BC co-hosts conference for undergraduate women in physics
Undergraduate women interested in physics had the opportunity to seek advice, 了解电子游戏正规平台生院的前景, and explore careers in the field—as well to hear from a woman who changed astronomy forever—at a recent conference co-hosted by 电子游戏软件.
The 2024 American Physical Society’s Northeast 物理学女本科生会议 (CUWiP), sponsored by the physics departments of BC and Wellesley College, attracted more than 200 attendees to the Heights in January. Supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, 美国能源部, 美国物理学会, 以及各自的主办机构, the event was one of 13 CUWiP conferences held simultaneously throughout the country at sites including the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, University of Michigan, Georgia Tech, and Stanford University.
协助ant 教授essor of Physics 贝内黛塔Flebus, who co-organized the event with BC colleague Qiong Ma, 欢迎与会者参加会议, 是1月19日至21日在校园内举行的吗. 爱马仕(安)
Locally co-organized by 协助ant 教授essors of Physics 贝内黛塔Flebus and Qiong Ma, the BC-based event featured a keynote address—livestreamed from the University of Michigan to the CUWiP host sites—by University of Oxford Visiting 教授essor 乔斯林·贝尔·伯内尔夫人, a pioneer in the field of astronomy whose contributions were overlooked for decades.
In 1967, as a 24-year-old Cambridge University doctoral student assisting her thesis advisor, 天文学家安东尼·休伊什, 贝尔·伯内尔发现了脉冲星, 紧凑, spinning celestial objects that emit beams of radiation, like cosmic beacons—a finding that altered the perception of the universe. It was Hewish, however, who was co-awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1974.
Bell Burnell went on to an illustrious career: chancellor of the University of Dundee, president of the UK’s Royal Astronomical Society, and first female president of both the UK/Ireland Institute of Physics and the Royal Society of Edinburgh. 但是多年以后, 在《电子游戏正规平台》的一篇文章中, she recalled the snub: “I was a graduate student and a woman, which demoted my standing in terms of receiving a Nobel Prize.”
In 2018, Bell Burnell was awarded the $3 million Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, which she donated to help persons in under-represented groups become physicists. The 2021 documentary “The Silent Pulse of the Universe” chronicled Bell Burnell’s arduous path to this astrophysics breakthrough, and society’s repudiation of an extraordinarily brilliant young woman and her crucial role in an advancement characterized as the greatest astronomical discovery of the 20th century.
乔斯林·贝尔·伯内尔夫人
“It can feel very uphill doing an undergraduate physics degree; if you are a [gender and/or ethnic] minority, 感觉上更是如此, 但坚持下去是值得的, 因为它打开了很多扇门,贝尔·伯内尔对CUWiP的观众说, 其中包括超过2个,000名年轻女性. “有, 不幸的是, still a certain amount of bias that women can’t do physics; however, the more women who are members of a physics department, 就越好. I find it immensely reassuring to be with such a large group of women who are all doing physics.
“It’s a turning point when the men who lead physics departments recognize that it’s an issue that needs attention. We’re 90 percent of the way there; we’re beginning to win.”
In 2020, according to the APS, 25 percent of all U.S. physics bachelor’s degrees were earned by women, the highest percentage ever recorded. Some 30 percent of BC physics majors identify as female, 这个部门, 主席是Michael J. 伯爵, has expressed a vigorous commitment to their support by founding the Society of Women in Physics, comprised of female graduate and undergrad students, 博士后, and faculty members who regularly meet for peer-to-peer learning, and to share advice and information about participation in research groups.
“我热爱物理。, and I’m driven by the desire to understand how the world works at its most fundamental level,24岁的莎拉·威尔斯说, BC大学化学专业，辅修物理, who came to CUWiP with the goal of meeting other women in the field. “作为科学领域的少数派, it’s encouraging to see more women becoming involved, and inspiring to engage with those who have had similar experiences.”
Flebus and Ma expressed appreciation for “unwavering support” from Wellesley College, Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences Dean Gregory Kalscheur, S.J., 伯爵, 的同事们, 学生志愿者, 部门工作人员, 还有劳拉·斯坦伯格, Seidner Family Executive Director of the Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society.
“我们渴望留下持久的影响, instilling in these remarkable women the pride of being physics majors, and carrying this confidence with them throughout their lifelong journeys,组织者说。.
“The CUWiP series has played a crucial role in energizing and empowering young women interested in pursuing physics careers,格拉夫说。. “The entire team did an amazing job in making this event an impactful experience for the participants.”