All times noted below are Central Standard Time
Friday, January 12, 2018
| 1:00-5:30 p.m. | Conference Check-In Optional Tours |
Jayhawk Walk 4th Floor, Kansas Union |
| 5:30-6:00 p.m. | Opening Remarks - Neeli Bendapudi, KU Provost's Office - Rebecca Thompson, American Physical Society |
Woodruff Auditorium 5th Floor, Kansas Union |
| 6:00-7:00 p.m. | Plenary Talk Who, What, Why, and the Future of Image-Guided Radiotherapy Advances in image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) have allowed for dose escalation and more precise radiation treatment delivery. Each decade brings new imaging technologies to help improve radiotherapy patient setup. Currently, the most frequently used method of 3D pre-treatment image verification is performed with cone-beam CT. However, more recent developments have provided radiotherapy with the ability to have on-board magnetic resonance (MR) imaging coupled to the tele-radiothereapy unit. This latest tool for treating cancer is known as MR-guided radiotherapy (MR-gRT). Several varieties of these units have been designed and installed in centers across the globe. Their prevalence, history, advantages and disadvantages will be discussed. Also, we will consider the possibilities of where MR-gRT might be heading in the near future. Julianne Pollard-Larkin, MD Anderson Cancer Center |
Woodruff Auditorium 5th Floor, Kansas Union |
| 7:00-9:30 p.m. | Welcome Dinner Brainville Trivia with Scotty Mac Sponsored by the American Astronomical Society |
Big 12 & Jayhawk Rooms 5th Floor, Kansas Union |
| 9:15-10:30 p.m. | Shuttles to SpringHill Suites and TownePlace Suites | 4th Floor, Kansas Union |
Saturday, January 13, 2018
| 6:30-8:00 a.m. | Breakfast at Hotels | SpringHill Suites TownePlace Suites |
| 7:30-8:30 a.m. | Shuttles to Kansas Union | SpringHill Suites TownePlace Suites |
| 8:30-9:20 a.m. | Opening Session Welcome Remarks - Jennifer Hamer, KU Provost's Office Challenges for Women in STEM As seen from the high profile #metoo movement to more mundane structural discrimination, women in STEM face many challenges. These challenges are often exacerbated in fields (such as physics) which are overwhelmingly male, and when the women are members of multiple minority groups (like people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, or visible non-Christian religious groups). Despite the bleak past, there are some reasons to have hope for the future, including initiatives such as CUWiP, NSF INCLUDES and ADVANCE programs. These build on awareness, long shared by women in a "whisper network" but now slowly becoming more public, that it is not only individual biases that need to be addressed, but deeper, systemic issues. In this talk, I'll briefly go over the state of sexist discrimination and harassment in physics. I will outline some things that we can do as individuals and collectively to combat pervasive sexism. Eleanor Sayre, Kansas State University |
Woodruff Auditorium 5th Floor, Kansas Union |
| 9:30 a.m.-noon | Networking Fair Visit with representatives from various KU departments, student organizations, other colleges and universities, companies, and professional organizations during this drop-in session. Organizations expected to attend: - American Physical Society - Emily Taylor Center for Women & Gender Equity - Fermilab Summer Internships in Science and Technology (SIST) - Kansas State University Department of Physics - Madison & Lila Self Graduate Fellowship - Quarked! - Rockhurst University Department of Physics - SACNAS - Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences - University of Central Arkansas Department of Physics and Astronomy - University of Kansas Center for STEM Learning/UKanTeach Program - University of Kansas Department of Geology - University of Kansas Department of Physics and Astronomy - University of Kansas School of Engineering - Washburn University Department of Physics and Astronomy |
Big 12/Jayhawk Rooms 5th Floor, Kansas Union |
| 9:30 a.m.-noon | Student Poster Session Set-Up | Alderson Auditorium 4th Floor, Kansas Union |
| 9:30-10:20 a.m. | Concurrent Session 1A Science Communication Panel As scientists, one of our responsibilities is to ensure that our work is accessible to and understandable by the general public. These panelists will share how they have accomplished this in their careers and discuss what you can do to be an effective communicator. - Alice Bean - Kate Greene - Eileen Hawley - Rebecca Thompson |
Kansas Room 6th Floor, Kansas Union |
| 9:30-10:20 a.m. | Concurrent Session 1B Graduate Student Panel Ever wonder what life is like as a graduate student? Get the straight dope from people who lived/are living it. - Samantha Brunker - Brittany Henke - Sriharsha Pothapragada - Caitlin Rochford Friedman |
Malott Room 6th Floor, Kansas Union |
| 9:30-10:20 a.m. | Concurrent Session 1C High School Mini-Conference Session: Becoming an Undergraduate The panelists will share their experiences as undergraduate students and give the attendees ideas on what to expect in the transition from high school to college and beyond. - Clara Bernauer - Pauline Dredger - Erica Pruett |
Centennial Room 6th Floor, Kansas Union |
| 10:30-11:00 a.m. | Morning Break | Parlors 5th Floor, Kansas Union |
| 11:00-11:50 a.m. | Concurrent Session 2A Role Models for the Next Generation of Scientists Each generation builds upon the previous ones. These panelists will share the paths they took to their current positions, who inspired them along the way, and what they are doing to bring along the next generation, including members of the audience. - Billie Lubis - Carrie McGivern - Angela Speck |
Kansas Room 6th Floor, Kansas Union |
| 11:00-11:50 a.m. | Concurrent Session 2B Teaching Panel Are you considering a career in science education? This panel will discuss teaching at the high school and collegiate levels. - Andy Bricker - Drew Overholt - Lynett Rock - Connie Wells |
Malott Room 6th Floor, Kansas Union |
| 11:00-11:50 a.m. | Concurrent Session 2C High School Mini-Conference Workshop: Apply to College Participants will learn what to include in their application materials and how to make their applications stand out for the purposes of both admissions and potential scholarship/honors opportunities. - Lisa Wolf-Wendel |
Centennial Room 6th Floor, Kansas Union |
| 12:00-12:45 p.m. | Lunch | Ballroom 5th Floor, Kansas Union |
| 1:00-2:30 p.m. | CUWiP National Keynote Address Going far together - Advancing science and learning through collaboration “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” This popular proverb — thought to have originated in Africa — emphasizes the strength of communities working together. It also applies extremely well to scientific discovery and learning. Some discoveries in physics are made by individuals or small groups, but many major recent discoveries could only have been made through collaborations that bring together diverse strengths and skills. In this presentation, I will use my own experience in large collaborations to illustrate the breadth of challenges and opportunities that modern “team science” provides. I will focus on one particular project — the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope — being built now by an international team of scientists and engineers to produce the deepest-ever census of the Universe, and the associated Dark Energy Science Collaboration that is preparing to use this trove of images to better understand the fundamental nature of the mysterious effect we call “dark energy”. I will conclude by describing how students can contribute to modern team science, and how I incorporate “going far together” in my own teaching of physics. - Patricia Burchat, Stanford University |
Woodruff Auditorium 5th Floor, Kansas Union |
| 2:30-3:00 p.m. | Afternoon Break | Parlors 5th Floor, Kansas Union |
| 2:30-4:00 p.m. | Student Poster Session Set-Up | Alderson Auditorium 4th Floor, Kansas Union |
| 3:00-3:50 p.m. | Concurrent Session 3A Undergraduate Research Panel You don't need a Ph.D. to get involved in scientific research. Join our panel of current and recently former undergraduates as they discuss how they got into physics research and what it is like to contribute to the sum of human knowledge. - Tia Camarillo - Carin Gavin - Eilish Gibson - Christina Schoenrogge |
Kansas Room 6th Floor, Kansas Union |
| 3:00-3:50 p.m. | Concurrent Session 3B A Fork in the Road - Academia or Industry? So you're thinking about choosing a career track, but don't know what path is for you? This panel shares the pros and cons of academia and industry jobs to help you decide. - Robynn Andracsek - Steve Hawley - Julianne Pollard-Larkin - Laura Stiles |
Malott Room 6th Floor, Kansas Union |
| 3:00-3:50 p.m. | Concurrent Session 3C STEP UP 4 Women - How You Can Help Change the Physics Community While nearly one half of the students taking physics in high school are women, only a fifth of the students interested in physics majors in college are women. How can you help change this pattern? Learn more at stepup4women.org - Rebecca Thompson |
Centennial Room 6th Floor, Kansas Union |
| 4:00-5:30 p.m. | Student Research Poster Session (Refreshments will be next to Alderson Auditorium in the Crossroads Space) |
Alderson Auditorium 4th Floor, Kansas Union |
| 5:30-6:00 p.m. | Walk (two blocks) to The Oread Hotel | |
| 6:00-7:00 p.m. | Saturday Evening Banquet | Hancock Room & Library Main Floor, The Oread Hotel |
| 7:00-8:00 p.m. | Welcome Remarks - Joy Ward, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Plenary Talk - Angela Olinto, University of Chicago |
Hancock Room & Library Main Floor, The Oread Hotel |
| 8:00-10:00 p.m. | Night Sky Observing - KU Physics & Astronomy Staff and Students |
The Nest on Ninth Rooftop Patio The Oread Hotel |
| 8:00-10:00 p.m. | Table Games and Networking | Hancock Room & Library Main Floor, The Oread Hotel |
| 9:45-11:00 p.m. | Shuttles to SpringHill Suites and TownePlace Suites | Lobby, The Oread Hotel |
Sunday, January 14, 2018
| 6:30-8:00 a.m. | Breakfast at Hotels | SpringHill Suites TownePlace Suites |
| 7:30-8:30 a.m. | Shuttles to Kansas Union | SpringHill Suites TownePlace Suites |
| 8:30-9:20 a.m. | Concurrent Session 4A Home/School Balance Physics and astronomy are challenging fields, requiring a lot of hard work and dedication. It can be a struggle to balance this hard work with your outside life. But it can be done, as our panelists can attest. - Karen Camarda - Raiya Ebini - Margaret Kelley - Sarah LeGresley Rush - Eleanor Sayre |
Kansas Room 6th Floor, Kansas Union |
| 8:30-9:20 a.m. | Concurrent Session 4B Workshop: Skills to Obtain Funding You can be the best scientist int he world, but that doesn't mean anything if you don't have funding. Learn how to navigate this competitive environment to apply for and get funding for your research. - Damon Talbott |
Malott Room 6th Floor, Kansas Union |
| 8:30-9:20 a.m. | Concurrent Session 4C Workshop: Apply for Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REUs) REU programs are a great way to get involved in a wide variety of research projects at schools and research institutions all over the world. In this workshop, you'll learn how to spot the right REUs for you and how to create the best possible application. - Phil Baringer - Judy Wu |
Alderson Auditorium 4th Floor, Kansas Union |
| 9:30-10:20 a.m. | Concurrent Session 5A Promoting Inclusion As much as we would like to think that science is a great democratizer, some groups are more welcome in the field than others. But there are things that you can do to make sure you contribute to a welcoming environment for everyone. - Simone Hyater-Adams - Caitlin Rochford Friedman - Kathy Rose-Mockry - Elise Wantling |
Kansas Room 6th Floor, Kansas Union |
| 9:30-10:20 a.m. | Concurrent Session 5B Workshop: Skills to Obtain Funding You can be the best scientist int he world, but that doesn't mean anything if you don't have funding. Learn how to navigate this competitive environment to apply for and get funding for your research. - Damon Talbott |
Malott Room 6th Floor, Kansas Union |
| 9:30-10:20 a.m. | Concurrent Session 5C Workshop: Apply for Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REUs) REU programs are a great way to get involved in a wide variety of research projects at schools and research institutions all over the world. In this workshop, you'll learn how to spot the right REUs for you and how to create the best possible application. - Phil Baringer - Judy Wu |
Alderson Auditorium 4th Floor, Kansas Union |
| 10:30-11:00 a.m. | Morning Break | Parlors 5th Floor, Kansas Union |
| 11:00-11:30 a.m. | Group Photo | Southwest Steps Outside 3rd Floor, Kansas Union |
| 11:30 a.m.-12:20 p.m. | Concurrent Session 6A PhD-Free Careers in Science Do you love your undergraduate physics courses, but hate the idea of five to seven years in a Ph.D. program? Don't worry. This panel discusses other career avenues you can take with a physics degree. - Hanna Cosgrove - Nancy Donaldson - Gina Enfranca - Kate Greene |
Kansas Room 6th Floor, Kansas Union |
| 11:30 a.m.-12:20 p.m. | Concurrent Session 6B Mental Health and Coping with Life Changes Even during the best of times, studying physics and astronomy can feel like an uphill battle. This challenge can feel even more insurmountable if you are also dealing with outside pressures. But, you're not alone. - Linda Keeler - Sarah LeGresley Rush - Angela Speck - Mindy Townsend |
Malott Room 6th Floor, Kansas Union |
11:30 a.m.-12:20 p.m. |
Concurrent Session 6C Workshop: Apply to Graduate School So you want to go to graduate school. Applying is a daunting process. Each school has a different procedure and different requirements, but navigating the labyrinthine process is possible. These workshop leaders will show you how. - Alice Bean - Anna Paradis |
Alderson Auditorium 4th Floor, Kansas Union |
| 12:30-2:00 p.m. | Science Cafe Lunch and Evaluations | Big 12 & Jayhawk Rooms 5th Floor, Kansas Union |