Prof. Flip Tanedo gave a presentation to Riverside STEM Academy students about his work as a theoretical particle physicist. He studies dark matter and other fundamental questions. He advised students to be curious, challenge themselves, and get involved in their science community. He discussed his own education path and encouraged the students to consider graduate school.

1. flip . tanedo 40ucr . edu@ RIVERSIDE STEM ACADEMY SYMPOSIUM
1
A G U I D E T O F I N D I N G Y O U R W AY I N S C I E N C E
Prof. Flip Tanedo
6 Sept. 2017
UC Riverside Particle Theory
I HAVE NO IDEA
Riverside STEM Academy Symposium
physics.ucr.edu/~flip/
@FlipTanedo

2. flip . tanedo 40ucr . edu@ RIVERSIDE STEM ACADEMY SYMPOSIUM
2
What I study: Dark Matter
J. Peasley, Particle Zoo
It exists.
We’re swimming in it
It’s most of everything
80% of matter

3. flip . tanedo 40ucr . edu@ RIVERSIDE STEM ACADEMY SYMPOSIUM
3
What I study: Dark Matter
J. Peasley, Particle Zoo
You can’t see it.
… or touch it
… or smell/taste/hear it
(or can you?)
How can you possibly
“do science” on it?
My job: answer this question.

4. flip . tanedo 40ucr . edu@ RIVERSIDE STEM ACADEMY SYMPOSIUM
4
My official title
Theoretical Particle Physicist
What is the smallest stuff?
Why is the universe made of matter?
Why is the universe expanding?
Why is the Higgs boson so light?
What are the fundamental laws
of nature? What are the fundamental
building blocks of nature?
Why are there so many particles?
Why are there 4 forces?
Is our universe special?

5. flip . tanedo 40ucr . edu@ RIVERSIDE STEM ACADEMY SYMPOSIUM
5
What it looks like (to my students)
Photo: Mandy Guo

6. flip . tanedo 40ucr . edu@ RIVERSIDE STEM ACADEMY SYMPOSIUM
6
What it looks like (to me)
Photo (right): Bibhushan Shakya

7. flip . tanedo 40ucr . edu@ RIVERSIDE STEM ACADEMY SYMPOSIUM
7
More about all this

8. flip . tanedo 40ucr . edu@ RIVERSIDE STEM ACADEMY SYMPOSIUM
8
My science life so far
High School
North Hollywood High
College
Stanford
Grad School
Cambridge (MASt)
Durham (MSc)
Cornell (PhD)
Professor
UC Riverside

9. flip . tanedo 40ucr . edu@ RIVERSIDE STEM ACADEMY SYMPOSIUM
9
Four pieces of advice
be curious
science fans
vs. scientists
your science
community
challenge
yourself
HS
College
Grad School
Professor

10. flip . tanedo 40ucr . edu@ RIVERSIDE STEM ACADEMY SYMPOSIUM
10
HS
College
Prof.
Different
School?
Different
Major?
MEDICALSCHOOL
BUSINESS
SCIENCE
WRITER
MILITARY
TECH
GOVERNMENT
TEACHING
PhD
Parallel Universes

11. flip . tanedo 40ucr . edu@ RIVERSIDE STEM ACADEMY SYMPOSIUM
11
High School
Academic Decathlon, LAUSD Scrimmage, 2001

12. flip . tanedo 40ucr . edu@ RIVERSIDE STEM ACADEMY SYMPOSIUM
12
Be Curious
Images: Millenium Falcon: Wookiepedia, Lego (2017)

13. flip . tanedo 40ucr . edu@ RIVERSIDE STEM ACADEMY SYMPOSIUM
13
Be Curious
Everythingislegos!

14. flip . tanedo 40ucr . edu@ RIVERSIDE STEM ACADEMY SYMPOSIUM
14
How I became a particle physicist
From my notebook in college

15. flip . tanedo 40ucr . edu@ RIVERSIDE STEM ACADEMY SYMPOSIUM
15
… big stuff, too

16. flip . tanedo 40ucr . edu@ RIVERSIDE STEM ACADEMY SYMPOSIUM
16
Be Curious
There are no stupid questions
Only stupid students…
… who don’t ask questions

17. flip . tanedo 40ucr . edu@ RIVERSIDE STEM ACADEMY SYMPOSIUM
17
Know what you don’t
Images: G. O’Beirne (Wikimedia), Game of Thrones (HBO)
Socrates
Ygritte
What you know
What humanity
knows

18. flip . tanedo 40ucr . edu@ RIVERSIDE STEM ACADEMY SYMPOSIUM
18
What you know
What humanity
knows
The Goal

19. flip . tanedo 40ucr . edu@ RIVERSIDE STEM ACADEMY SYMPOSIUM
19
What you know
What humanity
knows
Actually… more like this
General Specific

20. flip . tanedo 40ucr . edu@ RIVERSIDE STEM ACADEMY SYMPOSIUM
20
Four pieces of advice
be curious
science fans
vs. scientists
your science
community
challenge
yourself
HS
College
Grad School
Professor

21. flip . tanedo 40ucr . edu@ RIVERSIDE STEM ACADEMY SYMPOSIUM
21
College
Photos from the Fisher Group, Applied Physics, Stanford University c2004

22. flip . tanedo 40ucr . edu@ RIVERSIDE STEM ACADEMY SYMPOSIUM
22
Don’t confuse science with fandom
SMBC comics:1777

23. flip . tanedo 40ucr . edu@ RIVERSIDE STEM ACADEMY SYMPOSIUM
23
Going beyond science fandom
As before: be curious, ask questions.
Two additional pieces of advice:
1. Know how to program
2. Learn as much statistics as you can
Image: P-47 Thunderbolt, USAAF
1.1
1.7
1.5
rest of plane: 1.8
The big data era!

24. flip . tanedo 40ucr . edu@ RIVERSIDE STEM ACADEMY SYMPOSIUM
24
Four pieces of advice
be curious
science fans
vs. scientists
your science
community
challenge
yourself
HS
College
Grad School
Professor

25. flip . tanedo 40ucr . edu@ RIVERSIDE STEM ACADEMY SYMPOSIUM
25
Graduate School
High School
You are here.
Undergraduate
Expensive. (sucks)
Pick your major.
Pick your classes.
Survive finals.
Do research.
Find yourself, etc.

26. flip . tanedo 40ucr . edu@ RIVERSIDE STEM ACADEMY SYMPOSIUM
26
What you know
What humanity
knows
General Specific
PhD

27. flip . tanedo 40ucr . edu@ RIVERSIDE STEM ACADEMY SYMPOSIUM
27
Graduate School
Graduate School (PhD)
In STEM: free
Classes are not the point
… often not even graded
Guided by a PhD adviser.
Criterion: mastery of new
knowledge. You finish
when you finish.

28. flip . tanedo 40ucr . edu@ RIVERSIDE STEM ACADEMY SYMPOSIUM
28
Science is a Human Endeavor
Csáki Research Group, Cornell Physics Department, c2012

29. flip . tanedo 40ucr . edu@ RIVERSIDE STEM ACADEMY SYMPOSIUM
29
Science is a Human Endeavor
1. Impostor’s Syndrome is common. Fight it.
2. Collaboration vs. Competition.
Prisoner’s Dilemma.

30. flip . tanedo 40ucr . edu@ RIVERSIDE STEM ACADEMY SYMPOSIUM
30
Prisoner’s Dilemma
You Collaborate
You Snitch
They
Collaborate
They
Snitch
probation
for both
you go to jail
for 3 years
they go to jail
for 3 years
but you’re free
2 years of jail
for both

31. flip . tanedo 40ucr . edu@ RIVERSIDE STEM ACADEMY SYMPOSIUM
31
Collaborate. Always Collaborate.
MIAPP (Munich)

32. flip . tanedo 40ucr . edu@ RIVERSIDE STEM ACADEMY SYMPOSIUM
32
Four pieces of advice
be curious
science fans
vs. scientists
your science
community
challenge
yourself

33. flip . tanedo 40ucr . edu@ RIVERSIDE STEM ACADEMY SYMPOSIUM
33
Science is a Creative Endeavor
1. Be creative. Make a list of all of your brilliant
ideas. It helps to have colleagues.
2. Try to kill them all. Use all the tools of
science available. Logic, experiment,
observation, probability, previous work,…
3. Study the things that you couldn’t kill.

34. flip . tanedo 40ucr . edu@ RIVERSIDE STEM ACADEMY SYMPOSIUM
34
Kill your babies
Iseverythinglegos?
NO! Legos don’t know quantum mechanics

35. flip . tanedo 40ucr . edu@ RIVERSIDE STEM ACADEMY SYMPOSIUM
35
A very loaded question
Do you believe in
climate change?

36. flip . tanedo 40ucr . edu@ RIVERSIDE STEM ACADEMY SYMPOSIUM
36
A very loaded question
Do you believe in
climate change?
You are young scientists. You can do better than “believe”.

37. flip . tanedo 40ucr . edu@ RIVERSIDE STEM ACADEMY SYMPOSIUM
37
What I study: Dark Matter
J. Peasley, Particle Zoo
You can’t see it.
… or touch it
… or smell/taste/hear it
(or can you?)
How can you possibly
“do science” on it?
My job: answer this question.

38. flip . tanedo 40ucr . edu@ RIVERSIDE STEM ACADEMY SYMPOSIUM
38
Be ambitious
Do not be held back by preconceptions of
how things have to be done.
Nobody has been down your path before.

39. flip . tanedo 40ucr . edu@ RIVERSIDE STEM ACADEMY SYMPOSIUM
39
Four pieces of advice
be curious
science fans
vs. scientists
your science
community
challenge
yourself
HS
College
Grad School
Professor

40. flip . tanedo 40ucr . edu@ RIVERSIDE STEM ACADEMY SYMPOSIUM
40
A WWII puzzle
Image: P-47 Thunderbolt, USAAF
Anecdote from How Not to Be Wrong by J. Ellenberg
Abraham Wald
S TAT I S T I C A L
R E S E A R C H G R O U P
1.11
1.73
1.55
rest of plane: 1.8
How to best armor a plane?
Data: bullet holes per sq. inch