BU/UCSB Physics REU 2020

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Prof. Flip Tanedo
16 July 2020
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&
figuring
it out
Boston University
Physics REU

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Who I am (what a resume shows)
North Hollywood HS
Stanford
Cambridge
Durham
Cornell
UC Irvine
HS
College
Grad School Professor
Post-Doc
STILL TRYING TO
FIGURE THIS OUT
UCR

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Who I am (beyond the CV)
Photo: UCR 1st Generation Campaign
LAUSD graduate
1st in family in 4 yr college
Marshall Scholar
Soros Fellow
Filipino-American
LGBTQ community
Science communicator
Sci-Fi watcher / reader
Swimmer/runner (poorly)
Teacher
Only child
Assistant Professo
r
Theoretical Particle Physics

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What I work on
Theoretical particle physics: what is the underlying
mathematical description of nature?

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Particle Physics (periodic table)
… this is actually from my Ph.D thesis
/ /
¯ / − /
¯ / /
/ −/
¯ / −
/
/
( ) ( )
fundamental forces
matter
particles
… but this can’t be everything

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What I work on: dark matter
Most of the stu
f
in the universe is invisible.
It is probably a new particle.
We have many ideas about what it could be.
… the best ideas were excluded by experiments.
What could the dark matter particle be?
What is the best way to discover it?

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What it looks like to most people

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What it looks like to me

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What else do I do?
Teaching
Math Methods (PHY 231/17)
Particle Physics (PHY165)
Equity in Science
Faculty Mentor for POWUR
I like to swim and play
basketball, I run a book club,
and like comic books.
History vs. Physics one-on-one
Winter Quarter 2020 w/ Prof. Cherry

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A story from a long time ago

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Early Heroes
Images: Today Show Obit. for Russel Johnson, Amazon, Wikipedia

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… one exception
LeVar Burton
Chief Engineer of the Enterprise
Host of Reading Rainbow
Image: memory alpha, levarburtonpodcast.com

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College
1st gen experience

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College

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My undergraduate research
My undergraduate research

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Mentors
Suchitra
Sebastian

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https://www.symmetrymagazine.org/article/january-2015/of-symmetries-the-strong-force-and-helen-quinn
Helen Quinn (paraphrased)
Physics is hard
.
It is harder if you are a
woman, if your skin is
brown, if you are gay, if
you do not identify with
the other physicists
around you.
Photo: Nicholas Bock at SLAC

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MSc abroad

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PhD

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Unsolicited Advice
… your mileage may vary
Re
fl
ections on belonging in academic spaces

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The starting line is not fair
but this is a marathon
& you de
fi
ne this race
Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Marathon, Facebook

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When you’re doing something
where you didn’t have role
models who look like you
growing up, take a picture.
Sometimes we have to be our
own role models to show
ourselves that we’re doing it.
Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
@IBJIYONGI
my addendum: share it with your
mom, family, mentors, supporters

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Take time to learn and think about privilege
privilege. n. (a polarizing word)
Bene
fi
t that a select group has that others do not.
One can have some privileges and not others
.
Different from oppressing others.
Not something to “apologize” for.
Suggested reading: “Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack,” McIntosh; “Unveiling Privilege to
Broaden Participation” The Physics Teacher 55, 394 (2017), “The Pencilsword: On a Plate,”
Toby Morris, “Privilege 101,” Sian Ferguson Everyday Feminism

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Impostor Syndrome
Kristin Chirico / BuzzFeed

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Be ready to fail and to bounce back

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Fail To Win (growth mindset)
http://aikidosd.org/aikido-ukemi-clinic-how-to-do-a-proper-forward-roll/

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Physics as a community
particlesforjustice.org
Pre-requisites
Understand the structures of power
as they intersect our lives.

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You need a team