Arizona State University • July 10 – 12, 2026
During breaks, feel free to explore the Arizona State University Tempe campus!
Description of “Level of Interactivity”
Current Schedule is TBD
This conversation is to allocate time and personnel into each Organizational Circle. We will then identify concrete next steps for meeting in Summer and Fall 2025.
This conversation is to review the sociocratic model of the organization. We will identify the key activities within each organizational circle, and name the time and personnel requirements.
This conversation is to take a big-picture look at the discussion and decisions. Do our decisions and priorities make sense?
This conversation is to distill the list of features/activities in the Network into the ones indispensable to achieving our mission/vision. We will first consider what a barebones Network would look like, ignoring practicality, and from there think about a more concrete and realistic scenario.
This conversation is to explore the phase space of scenarios the Network will face in the near future, and discuss reasonable actions plans for each scenario. We will identify the most critical factors necessary for the Network’s successful functioning and the most uncertain elements that affect the Network.
Retreat Goals
The Evaluation Fellows will meet to discuss current projects and develop a course of action for continued work on evaluation in the Network.
Facilitators: Evaluation Team mentors – Gloria Lee, Brianne Gutmann, Chandra Turpen
Content Warnings: None
Level of Interactivity: High
Content Warnings: None
Level of Interactivity: High
This affinity group is a space for neurodivergent folks in physics to connect, share experiences, and reflect on how neurodiversity shows up in academic and research spaces. While affinity spaces are usually open-ended, I’ve included a few guiding questions to help keep the conversation on track — many of us (myself included) find it easier to stay engaged when there’s a bit of structure. These prompts are totally optional and meant to support, not limit, the flow.
Facilitator: Brett Renaud
Content Warnings: Discussion of ableism, mental health, burnout and academic pressure might turn up, please take care of yourself and step out if needed.
Level of Interactivity: High
The Ombuds Team will lead attendees to reflect on the Assembly as a whole. What went well? What could have gone better? What advice should we give to the next Assembly Team?
Facilitators: Ombuds Team
Content Warnings: Depends on what issues are brought up
Level of Interactivity: Medium
The Assembly Team will discuss their perceptions of how the Assembly planning and execution process went and will come up with recommendations for next year’s Assembly Team.
Facilitators: Assembly Team mentors – Megan Smith, Sarah Monk, Mackenzie Carlson, Scott Franklin
Content Warnings: None
Level of Interactivity: High
This is time for the members of each site to meet together to talk about what they’ve learned at the Assembly so far and talk about what it means for their sites.
Facilitator: None
Content Warnings: None
Level of Interactivity: High
The Network Fellows will meet to develop a course of action for the Network Fellows team. This will include reflecting on the Assembly, defining the goals of the network fellow team, examining and revising current proposals, developing new proposals and deciding on which projects to pursue.
Facilitators: Network Team mentors – Rob Dalka, Gabrielle Jones-Hall
Content Warnings: None
Level of Interactivity: High
In this session, participants will learn about the Access funding situation (past and present), including information about the termination of our current NSF grant. There will then be small-group and large-group discussions to think about what Access could look like in a resource-constrained future. Please bring an internet-connected device (e.g. smartphone or laptop) if you can, so you can vote in an online form during this session.
Facilitators: Ben Pollard and Chandra Turpen
Content Warnings: None
Level of Interactivity: High
This is an informal discussion about what the current Evaluation Fellows have been up to. We will share about three evaluation studies we’ve developed and get your feedback on pieces of this work. If you’re interested in learning more about the Evaluation Fellow role or their projects, come discuss!
Facilitator: Evaluation Fellow Team: Brickelle Rahmaan Bixler, Brianne Gutmann, Gloria Lee, Sera Mathew, Sophie Olsen, Joseph Slivka, Chandra Turpen, N’Mari Ward
Content Warnings: None
Level of Interactivity: High
This session explores the overlooked contributions of women in STEM, specifically in the physics and astronomy communities. Over the years, there have been women who are overlooked in the STEM community, so we are using the concept of the “Hidden Figures” to look at the broader issues of representation and inclusivity in STEM. With short lectures, interactive group activities, and discussions, participants will learn about the historical impact of women in science, reflect on gender diversity within their sites, and examine if women scientists are acknowledged within their sites.
Facilitators: Kara DiLudovico and Chloe Haramis
Content Warnings: Potential discussion of sexism and discrimination.
Level of Interactivity: High
So often, undergraduate Physics programs push the one-sided grad-school->postDoc->professorship pipeline. What else is there? What have you discovered about yourself in your undergraduate Physics career? What do you wish you knew as you progressed through your program? Get a chance to learn about possible career opportunities for physicists, and talk to your peers about what you wish you knew!
Facilitator: Zoe Schlossnagle, Brett Renaud, and Adolphine Mujinga-Kazadi
Content Warnings: None
Level of Interactivity: High. Discussion based activity is the majority of the session.
Over time, many sites will encounter circumstances that may require changes in programming, funding and may also affect leadership and overall participation. In this workshop, we will brainstorm various strategies for overcoming obstacles that may negatively affect a site, using real-life scenarios based on each site’s experiences.
Facilitator: Kara DiLudovico, Chloe Haramis, and Laszlo Toth
Content Warnings: None
Level of Interactivity: High
The Ombuds Team will lead Assembly attendees in a discussion of how the day went, including making any changes to the Assembly schedule, norms, etc that need to be made in response to issues that arise during this session or that came up earlier in the day.
Facilitator: The Ombuds Team
Content Warnings: Depends on what issues are brought up
Level of Interactivity: Low
This is time for the members of each site to meet together to talk about what they’ve learned at the Assembly so far and talk about what it means for their sites.
Facilitator: None
Content Warnings: None
Level of Interactivity: High
Let’s take a group photo together!
Content Warnings: None
Level of Interactivity: Low
What is science communication? Why is it important? How can we improve our own communication of science to others? In this session, we will explore various reasons why communicating the science done may be even more important than the science itself. We will also give some tips on how to improve scientific presentations, especially those targeted towards non-experts in the field.
Facilitator: Ben Braun and Logan Matthews
Content Warnings: None
Level of Interactivity: Medium
This is an informal discussion about what the current and past cohorts of Network Fellows have been up to. If you’re interested in learning more about the Network Fellow role or their projects, come discuss!
Facilitator: Nkodia Ndongala, Rachel Honor, Genevieve Uhlman, Indranil Das, Shamira Miles, Tanaya Mahindrakar, Rob Dalka, Gabrielle Jones-Hall
Content Warnings: None
Level of Interactivity: High
This panel consists of members with either mentor and/or mentee experience. The goal of this panel is to explore experiences of both mentors and mentees, and use this information to focus on how mentoring can be improved overall. Panelists will be guided through two discussions, and answer attendee questions during Q&A segments.
Facilitator: Brett Renaud and Chloe Haramis
Content Warnings: None
Level of Interactivity: High for panelists, choose your own level for attendees
This session will provide participants with a unique outlook on the development of some of the skills necessary in physics education through the lens of a fun, streamlined version of a Tabletop Roleplaying Game (like Dungeons and Dragons). Participants do not need to have any experience in either physics education or Tabletop Roleplaying games, only an open mind and a willingness to be a little silly.
Facilitator: Ben Braun and Logan Matthews
Content Warnings: None
Level of Interactivity: High
Participants in this session will analyze various pieces of media in science fiction. Discussions on tropes, popular physics concepts, famous authors, and ethics in science fiction will be occurring.
Facilitator: Hanna Tamirat and Kanishk Kondaka
Content Warnings: None
Level of Interactivity: High
Session will discuss how topics which we would now label as physics have been developed and studied in cultures outside of Europe for centuries. Through examining history, we will discuss how physical inquiry develops organically and interrogate how credit is distributed in the so-called “canon” of the history of physics which is generally disseminated.
Facilitator: Laszlo Toth
Content Warnings: Racism, xenophobia
Level of Interactivity: Medium
Post COVID, there has been a significant drop in student interactions across institutions. In this session, we aim to address that problem by helping attendees develop and plan successful events to increase community engagement.
Facilitator: Chinmay Ambasht and Chloe Haramis
Content Warnings:
Level of Interactivity:
Session will be a brief overview of science and funding in the US. Topics will include brief history of science policy in the US, current state of affairs, where things are headed perhaps? Session is meant to foster discussion among participants to improve understanding and public opinion of science. We will have a brief overview of the pertaining topics, followed by discussion, followed by a hands-on activity.
Facilitators: Chinmay Ambasht
Content Warnings: Discussion of current science and funding policy, might include political discussions and sensitive topics related to the administration’s policies on academia
Level of Interactivity: Medium
Wegmans
Costco
Assembly breakfasts will consist of muffins, bagels, yogurt, fruit, cereal bars, juice, coffee and tea, and the like (i.e., continental breakfast).
The Ombuds Team will lead Assembly attendees in a discussion of how the day went, including making any changes to the Assembly schedule, norms, etc that need to be made in response to issues that arise during this session or that came up earlier in the day.
Facilitator: The Ombuds Team
Content Warnings: Depends on what issues are brought up
Level of Interactivity: Low
This is time for the members of each site to meet together to talk about what they’ve learned at the Assembly so far and talk about what it means for their sites.
Facilitator: None
Content Warnings: None
Level of Interactivity: High
This session is all about learning how to involve university students in Physics and Astronomy outreach focused on K-12 students. Participants will learn about the benefits of science outreach and communication, and how to apply it to different ages and backgrounds. Participants will also learn to use basic physics and astronomy demos.
Facilitators: Chloe Haramis and Kara DiLudovico
Content Warnings: none
Level of Interactivity: High
This session is all about seeing physics not just as equations or lab work, but as something that’s happening all around us in music, movement, weather, architecture, and even cooking. We’ll explore how people from different fields (many of them not physicists) have used physics principles in ways that shaped history. Through examples, group prompts, and reflection, we’ll connect physics to the real world and maybe see our daily routines in a new light.
Facilitators: Adolphine Mujinga-Kazadi
Content Warnings: None
Level of Interactivity: Medium
In this session participants will get to ask questions about graduate school to those who just went through the application process or are currently pursuing a PhD. Graduate students with various backgrounds from different institutions will provide their own perspectives.
Panelists: Zoe Schlossnagle, Marisa Romanelli, Indranil Das, Aidan Jones
Facilitators: Hanna Tamirat, and Laszlo Toth
Content Warnings: Discussion of stress, imposter syndrome, etc
Level of Interactivity: Low for audience, high for panelists
Sites will present lightning talks to learn about all of the cool stuff happening at other sites. After the talks, there will be time for attendees to mingle with each other and discuss the sites in more detail.
Facilitator: Brett Renaud
Content Warnings: None
Level of Interactivity: High for presenters, low for audience
Welcome to the Assembly! The Assembly team will lead everyone through some icebreakers, go over the code of conduct, introduce some norms, and discuss the basics of what the Access Network is. We will also engage in an interactive vocabulary activity to help learn words in the Assembly Glossary.
Facilitator: Ben Braun, Chinmay Ambasht, and Hanna Tamirat
Content Warnings: None
Level of Interactivity: High for icebreaker, norms, vocabulary activity; Low otherwise
