Summer 2023 Newsletter

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CCPD Ex-officio Member profile and duties Volunteer opportunity

APS has a strong Careers Team that provides resources to help members find their physics career path. One way APS members can support these Careers activities is to volunteer to serve on the Committee on Careers and Professional Development (CCPD). FIAP has a strong relationship with the APS Careers Team and strongly supports their efforts to educate APS members about non-academic careers. FIAP maintains a close relationship with CCPD through an ex-officio member appointed by the FIAP Executive Committee. This year that member is Katie Schwarz, a computational electrochemist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, MD (her LinkedIn profile). Here’s Katie’s statement about why she volunteered for this position:

I have a longstanding interest in understanding how people make career decisions and what bottlenecks they face when pivoting to new opportunities. I also care about helping to reduce those bottlenecks and barriers. The CCPD ex officio member position is flexible, and I have been able to shape the position into what I wanted it to be. I've been working in collaboration with the FIAP board to incorporate best practices in the award selection process. We've now developed rubrics for FIAP's prizes and honors, and we plan to post them so that everyone knows the evaluation criteria.

Katie’s 1-year term will end January 1, 2024, and FIAP is looking for a volunteer who would be interested in serving as a bridge between FIAP and CCPD. A description of this opportunity is posted here and includes the responsibilities and how to apply. The deadline for applications is October 20, 2023. You can also contact Katie (kathleen.schwarz@nist.gov) if you would like more information.

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Career Mentoring Fellows Applications are open now

APS Career Mentoring (CM) Fellows are physicists working in industry, government, or academia, who are interested in mentoring undergraduate students, learning and teaching about diverse career paths of physics degree holders, and establishing a stronger connection with the physics community. Applications for the 2023- 2024 cycle are now open. New CM Fellows will participate in two virtual training sessions and can then participate in various APS mentoring opportunities. Here’s some thoughts on the program from one participant:

I view my current role at IBM Quantum as one requiring a lot of mentoring and coaching. Being involved in the Career Mentoring program makes me more effective at my role as well as helps me reach out to students and post docs that may be asking for mentoring help. The requirements to be an effective mentor (the latest on diversity training, keeping an open mind to new ideas, keeping "distance traveled" in mind when dealing with individual cases) were all reinforced nicely during my involvement in the CM Fellows program. I would like to continue my involvement to continue growing, as well as paying it forward and helping with the program in some way.
Srikanth Srinivasan, Research Staff Member at IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center

You can learn more and apply at this link. The APS 2023 Careers Guide also includes an article with additional details about the program.

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How to find physicists who work in industry using the APS Membership Directory

  1. Login to your APS member account

  2. Navigate to APS.org

  3. Click on Member Directory on the Membership tab, or follow this link

  4. Choose “Search Affiliation” tab near the top

  5. Select “Company” Affiliation type

  6. Enter name of company in “Affiliation name” OR country, state, (city is optional)

Company names are links to individuals including contact information.
Note that this is a listing of APS members, not all physicists. However, it is a good starting point to identify companies that employ physicists and perhaps some possible contacts. Companies with no members presently active are also listed if you want to know where APS members have worked in the past.

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Industrial Physicists LinkedIn group- please join!

APS manages the Industrial Physicists LinkedIn group as a valuable source of information for this community. Participating is easy, and you can keep up with developments in physics, APS events and announcements relevant to physicists working in industry, and postings by others who are involved in physics in industry. No cost to join, and membership in APS is not required.

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Brief survey for ideas for APS Industrial Webinars

APS wants to expand their webinar offerings to include additional sessions of interest to the industrial physics community. What topics would you like to include? Please take a moment to fill out this brief survey to collect ideas.

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APS Congressional Fellowship Applications open September 1

Each year APS selects a Congressional Fellow who works on the staff in a congressional office. The program enables scientists to broaden their experience through direct involvement with the legislative and political processes. Fellows gain a perspective which, ideally, will enhance not only their own careers but also the physics community's ability to more effectively communicate with its representatives in Congress. An advanced degree in physics or a closely related field is required: masters degrees + three years work experience, or a PhD. You can find out more at this link. Applications will be open on September 1 – December 1, 2023.

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Suggestions for the Newsletter are welcome, comments too.

Please email the Newsletter Editor Steven Lambert at SELsanjose@gmail.com

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