Blog

Brianne Gutmann and Gloria Lee, student-leaders in Guidance for Physics Students (GPS) at UIUC, recently co-authored a letter to the Editor in Nature about graduate student mental health. They point out that recent discussions of mental health in graduate school have focused on student coping mechanisms, rather than addressing systemic features of academia that negatively impact mental health. You can read the post, Better mentoring stands to boost junior researchers’ mental health, by Roshni Bano, Brianne Gutmann, Read More

During the SACNAS conference, many opportunities arose for summer internships and research. As a first year, the conference was very motivating and eye-opening to the opportunities available. Being exposed to the many opportunities, it helped frame a potential path for my upcoming summers. I was able to network throughout the conference, and I made connections that may be very beneficial for my future. Furthermore, I was able to gain mentorship regarding successful interview skills. During Read More

Attending the SACNAS conference was a wonderful experience professionally and academically. I had the opportunity to present research I did this past summer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. While presenting this research project, I practiced my science communication skills and met professors and researchers who were interested in learning more about my interests and future goals. I even got the “best poster presentation award” in physics/astronomy for the second time! The professors I met ranged Read More

Prior to attending SACNAS I had many doubts on if pursuing a STEM field was still right for me. There is a huge lack of diversity in STEM Majors at UC Berkeley, so it was very easy for me to feel alone and isolated. Being able to attend SACNAS completely turned me around and helped me push the feelings and negative thoughts of Imposter Syndrome out of my head. At SACNAS, I was able to Read More