing Teaching and Research in the Sciences: A Panel Discussion with Drs. Marsha Lester, Andrea Liu, and David Raizen

Convened by: Phoebe Askelson (Chemistry) and Katerina Placek (Neuroscience), CTL Graduate Fellows
March 14 2019, 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm
CTL/OLI Seminar Room, Van Pelt Library Room 134

Faculty positions in academic science challenge individuals to balance time and effort between instructing courses and maintaining active research laboratories. Distinguished Penn faculty members Dr. Marsha Lester of Chemistry, Dr. Andrea Liu of Physics, and Dr. David Raizen of Neurology successfully navigate these challenges, leading ground-breaking programs of research while also teaching undergraduate and graduate courses at Penn. In this panel discussion-based workshop, Drs. Lester, Liu, and Raizen will reflect on their experiences and discuss how to successfully balance teaching and research in the sciences. This workshop will be especially valuable to graduate students and postdocs interested in improving their own balance between the laboratory and classroom, and those who aspire to faculty positions in academic science.

Please RSVP here (https://goo.gl/forms/2kAtGZpDkyoSbVcC2) to participate in this discussion!

Counts toward the CTL Teaching Certificate.

Contact [email protected] or [email protected] for more information.

When: Thursday March 14, 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm Where: CTL/OLI Seminar Room, Van Pelt Library Room 134 Questions? Please contact placekk at pennmedicine.upenn.edu OR askelson at sas.upenn.edu

02/14/2019

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Williamina_Fleming

Willliamina Fleming got her first academic job (after working as maid) at the Harvard College Observatory after a professor’s wife told him that Fleming had “talents beyond custodial and maternal arts”. She came up with a star classification system, cataloged tens of thousands of stars, and discovered the Horsehead Nebula.

Williamina Paton Stevens Fleming (May 15, 1857 – May 21, 1911) was a Scottish astronomer. During her career, she helped develop a common designation system for stars and cataloged thousands of stars and other astronomical phenomena. Among several career achievements that advanced astronomy, Flemin...

02/13/2019

Prof. Kerstin Nordstrom's visit was a big success! Students enjoyed a delicious lunch with her at Pod, then she gave a very interesting talk, with special focus on software tools she and colleagues made to determine the probability of all-male panels and fellowship nominations.

Check out her tools here:
https://kerstinnordstrom.com/fellows/

Address

209 S 33rd Street
Philadelphia, PA
19104

Website

https://sites.google.com/view/dip-penn/

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