physics-news

Betty Vetter Award

June 21, 2022

Betty Vetter Award

Ramón Barthelemy

Ramón S. Barthelemy, Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Utah, has been awarded the 2022 WEPAN (Women in Engineering ProActive Network) Betty Vetter Research Award for notable achievement in research related to women in engineering. The award is named in memory of Betty M. Vetter, long-time director of the Commission on Professionals in Science and Technology, who served as the first treasurer of WEPAN and was a founding member of the Board of Directors.

Barthelemy is an early-career physicist with a record of groundbreaking scholarship and advocacy that has advanced the field of physics education research as it pertains to gender issues and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT)+ physicists.

“WEPAN is an impactful member society that hosts the ARC STEM Equity Network, an intersectional effort supporting equity research in STEM,” said Barthelemy. “I am humbled and honored to have my work recognized by an organization that works so tirelessly to enhance inclusion with considerable focus on the various intersections of identity one can have. I’m looking forward to continuing to work with both WEPAN and the ARC STEM Equity Network.”

The field of physics struggles to support students and faculty from historically excluded groups. Barthelemy has long worked to make the field more inclusive—he has served on the American Association of Physics Teachers’ (AAPT) Committee on Women in Physics and on the Committee on Diversity—and was an early advocate for LGBT+ voices in the AAPT. He co-authored “LGBT Climate in Physics: Building an Inclusive Community,” an influential report for the American Physical Society, and the first edition of the “LGBT+ Inclusivity in Physics and Astronomy Best Practices Guide,” which offers actionable strategies for physicists to improve their departments and workplaces for LGBT+ colleagues and students.

Barthelemy recently served as co-lead author on a study of LGBT+ physicists that detailed the difficulties, harassment, and other behaviors that make them leave the profession.

“LGBT+ people feel shunned, excluded and are continually having to readjust and twist themselves to fit into the physics community,” said Barthelemy. “LGBT+ people are inherently a part of this field. If you want physics to be a place that anyone can participate, we have to talk about these issues.”

Gender has a big impact on a person’s perception of their environment. While about 15% of LGBT+ men reported an uncomfortable or very uncomfortable experience, 25% of women and 40% of gender non-conforming people reported similar experiences.

“The study tells us that support has to be available in the entire institution,” said Barthelemy. “LGBT+ individuals in all departments have to be continually coming out when we engage with the broader campus community and new people, since our LGBT identity is seldom assumed. By making our presence known, we can help encourage greater equity, diversity and inclusion throughout the institution.”

U of U PRIDE!

In 2019, Barthelemy joined the U’s College of Science as its first tenure-track faculty focusing on physics education research (PER), a field that explores how people learn the content and culture of physics. Since arriving, he has built a program that gives students rigorous training in physics concepts and in education research, qualities that prepare students for jobs in academia, education policy, or general science policy. He founded the Physics Education Research Group at the University of Utah (PERU), where he and a team of postdoctoral scholars and graduate and undergraduate students explore how graduate programs policies impact students’ experience, long-term studies of the experience of women in physics and astronomy and of students of color in STEM programs, and understanding the impacts of a sense of belonging on a student’s performance in introductory STEM courses.

“We talk about inclusivity and diversity in the classroom, but there needs to be more research about what that means. We look at various aspects of interactive classrooms and how it impacts their content learning outcomes,” said Barthelemy. “If you feel like you belong in the classroom, if you feel comfortable raising your hand, you can participate in groups, teaching and learning from peers—that’s an example of inclusivity, looking at people’s sense of belonging.”

The research has implications beyond the classroom—Barthelemy uses the findings to inform and develop policies and best practices to support people from historically excluded groups in physics. “It helps us teach better, but also understanding the culture of physics has implications in the quality of research done in national labs, for example, that inevitably impacts people across the country,” he said.

Barthelemy has had an untraditional journey to academia. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in astrophysics at Michigan State University and received his Master of Science and doctorate degrees in PER at Western Michigan University. “Originally, I went to graduate school for nuclear physics, but I discovered I was more interested in diversity, equity, and inclusion in physics and astronomy. Unfortunately, there were very few women, People of Color, LGBT or first-generation physicists in my program,” said Barthelemy, who looked outside of physics to understand why. “I found this quite curious,” he said.

In 2021, Barthelemy received the Doc Brown Futures Award, an honor that recognizes early career members who demonstrate excellence in their contributions to physics education and exhibit excellent leadership.

Barthelemy’s work has also been recognized with external funding to complete his projects. In 2020, he and his U colleagues Jordan Gerton and Pearl Sandick were awarded $200,000 from the National Science Foundation to complete a case study exploring the graduate program changes in the U’s Department of Physics & Astronomy. In the same year, Barthelemy received a $350,000 Building Capacity in Science Education Research award to continue his longitudinal study on women in physics and astronomy and created a new study on People of Color in U.S. graduate STEM programs. Lastly, Barthelemy was selected to conduct a literature review on LGBT+ scientists as a virtual visiting scholar by the ARC Network, an organization dedicated to improving STEM equity in academia.

In 2014, Barthelemy completed a Fulbright Fellowship at the University of Jyväskylä, in Finland where he completed research looking at student motivations to study physics in Finland. In 2015, he received a fellowship from the American Association for the Advancement of Science Policy in the United States Department of Education and worked on science education initiatives in the Obama administration. After acting as a consultant for university administrations and research offices, he began to miss doing his own research and made the decision to come to Utah.

About WEPAN
Based in Washington, D.C., WEPAN was founded as a non-profit educational organization in 1990. It is the nation’s first network dedicated to advancing cultures of inclusion and diversity in engineering higher education and workplaces. The WEPAN Awards honor key individuals, programs, and organizations for accomplishments that underscore WEPAN’s mission to advance cultures of inclusion and diversity in engineering education and professions. WEPAN Award honorees demonstrate extraordinary service, significant achievement, model programs, and exemplary work environments.

by Michele Swaner, first published @ www.physics.utah.edu

Outstanding Advisor

June 14, 2022

Outstanding Advisor

Cyri Dixon has been named a NACADA Outstanding New Advisor.

Cyri Dixon, the Undergraduate Academic Advising Coordinator for the Department of Physics & Astronomy, has won the Outstanding New Advisor Award – Primary Role Category – from the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA). Award selection is extremely competitive and designed to honor and recognize professionals who have made significant contributions to the field of academic advising in higher education. Candidates are nominated by their institution, and each application is carefully reviewed by NACADA committee members. All outstanding advisor nominations include a comprehensive list of the nominee’s professional qualifications, academic accomplishments, letters of support, and documented advising success.

Cyri Dixon

“I am grateful to work with such fantastic students, staff, and faculty. Advising is challenging, but working with my wonderful students makes it all worth it.”

 

“I am very honored to receive this award,” said Dixon. “I am grateful to work with such fantastic students, staff, and faculty. This award really highlights the strides we have been able to make in our department to create a better student experience and build a community where all students feel welcome and successful. Advising is challenging, but working with my wonderful students makes it all worth it.”

Dixon was previously recognized for her exemplary advising work when she was named Outstanding New Academic Advisor in 2021 by the University of Utah Academic Advising Community (UAAC). She serves as the only undergraduate advisor for the department and has proven to be a valuable resource to undergraduate physics students in all areas of academic advising. She has 236 physics major students that she meets with regularly, and she takes pride in knowing each student by name. She helps each develop a course plan that fits their interests, and she connects them to research and internship opportunities, campus resources, and the department community.

Here are comments from the University of Utah’s President’s Office, faculty, staff, and students about Dixon and her work:

“Dear Cyri, The President’s Office received this email of gratitude from a parent recognizing the talented staff and student employees at our university. Thank you for the hard work, kindness, and caring dedication you show our students and families. You are appreciated, and we value your contribution to the success of our students and university. We know this comes from colleagues like you who make it happen. Thank you.”
~Office of the President

“Whenever I am worried about a student, Cyri knows what is going on or knows what to do to address the problem. Thank you for your help, patience, and for caring about all our students.”
~Dr. Tugdual Stephan Lebohec, faculty

“Cyri’s work represents many of NACADA’s Core Values, but most striking is her laser-like focus on empowering her students. In her philosophy, Cyri shares a little of her own experience as a first-generation student from a rural area; knowing that there so many talented and brilliant students who are limited in opportunities and resources, she [Cyri] writes that this ‘drives my motivation to help any student who walks in my door to not only survive and graduate, but also thrive and make the most of their experience.’”
~Stephanie Begaye, and Ashley Glenn, UAAC Advisor Awards Committee Co-Chairs

“Cyri has been a terrific advisor for me. She has always been available for chats or emails and been quick to respond to all of my questions, even unusual or specific ones that are only tangentially related to completing a physics degree. After every meeting I’ve had with her, I tell my wife, ‘she’s a great advisor.’ I think Cyri absolutely deserves this award.”
~student comment

“Cyri, thank you for taking the time to write a letter of recommendation on my behalf. I wanted to let you know I was accepted into two programs, one of them being the University of Utah! This is a huge step in pursuing my career goals and an immense accomplishment for me.”
-student comment

A first-generation graduate of Utah State University, with a degree in Physical Sciences Education, Dixon also has minor degrees in physics and chemistry teaching. She recently earned a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Utah. Originally from Idaho, she returned to Utah after living in the Midwest and teaching middle school science and engineering in Arizona. She loves hot air ballooning, Wonder Woman, and her dog, Roka.

About NACADA
Since 1983, NACADA has honored individuals and institutions making significant contributions to the improvement of academic advising. The goal of NACADA is to promote quality academic advising and professional development of its membership to enhance the educational development of students. For more information, visit NACADA.

by Michele Swaner, first published @ physics.utah.edu

 

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Outstanding Undergraduate

April 19, 2022

Outstanding Undergraduate

Luis Rufino, a senior who will graduate with a degree in physics, has overcome many academic challenges at the U. His efforts were rewarded when he received the College of Science Outstanding Undergraduate Student Award.

“When I first heard the news, I was surprised because I didn’t feel I deserved it, even though I’ve worked hard,” he said. “Maybe I’m suffering from the imposter syndrome, and I’m still questioning my abilities, but winning the award gave me reassurance that I’ve been successful in achieving my goal of improving as a student.” As a freshman at Salt Lake Community College, Rufino didn’t have a promising start. When he transferred to the U, his GPA was low. He was worried that he wouldn’t be able to keep up or survive upper-division physics classes.

Pearl Sandick and Luis Rufino

“The number of research opportunities available in the department is amazing and critical to development as a student or researcher. Even if you decide not to pursue graduate school, you will be a stronger candidate in the job market after completing a physics degree at the U.”

 

“I knew that I wanted to attend graduate school, which meant that I had to improve in my physics classes and also get some research experience,” he said. “Throughout my academic career at the U, I’ve tried to do my best and still find time for research. A physics degree is already quite challenging and wanting to do research on top of that added another layer of stress and difficulty.” Rufino thinks that one of the most important skills he learned at the U was how to manage school, research, and everything else that life throws at an undergraduate. He’s also learned how to bounce back from failure, especially in research.

His research is focused on exploring new physics to describe dark matter—the particles that gravitationally bind galaxies and clusters of galaxies together. The Standard Model of particle physics is the theory that explains how the most elementary particles interact with each other and combine to form composite objects, like protons and neutrons. Developed over the course of many decades, what we know today as the Standard Model was formulated nearly half a century ago and remains a focus of study for particle physicists. By itself, the Standard Model fails to provide an explanation for many important phenomena, such as the existence of dark matter in the universe.

Theoretical physicists have begun to think of a new group of particles that can potentially describe dark matter. These theoretical particles are called the Supersymmetric Standard Model, which suggests that a “cousin” or partner particle may exist for every fundamental particle in the Standard Model. One of these partner particles has the potential of being the mysterious dark matter particle.

Luis Rufino

But how do we find these partner particles? Whenever two particles interact with each other, they emit light and other particles. The same thing happens when two dark matter particles find each other. The light observed from these dark matter interactions can tell us about the dark matter characteristics. Rufino works on investigating the light originating from possible dark matter interactions from dwarf galaxies. He enjoys the research because it allows him to explore new ideas that have the potential to change much of what we know about physics.

He became interested in physics as a kid by watching pop-science movies, science cartoons, and superhero movies “I’d watch Jimmy Neutron, Dexter’s Laboratory, Spiderman, and Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, with Neil deGrasse Tyson,” Rufino said. “I have to give Neil deGrasse Tyson all the credit for my passion for physics. After the first or second episode, I was convinced physics was what I wanted to study, especially astronomy. Of course, now I’m more passionate about discovering new physics.”

His favorite professors in the department have been Dr. Tugdual LeBohec, Dr. Charlie Jui, and Dr. Pearl Sandick. He enjoys the way Dr. LeBohec incorporates history into a lecture before getting into physics. Dr. Jui empathizes with students in their struggles to master complex concepts. He remembers the late nights, the constant stress, and, sometimes, the nightmares that physics students experience. Dr. Jui’s ability to connect with students made Rufino feel at ease in taking his class.

Dr. Sandick has been the most influential person in Rufino’s life and academic career. “She is a person I strive to become, and I’m very grateful to have her as my research advisor,” he said. “The number of research opportunities that are available in the department is amazing and critical to development as a student or researcher. Even if you decide not to pursue graduate school, you will be a stronger candidate in the job market after completing a physics degree at the U.”

When he isn’t studying, he likes to run, play soccer, rock climb, and hang out with friends. Currently, he’s training for his second marathon.

After five years of endless toil, Rufino plans to take a gap year between graduation and graduate school. He wants to spend more time with the people he cares about and explore hobbies, such as working with leather goods, building mechanical keyboards, and playing video games. After his gap year, he will begin graduate studies at Syracuse University.

by Michele Swaner, first published @ physics.utah.edu

 

Distinguished Service

April 14, 2022

Distinguished Service

Pearl Sandick

Pearl Sandick receives Distinguished Service Award.

Pearl Sandick, Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy and Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs for the College of Science, has received the Linda K. Amos Award for Distinguished Service to Women. The award recognizes Sandick’s contributions to improving the educational and working environment for women at the University of Utah. Amos was the founding chair of the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women, was a professor of nursing, and served for many years as Dean of the College of Nursing and as Associate Vice President for Health Sciences. Throughout her career, Amos was the champion for improving the status and experience of women on campus.

“This is a great honor. I’m privileged to work with amazing students and colleagues who understand the value of a supportive community,” said Sandick. “I am really proud of what we’ve accomplished so far, and I’m excited to start to see the impact of some more recent projects.”

Sandick is a theoretical particle physicist, studying some of the largest and smallest things in the universe, including dark matter, the mysterious stuff that gravitationally binds galaxies and clusters of galaxies together.

Upon her arrival as an assistant professor in 2011, Sandick founded the U’s first affinity group for women in physics and astronomy. For the last two decades, the national percentage of women physicists at the undergraduate level has hovered around 20%. The percentage at more advanced career stages has slowly risen to that level, thanks in part to supportive programming designed to increase retention. The goal of the affinity group within the department is to foster a sense of community and provide opportunities for informal mentoring and the exchange of information, ideas, and resources. The group has also been active in outreach and recruiting. As of fall 2021, the group is now known as PASSAGE, a more inclusive group focused on gender equity in physics and astronomy.

Within the department and in the College of Science, Sandick has improved a number of processes, including writing an effective practices document for faculty hires, based in large part on research related to equitable and inclusive recruitment practices and application review. As Associate Dean, she worked with the College of Science Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee (which she currently chairs) to create college-wide faculty hiring guidelines, which were adopted in 2020. She was also instrumental in several other structural and programmatic initiatives to create a supportive environment in the department, such as the development of a faculty mentoring program and the establishment of “ombuds liaisons” to connect department members with institutional resources.

Through her national service related to diversity and inclusion, Sandick has gained a variety of expertise that she has brought back to the campus community. For example, she has given workshops in the department, the college, and across campus on communication and negotiation, implicit bias, conflict management, and mentorship.

Here are comments from women in the Department of Physics & Astronomy, who have participated with Dr. Sandick in activities sponsored by PASSAGE:

“Being part of PASSAGE has allowed us to connect with others who share similar experiences in the department. It has also helped us connect with people, both within the university community and at other institutions, who have served as role models and mentors.” –Tessa McNamee and Callie Clontz, undergraduates

"PASSAGE became a lifeline during the pandemic and continues to be so. It helps equip members with the tools that they need in various aspects of academia. Professor Sandick makes it her mission to guide us, especially in a time of crisis. I am personally thankful to her and to all of the group members.” –Dr. Ayşegül Tümer, Postdoctoral Research Associate

In addition to her research, Sandick is passionate about teaching, mentoring, and making science accessible and exciting for everyone. She has been recognized for her teaching and mentoring work, with a 2016 University of Utah Early Career Teaching Award and a 2020 University of Utah Distinguished Mentor Award. In 2020, she also was named a U Presidential Scholar. As discussed earlier, women are still widely underrepresented in physics, and Sandick is actively involved in organizations that support recruitment, retention, and advancement of women physicists. She has served on the American Physical Society (APS) Committee on the Status of Women in Physics and as the chair of the National Organizing Committee for the APS Conferences for Undergraduate Women in Physics. She is currently chair of the APS Four Corners Section, which serves approximately 1,800 members from the region.

- by Michele Swaner, first published at physics.utah.edu

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Carbon Nanotubes

April 4, 2022

Carbon Nanotubes

Vikram Deshpande

Long carbon nanotubes reveal subtleties of quantum mechanics.

Vikram Deshpande had a hunch that carbon nanotubes held a lot of promise as a building block. He suspected that their unusual electrical and thermal properties and extraordinary strength could be modified for specific purposes by adding nanofabricated structures.

Working with nanotubes more than a micron long, the University of Utah physicist and his team found that the nanotubes held surprises, even without being adorned with those structural bells and whistles. “We started seeing all this richness in the data and had to investigate that before making the experiment more complicated,” Deshpande says. “Because they are only a nanometer or so in diameter, they are excellent playgrounds for studying the quantum mechanics of electrons in one dimension.”

But thin walls also mean little shielding. Impurities on the surface scatter electrons in the nanotube, and that initially prevented Deshpande from getting clean data.

His solution was to both clean the nanotubes and run his experiments in a DRY ICE 1.5K 70 mm cryostat made by ICEoxford. The UK-based company’s cryostat allows him to suspend nanotubes between supports and run a current through them. The nanotubes heat up to several hundred degrees, and the impurities are knocked off the surface.

ICEoxford cryogenic equipment.

The setup is cooled by pumped helium-4 at around 1.5 K, which is important, says Deshpande. “A lot of cryogenic equipment is vacuum-based, but the heat injected into the nanotube has no way out except along the tube, which is very ineffective.” Another boon is the fact that the cryostat is top loading so it’s easy to access. Within 12 hours of installing a new sample, the entire system is cooled and ready for testing.

With a good nanotube in place and thoroughly clean, Deshpande applies voltage to inject electrons and explore their quantum behavior.

A major influence on electron behavior inside the nanotube is the quality of the end contacts. The electrons travel unimpeded within the tube, known as the ballistic regime. But the ease at which they can escape the tube affects their behavior radically.

Using low-conductivity contacts, Deshpande’s team measured the energy required to add individual electrons to the tube. Subtle changes in the energy showed that the electrons were falling into an ordered pattern called a Wigner crystal—effectively a solid made of pure electrons—which occurs only at very low density. “Lower electron density is obtained with longer lengths, which make our experimental signature possible,” Deshpande says. His team reported their results in Physical Review Letters (volume 123, page 197701, 2019).

Last year the team published another paper in Physical Review Letters (volume 126, page 216802, 2021) with results from high-conductance contacts. They found the electrons’ wave-functions spread along the tube, creating quantum interference, analogous to light in an interferometer. There was not only interference similar to the Fabry-Perot effect between electrons bouncing back and forth, but also a more subtle interference caused by slight variations in the nanotubes, such as chirality. “These are exquisite measurements of delicate quantum effects that we can only see because our long nanotubes accumulate measurable phase difference between these modes,” Deshpande says.

He has also made use of the DRY ICE cryostat’s ability to apply magnetic fields up to 9 teslas. “If you thought the data so far were rich, you should see what happens in a magnetic field!” he says.

Phil Dooley is a freelance writer and former laser physicist based in Canberra, Australia.

 

- by Phil Dooley, first published in Physics Today

 

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Distinguished Educator

March 28, 2022

Distinguished Educator Award

Claudia De Grandi

Claudia De Grandi awarded College of Science Distinguished Educator Award.

Claudia De Grandi, assistant professor (lecturer) of educational practice in the Department of Physics & Astronomy, has been recognized for her exceptional contributions to the educational mission of the College of Science by receiving the 2021-2022 College of Science Distinguished Educator Award.

Nominations for the award include faculty who have gone above and beyond to foster community, provide engaged learning opportunities, or otherwise substantially enrich learning experiences within the College of Science community at the university.

“I am excited and honored to receive this award! It’s a pleasure to work with faculty, students, and staff in the College in the pursuit of educational excellence.”

In supporting De Grandi’s nomination, Christoph Boehme, professor and chair of the department, said, “The award recognizes the excellent work that Claudia has done over the past years, not just as an outstanding course instructor, but also for course and curriculum development. We are so lucky to have her as a faculty member in the department.”

Some of the projects she has been actively involved with in the department include: designing and leading the teaching assistant orientation for incoming graduate students, reforming the undergraduate physics curriculum, and piloting a new peer-to-peer mentoring program (the PANDA Network led by Dr. Gail Zasowski).

Since fall 2020, Dr. De Grandi has served as the chair of the Physics and Astronomy Teaching Excellence Committee, the goal of which is to support all faculty and instructors in the department to design effective learning environments and foster student success. The ongoing work of this committee includes: creating a community in the department to discuss and share teaching practices and tools (especially during the beginning of Covid-19 and the adjustment to online teaching); providing instructors with the tools to seek feedback from students (e.g. via mid-semester anonymous surveys); and advising department leadership on the implementation of teaching innovation.

Since her arrival at the U in 2018, De Grandi has been teaching several large-enrollment introductory physics courses and labs geared to all STEM majors. De Grandi designs her courses with these goals in mind: fostering community and collaboration among students, creating a space for incremental learning, and providing resources and access.

Informed by her previous teaching experience at Yale University, De Grandi brought to the U a new course in the spring of 2020: the Being Human in STEM course (SCI 3900/HONOR 3990). The goal of this course is to create a space for dialogue between STEM students and STEM faculty to investigate together the theme of diversity and climate within STEM. As part of the course, students develop and implement their own projects with the goal of improving the experience of STEM students at the university. The course satisfies the University General Education Diversity requirement and also counts as an Honors College elective. De Grandi has co-taught this course for the past three years in collaboration with other faculty in the College of Science, College of Engineering, and College of Mines and Earth Sciences.

Here is what one student said about the course. “This class gave me the tools I needed to be more inclusive and bring more humanity into STEM and the world. It has really just opened the door for me to realize that I have so much more to learn and experience. I am humbled by what little I know and how much I have to learn; but this class has given me the tools to start asking why. [It has also helped me in] re-examining my perceptions and how the dominant culture influences the foundations of our societies. It is by asking these questions and coming to these realizations that will then allow me to understand how we and I begin to dismantle it. Thank you all for giving us these tools! — Sam Bagge (Geology) Being Human in STEM 2021

by Michele Swaner, first published @ physics.utah.edu

 

LGBT+ Physicists

March 24, 2022

LGBT+ Physicists

Ramón Barthelemy, assistant professor, Department of Physics & Astronomy

1st study of LGBT+ physicists reveals red flags.

LGBT+ physicists often face harassment and other behaviors that make them leave the profession, according to a new study, which comes as physics as a discipline has attempted to grapple with equity and inclusion issues.

The authors found that the two biggest factors that influence a person’s decision to leave physics are the overall climate of the organization they belong to and more specifically observing exclusionary behavior.

“People feel shunned, excluded, and they were continually having to readjust and twist themselves to fit into the physics community,” said Ramón Barthelemy, assistant professor of physics at the University of Utah and co-lead author of the study. “LGBT+ people are inherently a part of this field. If you want physics to be a place that anyone can participate, we have to talk about these issues.”

“Nearly everybody I know who is LGBT+ in physics has left, to be honest,” said Tim Atherton, associate professor of physics at Tufts University and co-lead author of the study. “We’re talking dozens and dozens of students and faculty. I can empathize with the experiences of the study’s participants from some of my own experiences.”

Tim Atherton, associate professor of Physics at Tufts University

According to the American Physical Society, 15% of early career scientists identify as LGBT+. and while a number of previous studies have explored challenges faced by physicists with regards to gender and race, this study sought to expand understanding of the impact of these barriers through a survey of the experiences of 324 people in physics across the LGBT+ spectrum. It will be published later this month in the journal Physical Review of Physics Education Research.

The coauthors themselves come from a wide range of institutions, backgrounds, identities, and career stages and sought to understand the lives of the larger LGBT+ physicist community from their own perspectives.

LGBT+ survey participants reported observing and experiencing exclusionary behavior such as shunning, homophobia, and harassment at high rates. LGBT+ people who are also from marginalized gender, racial, and ethnic groups faced more challenges than their LGBT+ peers.

In addition to the survey, the authors also conducted one-on-one follow-up interviews with five students who identified as being transgender, a Person of Color (POC), or both to give voice to perspectives that often get lost in datasets with large statistical numbers.

Gender had a big impact on a person’s perception of their environment. While about 15% of LGBT+ men reported an uncomfortable or very uncomfortable experience, 25% of women and 40% of gender non-conforming people reported similar experiences.

This pattern is even stronger in response to those who observed or experienced exclusionary behavior. Across the entire group, 20% experienced exclusionary behavior and 40% observed it.

Women and gender non-conforming people are three to four times more likely to experience this kind of behavior, and nearly two times more likely to observe it than their male peers.

Almost half of all participants who identified as transgender experienced exclusionary behavior directly, compared with 19% of their cisgender peers. Transgender interviewees encountered institutional barriers, including discriminatory health insurance plans or policies that restricted their bathroom use. Many trans participants described face-to-face harassment.

“We often talk about the gender issues in physics,” said Atherton. “When we started looking at the LGBT+ issues, it’s amazing how gender just naturally emerged. We almost can’t separate those issues. It’s striking.”

A participant’s level of “outness,” which describes how openly someone discloses their identity as part of the LGBT+ community, also influenced their experience. Participants who were out to their coworkers were more likely to report being comfortable, while participants who were not open about their LGBT+ identity reported being very uncomfortable at higher rates than their out peers.

LGBT+ respondents of color reported being out at lower rates than their white peers. In a follow up interview, one Black participant felt that her race impacted her education more than her sexuality. “I think I grappled more with the race element than I do with the sexuality, because the deal is, that’s what they see first,” she said.

Observing exclusionary behavior was found to have a greater influence on someone leaving physics than directly experiencing exclusionary behavior.

“This study tells us support has to be available in the entire institution,” said Barthelemy. “LGBT+ individuals in all departments have to be continually coming out when we engage with the broader campus community and new people, since our LGBT identity is seldom assumed. By making our presence known, we can help encourage greater equity, diversity and inclusion throughout the institution.”

In future studies, the researchers will dig deeper into the climate model to understand how best to keep LGBT+ physicists in the field. They’ve also submitted a grant to extend the current study to a long-term project that follows LGBT+ physicists every five years.

Some of these respondents went on to workplaces outside of physics with a better climate. “But I’m sad because physics has lost so much of this valuable talent,” said Atherton. Still, he is hopeful. “I see a promising vista if we can begin to address these issues.”

This study is the latest in a long history of queer physicists fighting for space in their field, the authors note. In 1957, the astronomer Frank Kameny was fired from the U.S. Army Map Service for being gay. For the next half century, he fought for the rights of LGBT+ people, even bringing the first civil rights claim based on sexual orientation in a U.S. court. In 2009, he stood by President Barack Obama as he signed the executive order that the federal government could no longer discriminate based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

“I feel our work builds on the generations before us,” said Barthelemy. “People like Frank Kameny, Alan Turing, Sally Ride—all of these amazing queer physicists, these icons, who made changes and really laid the groundwork for us to even exist in our field of study.”

Other authors of the study include Madison Swirtz of the University of Utah, Savannah Garmon of Osaka Prefecture University, Elizabeth Simmons of UC San Diego, Michael Falk of Johns Hopkins University and Wouter Deconinck of University of Manitoba.

by Lisa Potter, first published in @theU

Jan Mccleery

March 18, 2022

Jan Mccleery

Mike & Jan McCleery

Jan McClure was one of four women in a physics class of 200. It was Professor Emeritus Irvin Swigart's sophomore physics lecture class. The students were seated alphabetically, and the guy next to McClure was Michael McCleery-they met for the first time that day. "I got really lucky,' said Mike. Later, after they had both completed their undergraduate degrees, they married.

'Math was always my favorite subject: said McCleery. "As a child, my cousin would gather the neighborhood kids to marvel while I solved long-division problems on the sidewalk in chalk. Yes, I was quite the geek'
As a senior at South High School, she was encouraged to apply to the U, Stanford University, and Carleton College in Minnesota. She was accepted to all three, but her parents couldn't afford to send her out of state. "My father never owned a credit card and paid cash for his cars and our home. I was only 17, so the idea of financial assistance was never a consideration,' she said. ·1 received a scholarship to the U and could live at home. I'm glad it worked out that way since I met Mike at the U.

In addition to their classes, she and Mike enjoyed Greek life-Mike was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon. and she joined the Golden Hearts little sister group. They both enjoyed the special friendships they made and still get together for reunions when they visit Utah.

She loved skiing. She and Mike would arrange their Tuesday/Thursday schedule so they could finish classes by 10 or 11 a.m. 'We'd wear our ski clothes to class, so we could go directly to the ski slopes for a half-day pass." she said. "In the warmer months, we enjoyed hiking and backpacking in the mountains.'

After receiving a bachelor's degree in math (with a minor in physics), she taught math at Lincoln Junior High in Salt Lake City, the same middle school she had attended and where Mike's mother also taught. "The kids called us the upstairs Mrs. McCleery and the downstairs Mrs. McCleery; she said. "They were going to call us the old and the new, but Mike's mom squelched that idea quickly.'

She also began taking graduate night classes. The next year, she and Mike moved into his parents' basement so they could afford to both attend school full time.

Her favorite math teacher was Professor Don Tucker. "He was caring and wise, and I still remember his exciting outlook on mathematics, as well as his humor,' she said. The late Professor Emeritus William J. Coles was her thesis advisor and encouraged her to use Professor Emeritus Klaus Schmitt's new, unique approaches to boundary value differential equations for her thesis. Dr. Schmitt's findings enabled her to prove a set of non-linear stability equations each in less than a page-theorems that had previously taken many pages to prove. Those three professors mentored her and gave her confidence during her orals.

During the summer, she was working for the Math Department, typing up new math books written by department professors. The day before the semester began, Professor Tucker realized he hadn't received an acceptance from one of the teaching fellows from Stanford. He knew McCleery had applied as a teaching fellow and ran into the office where she was typing to ask if she wanted a half-fellowship starting the next day, teaching one undergraduate math class. "Sure!" she exclaimed. A few hours later, Dr. Tucker ran in again and yelled, "Make that a full fellowship!'

After she and Mike received their master's degrees in 1973, they began working at Ford Aerospace in Silicon Valley-she spent nearly 20 years there while they raised their two daughters. She began as a scientific programmer with assignments, such as satellite design and tracking, circuit simulations, raster-scan analysis, and microprocessors.

She enjoyed the variety and wide range of programming languages she learned and new technologies. She found that her studies at the U equipped her with strong analytical skills and a passion for problem solving. During her tenure, she was promoted to software manager, responsible for the company's software design tools, artificial intelligence, software security, and computer and configuration management.

She left Ford Aerospace after accepting a job in a commercial software company, eventually moving on to become director of quality assurance at ASK Computers Ingres Database division in Alameda, Calif. Later, she was a product line manager for ASK MANMAN, responsible for marketing, development, and customer support.
The dot·corn boom was going strong, and she was invited to join a startup that focused on building sales tools for semiconductor companies. Starting a company had been her dream for years. She and two other co-founders formed lntelic, which was later renamed Azerity. She created the product prototype, formed an engineering team, and served as vice president and chief technology officer. 'Those years were the highlight of my career,' she said. ·we had a great deal of success because of the industry knowledge of my two partners and the quality of the talent we were able to attract.' McOeery solicited a manager she knew from Ford Aerospace to join them.Together they developed a new, practical software methodology that resulted in bug-free, on-time, scalable, reliable, and maintainable enterprise software.

Azerity's product was called "ProChannel" and was used by 30,000 semi-conductor company sales reps and distributors worldwide. After the U.S. economy began to slow in the 2000s, she and her partners sold the company, but their product is still being used worldwide today. Jan stayed on to consult for the new company and retired in 2014.'

Her advice to students is to study hard but also enjoy college life. 'Some of the friendships you make at the U will last a lifetime,' she said. She encourages students to study math, physics, astronomy, and computers to broaden their analytical skills and to open up a wide spectrum of possible vocations. In terms of a career, her recommendation is to find a company to work for that has a product or service you want to put your time and effort into-a product that excites you and with a working atmosphere that inspires you to be your best.

The McCleery's live in Discovery Bay on the California Delta, which marks the confluence of the Sacramento River and the San Joaquin River. The Delta is 1,000 miles of waterways, and they enjoy exploring them by boat. A decade ago, McCleery and others formed Save the California Delta Alliance, when the state of California planned a big tunnel construction project that would have ruined the Delta. She served as president for several years, and the nonprofit has been raising money for scientists to testify on behalf of the alliance. To date, they have successfully pushed back on proposed projects that threaten the Delta.

McCleery has written several books, including two children's books. One is called The Fable of the Farmer and the Rsh educate kids about the water issues in the Delta and how to be good stewards of the environment. Sassy the Salmon is about the circle of life.

She has also written two non-fiction books:
It Starts with an Idea about her software start­up adventure, including advice on software development and management. The other, Class of '67, is for her granddaughter and contains stories about growing up in Utah. She had so much fun writing them that she went on to write two spy novels: Alias Juno Wolfe and Who ls Juno Wolfe. All titles are available on Amazon under her name-Jan McCleery.

by Michele Swaner

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Eliza Diggins

March 16, 2022

Eliza Diggins

Eliza Diggins is a sophomore working on a double major in applied mathematics and physics. As a freshman, she participated in the Science Research Initiative (SRI) program, sponsored by the College of Science. The SRI puts students in a lab to do research as soon as they arrive on campus. After Eliza was admitted to the program, she began working with Fred Adler, professor of mathematics and of biology in the Department of Mathematics and in the School of Biological Sciences.

We caught up with Eliza for a chat.

How did you become interested in both math and physics?
Math and physics have both had a special place in my heart for most of my life. Even back in elementary school, math and science always held my attention more than other subjects. I began to actively study physics in middle school and never looked back.

Could you tell us about the kind of research you did in the SRI program with Dr. Adler?
I worked with Professor Adler modeling how COVID-19 virions move in the human airway. We constructed mathematical descriptions of the fluid motion to predict how differences in lung physiology would affect the distribution of virion absorption and, consequently, the severity of infection.

What do you enjoy about being at the U and in the Math and Physics Departments?
I enjoy being a part of both departments because the classroom environment is very positive, and the professors are always willing to engage with students. In addition to my time spent in the classroom, I teach English as a Second Language to adult students at the Guadalupe School.

What has it been like to work on your degree during the pandemic?
Working on a degree during a pandemic has been both a blessing and a curse. I've had more time to focus on my research and learning on my own time, which has left me very well prepared for future endeavors from an academic standpoint. Unfortunately, that additional time comes at the expense of many of the quintessential experiences of college.

Any career plans after you graduate?
My short-term plans are largely focused on getting into a good graduate program to study theoretical physics. In the long run, I'd like to have a career in academia so that I can focus full time on my research interests.

Any hobbies or interests outside of math and physics?
Outside of academic pursuits, I spend a lot of time outdoors. I'm passionate about hiking and running and spend a lot of time white-water rafting with my family. I also have a passion for herpetology, and I own two poison dart frogs!

by Michele Swaner, first published @ math.utah.edu

Teaching Excellence

February 16, 2022

Early Career Teaching Award

Gail Zasowski Receives Early Career Teaching Award

Gail Zasowski, Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics & Astronomy, has been awarded an Early Career Teaching Award from the University of Utah. This is considered the highest teaching award for pre-tenured faculty and recognizes significant contributions to teaching at the university through new and innovative methods. The University Teaching Committee evaluates nominees based on a teaching portfolio, a curriculum vitae, letters of support, and student evaluations. This year the committee selected six early-career faculty from across campus for the award, including Zasowski.

“I am honored and grateful to the U for this recognition,” said Zasowski. “The U’s educational mission is being fulfilled every day in so many enthusiastic, impactful, and creative ways, and it’s very exciting (and fun!) for me to be a part of that.”

David Kieda, Dean of the Graduate School, Distinguished Professor of Physics & Astronomy, and Co-Director, Consortium for Dark Sky Studies, nominated Zasowski for the award. Anil Seth, Associate Professor of Physics & Astronomy, and Tobin Wainer, Research Assistant and Associate Instructor in the department, were among those who wrote letters of support.

Seth described Zasowski’s excellence in teaching and mentoring students, particularly within her research group.

“Gail’s approach to mentoring within her research group is very student focused. She engages her students not just about the science they are doing, but also by encouraging them to develop non-research professional skills from networking to writing. She regularly checks in with students about their career goals and is flexible in her assignment of student projects to accommodate their interests.”

Wainer noted her approach to teaching STEM classes.

“Through my work with Dr. Zasowski, I have come to learn that not only is she a brilliant scientist, but she is a model for how professors should approach teaching STEM classes. What sets Dr. Zasowski apart is her compassion for people in the department, her dedication to being the best professor she can be, and her willingness to expend exuberant effort to help others."

Zasowski, who joined the university in 2017, is an astronomer whose research focuses on understanding how galaxies produce and redistribute the heavy elements that shape the universe and enable life in it. She has taught classes ranging from introductory astronomy up through graduate-level courses on stars and galaxies. She has also mentored a large number of undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers through a variety of research projects that explore these topics.

In addition to her work at the U, she serves as the Scientific Spokesperson for the current generation of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, an international astronomical project to collect and analyze data from stars, galaxies, and black holes throughout the universe. As spokesperson, she works hard to ensure that the functioning of the collaboration is efficient, transparent, and equitable for its more than 800 astronomers and engineers spread across the globe.

Zasowski was named a Cottrell Scholar in 2021 by the Research Corporation for Science Advancement, which honors early-career faculty members for the quality and innovation of not only their research programs but also their educational activities and their academic leadership. With the support of that award, she is currently developing a new peer-mentoring program within the Department of Physics & Astronomy, called the PANDA Network. She, other faculty and staff, and a number of undergraduate students are running a pilot program this spring, with the hope of launching the full program for new physics majors later this year.

by Michele Swaner, first published @ physics.utah.edu