Published: May 10, 2023
Publication: Cal State East Bay
Author: Kimberly Hawkins

When Brittany Karki was growing up in the Oakland Public School system, she bought into the notion that kids like her go to school, graduate and get a job. So, when she got her diploma from Oakland High in 2009, she went to work as a warehouse operator and then as a hairstylist. However, between the long shifts and demands of everyday life, Karki was able to take science classes at community colleges. The subject always interested her because she grew up inspired by PBS’s Bill Nye the Science Guy.

“Everyone tells me this stuff is really hard and this is way out of my field,” said Karki. “But I figured if I fail, I fail, but how will I know if I could actually do it if I didn’t try?”

In 2020, Karki transferred to Cal State East Bay. She is graduating this spring with a bachelor of science in physics and has been accepted into seven Ph.D. programs at universities across the country.

“My hard work, persistence, my passion — it got me somewhere,” said Karki. “It’s exciting. Cal State East Bay helped me so much. The school is very diverse, but our department is so small, which I love. We joke because Dr. [Derek Jackson] Kimball’s homework is so hard that his office hours become our hang-out time because everyone is trying to figure it out. It’s fun.”

Karki remembers more days than not, sitting in lecture halls trying to make sense of what she could not.

“I would think, ‘Is today the day that I drop the class?’” said Karki. “But when I would study the notes, go through the textbook, go through the example problems line by line and slowly, I would start to make sense of it — bit by bit.”

All of these tiny moments of patience and learning that physics is about problem-solving helped her to keep going and it is what continues to motivate her today.

“You can always keep asking why, and there’s usually always more explanation, and even when there is not, that’s also an exciting point because I really want to do research,” said Karki. “Within physics, there is always more to do, more to see, more to explore. Particle wave duality of photons — what does that even mean? I’ve been studying that, and I still feel like it doesn’t really make sense, but it’s so freaking cool that I want to keep exploring and studying that — all the things that photons can do.”

During her time at Cal State East Bay, Karki traveled to Paris for a summer internship. It was the first time she has been out of the country and her inner doubt started creeping back in.

“I’m sitting on the plane and thinking my life is a mess,” said Karki. “I don’t know what I’m doing. I just met my peer group from big-name institutions. I’m literally 10 and 11 years older than all of them. I was like afraid.”

Karki said she was intimidated until she realized that she did the same work, asked the same questions as her peers and had as much right to be there as any of them.

Of all the sciences in the U.S., physics has the lowest representation of women. According to African American Women in Physics, only 150 Black women in the U.S. have earned their doctorates in physics, are current graduate students in physics, or have worked in the field.

“It makes me sad,” said Karki. “Where are we? I really wish I saw faces that look like mine.”

Just as Karki looked for faces that resembled hers, she is certain that in coming years, others will be doing the same and she hopes to be an example for them — to show the value of the journey, regardless of its winding pathways and naysayers.

“Education is inaccessible to my community, the community I came from,” said Karki. “I want to help people. I remember so many young people who had an interest in science just like me and it’s still just so far away from them.”

This summer before heading to the University of Illinois for the Ph.D. program, Karki will be camping with other Cal State East Bay physics students to study dark matter in an experiment led by Professor Derek Jackson Kimball.

“Brittany totally embodies the spirit of our physics community at Cal State East Bay,” said Kimball. “She is such a shining example to her fellow students and so inspiring to everyone who knows her. She told me that from an early age, she had always loved untying knots and always volunteered to help others untie them if she had the chance. This is a great metaphor for Brittany’s approach to physics — she is always happy to dig into challenging problems and really enjoys the process of figuring them out, no matter how long it takes.”

Published: March 21, 2023
Publication: USC Rossier School of Education
Author: Adriana Maestas

While colleges and universities have improved the diversity of the undergraduate student body—with about 45% of students identifying as people of color, representing a gain of 30% over two decades—much work remains to be done in diversifying graduate degree programs that train future professors and leaders. Approximately one-third of undergraduates go on to pursue graduate studies, while the pipeline narrows for students of color who opt to take the next leap in their studies post-bachelor’s degree.

According to recent data from the Council of Graduate Schools, about 26% of all first-time graduate-school enrollees who were U.S. citizens or permanent residents were members of underrepresented minority groups in the fall of 2020. Financial pressure, spending excessive amounts of time in remedial education, and feeling isolated or unsupported are just some of the reasons why undergraduate students of color say they struggle and do not proceed in their studies.

Fortunately, USC Rossier faculty are applying research to practice, with the goal of better preparing universities to educate and train diverse students who intend to pursue graduate studies.

Some of the ways USC Rossier faculty are tackling the diversity problem in the professoriate pipeline include preparing undergraduates to be competitive applicants for graduate school, advocating for more equitable admissions practices, and providing resources for faculty and staff who work in graduate programs to foster a more supportive and welcoming environment for diverse students.

STEP 1: DIVERSIFYING THE PIPELINE

One of the first steps toward increasing access to graduate school is to better prepare upper-division undergraduate students for graduate study. One interdisciplinary training program that prepares underrepresented students, specifically Black and Latinx students, is the Research Institute for Scholars of Equity training program (RISE). Housed at a historically Black college, North Carolina Central University (NCCU), RISE counts USC Rossier Associate Professor Royel Johnson among its principal investigators and was the only HBCU to receive a grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences.

Inequities for Black and Latinx students often begin with lower-quality pre-kindergarten, creating an equity gap that becomes challenging to close. RISE fellows—juniors and seniors who come from the communities impacted by these inequities—have an interest in social equity and conducting research to improve the learning experiences and academic attainment of Black and Latinx students from pre-K through the university level. The RISE training program gives these undergraduate fellows an opportunity to conduct mixed-methods education research while receiving mentorship and support to prepare them for graduate study.

The next phase of the program, RISE 2.0, is a partnership between NCCU and USC. Students participate in a rigorous eight-week summer program, with sessions covering GRE preparation, applying to graduate school, and putting together a competitive application, said Johnson, who instructs RISE fellows. Funded with a training grant of $1.5 million, the program “provides resources to develop undergraduate researchers to study issues in education, similar to what a McNair program does,” he said.

The program has funding to train about 60 scholars, with cohorts of about a dozen, Johnson added. The first cohort of scholars participated in the summer session on the NCCU campus in 2022. Recruitment for student participants in RISE 2.0 is national in scope.

“The RISE scholars have housing and a meal plan at NCCU for the summer program,” said Johnson, who also serves as director of student engagement at the USC Race and Equity Center. “It’s an excellent opportunity to expose students of color who are studying at predominantly White institutions to HBCUs. There’s definitely a cultural legacy embedded in the program.”

RISE fellows receive $6,000 stipends, helping them focus on their studies instead of work. In addition, they benefit from an immersive experience focused on research methodologies, American schooling and educational laws, and policies and practices that impact Black and Latinx students. In addition to receiving 12 hours of GRE prep, fellows are also trained on human-subject research and can receive up to $900 for research-related expenses.

RISE 2.0 is a unique opportunity to build a pipeline of scholars of color who are prepared to enter graduate school with research questions they have already started to explore. Its programming extends beyond the summer into the academic year, with monthly check-in sessions and online convenings so that the undergraduates continue to build relationships and community as emerging scholars.

While USC and NCCU are partnering institutions in RISE 2.0, collaborating institutions include Houston- Tillotson University, Jarvis Christian College, Paul Quinn College, Temple University, Texas College, the University of New Mexico, the University of North Carolina–Wilmington, Wiley College and Virginia Union University.

“It’s an excellent opportunity to expose students of color who are studying at predominantly White institutions to HBCUs. There’s definitely a cultural legacy embedded in the program.” —USC Rossier Associate Professor Royel Johnson

Another promising California-based bridge program has the potential to move the needle on representation of scientists from underrepresented groups. The number of Latinx, Black and Native American students receiving STEM PhDs is about 14%, even though these groups make up more than 30% of the U.S. population. In the fields of physics and astronomy, the diversity problem is even more pronounced, with only 6% of PhDs awarded to members of underrepresented minority groups. While RISE focuses on scholars studying inequities in education, Cal-Bridge—a partnership of the University of California and California State University—creates opportunities for underrepresented students to increase their numbers in PhD programs in STEM fields.

USC Rossier Associate Professor Julie Posselt is a principal investigator for Cal-Bridge, which is designed for California State University (CSU) students interested in pursuing a STEM-related PhD with the goal of matriculating into a UC doctoral program. Through mentoring and professional development, the National Science Foundation-funded project helps underrepresented minorities, members of the LGBTQ+ community, disabled and first-generation students advance in STEM fields including physics, astronomy, computer science and computer engineering. Cal-Bridge recruits students entering their junior year at a CSU campus and supports them for three years, through their first year of graduate school. There are four pillars of support for Cal-Bridge students: 1) joint mentoring by two faculty, one from their home CSU campus and the other from a nearby UC campus; 2) need-based scholarships of up to $10,000 per year so program participants can cut back on their work hours to focus on their studies; 3) professional development workshops that prepare students to apply to PhD programs; and 4) a summer research opportunity.

The Cal-Bridge summer program enables the undergraduate scholars to participate in research projects for eight to 10 weeks in the summer. To ease the financial burden for participants, students are paid a stipend, and housing and travel costs are covered by the program.

Posselt said Cal-Bridge has been so successful that the California State Legislature has allocated $5 million into the state budget to support the program’s expansion. In her capacity as co-PI, Posselt has used research findings to inform project strategy via discussions with the project’s operational leadership. Posselt and her research team are using social network analysis and longitudinal departmental case studies to understand the progression of Cal-Bridge scholars pursuing graduate education in astronomy and physics. Data collection for Cal-Bridge began in summer 2019 and will continue for five years. Social network analysis can broaden the understanding of trust networks and how students who are historically underrepresented benefit from intensive mentoring and exposure to undergraduate research opportunities with their peers.

STEP 2: PREPARING GRADUATE SCHOOLS TO BETTER SUPPORT A DIVERSE STUDENT BODY

Preparing underrepresented students for graduate studies is just one piece of the puzzle. Another major challenge to creating equitable access to graduate schools involves changing the schools themselves. One such effort, which seeks to improve admissions policies at graduate schools and better prepare them to support increasingly diverse student populations, is the Equity in Graduate Education Consortium. Led by Posselt, this research initiative initially started as a project to scale holistic graduate admissions practices to six California universities. The consortium works with graduate programs and leaders to align policies and practices to equity and inclusion commitments. One of the goals is to apply racial equity research to build supportive, sustainable infrastructure that transforms and reconfigures structures that have excluded students of color and those from other underrepresented backgrounds.

Many of the underlying inequality issues with graduate education have roots in the challenges students face during their baccalaureate studies. Undergraduates from underserved backgrounds are more likely to have to work to support themselves during their studies than other students, and those from low-income families are more likely to work longer hours than their more affluent peers, cutting into time that could be spent studying or engaging in a research program that would help in determining an area of study for graduate school. Research shows that undergraduates who work more than 20 hours per week have lower grades and retention rates.

Excellent grades and experience in conducting research are some of the qualities that have traditionally defined competitive graduate school applicants. Those qualities are biased against students who are underrepresented or from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, many of whom are students of color. Creating a more equitable graduate admissions process involves taking a more holistic approach to evaluating an applicant. This means implementing the kind of equity-minded organizational change that Posselt’s research calls for.

For Posselt—who is also affiliated with the Pullias Center for Higher Education, a USC Rossier research center aimed at addressing major challenges in educational equity—these changes could include using new rubrics to evaluate prospective graduate students, improving diversity in a holistic review process. Other changes might include actively involving faculty to participate in recruiting students from racially minoritized groups, and learning from programs that have been successful in implementing designs for equity.

“Equity is more than closing gaps. It’s doing what it takes to keep gaps closed, keep diverse scholars engaged at all levels of education, and re-create the broken systems, structures and cultures that contribute to inequalities,” Posselt said. “Every year, more and more people and organizations are ready to take on this challenge, and it’s a privilege to lead research-practice partnerships that are helping them do so.”

Once these students arrive in graduate school, the institutions that accept them are often not wholly prepared to receive and support them. The Equity in Graduate Education Consortium, which Posselt directs and serves as principal investigator, offers professional and organizational development to change-ready universities, graduate programs and faculty to transform graduate admissions and recruitment.

This project has now scaled up to 13 universities nationally, including 84 PhD programs. The organizational change model has been so successful in diversifying applicants and enrollees in doctoral programs that it has also been replicated by a group of universities in England.

“Equity is more than closing gaps. It’s doing what it takes to keep gaps closed, keep diverse scholars engaged at all levels of education, and re-create the broken systems, structures and cultures that contribute to inequalities.” —USC Rossier Associate Professor Julie Posselt

The consortium’s workshops provide guidance on how graduate programs can begin implementing changes to policies and practices that have undermined the access and success of racially minoritized students. For instance, developing equity-minded mentoring relationships between faculty and graduate students is one area that can profoundly impact success. The workshops also teach faculty how to distinguish among mentoring, advising, supervising and sponsorship activities and train them on how to have culturally responsive conversations with mentees across social differences. Recognizing the overall well-being of minoritized students is also tackled in terms of how to have open conversations about mental health, wellness, and how racism and isolation can pose a risk to diverse graduate students.

STEP 3: DEMYSTIFYING THE PROFESSORIATE

Graduates of master’s and doctoral programs often go on to fulfill leadership roles in academia and other sectors and become faculty at institutions of higher education. One of the goals of diversifying graduate student bodies is also to diversify these very leadership roles and higher ed faculty. Just as there are unwritten rules on the path to becoming an academic, from how grad school applications are prepared to entering a doctoral program with research questions identified, there are additional rules in the job-search process to seek a tenure-track position. How candidates present in interviews and at academic conferences, how those candidates are judged by other faculty and the number of publications the applicant has in peer-reviewed journals are just some of the many factors that influence who becomes a professor.

USC Rossier faculty are noted for taking an equity-minded approach to their research. The professors are also known for informing their graduate students about the processes and structures that their students will encounter as they embark on their academic careers. “There are a few ways that I see USC Rossier faculty working to diversify the professoriate,” said Wilmon A. Christian III, director of workplace equity at the USC Race and Equity Center. “On a smaller scale, our faculty participate in coaching, mentoring, and sponsoring and working with underrepresented students in hands-on ways to prepare them for the rigors of the professoriate. The other important thing that happens is how USC Rossier faculty demystify the professoriate and explain what they do and what it takes to get into these positions with their research and the projects that they are involved in.”

“Reflecting on my own experience,” Christian added, “coming from an HBCU and attending graduate school at a predominantly White institution, I’m grateful that I had mentors who broke things down for me and helped me with small things, like how I was crafting my personal statement, how I was refining my research interests and connecting with scholars who were doing the research and work that I was interested in pursuing.”

Taking a systems-and-structure approach to creating that ripple effect in attracting, recruiting and retaining emerging scholars of color is what USC Rossier faculty are pursuing to diversify the professoriate. This involves applying research findings and insights to understand why existing structures have produced a college professoriate that is not as diverse as the growing student population. A systems approach also involves examining the relationships among students, faculty and staff within and outside the college campus and the policies and practices that impact those students. In addition, this approach acknowledges that interactions with systems in a student’s environment can have a profound impact on their success and preparation for postbaccalaureate studies.

“Reflecting on my own experience, coming from an HBCU and attending graduate school at a predominantly White institution, I’m grateful that I had mentors who broke things down for me and helped me with small things.” —Wilmon A. Christian III, director of workplace equity at the USC Race and Equity Center

“When we think about improving access to graduate education and how we can diversify the faculty, we need to shift from individual responsibility and look more at institutional responsibility,” Posselt said.

The programs and research that USC Rossier faculty are involved in to promote diversity in graduate education and prepare underrepresented students to enter the academy as professors remind us that institutions and organizations can take more responsibility in their commitment to equity and diversity. USC Rossier’s scholars are committed to applying their research in practical ways to address the institutionalized racism in higher education that has kept scholars of color and other marginalized people out of the professoriate. The school’s commitment to diversifying the professoriate does not end with preparing graduates for the job market. Since 2020, more than 80% of the school’s faculty hires—including the appointment of Royel Johnson—have been scholars of color.Illustration/Sonia Pulido

Published: July 8, 2022
Publication: UCI News
Author: Tom Vasich

Cal-Bridge Program aims to diversify the state’s public university faculty and tech workforce

The State of California has approved $5 million in funding for the Cal-Bridge program which provides a pathway for underrepresented students in Community Colleges and the California State University system to pursue advanced Ph.D. degrees through the University of California   system and join the California science and technology workforce, including as public university faculty.

The Cal-Bridge program, launched in 2014, is a statewide partnership between 9 UC, 23 CSU, and 116 community colleges across California supporting undergraduate CSU students majoring in physics, computer science, and mathematics to matriculate into PhD programs across the state and nation. The new California state budget allocation will enable Cal-Bridge to expand the subject areas covered and extend its impact, supporting Cal-Bridge scholars all the way from their CSU undergraduate studies through their UC PhDs, thereby building a pathway for thousands of California students from diverse backgrounds to achieve the expertise needed to fill university faculty and technology leadership positions in California and beyond.

“Diversifying the professoriate will lead to a growth in gender, racial, and ethnic representation in the technology workforce more broadly by increasing the number of students from historically underrepresented groups completing degrees in STEM fields because they see faculty that look like them,” said Cal-Bridge Executive Director Alexander Rudolph, professor of physics and astronomy at Cal Poly Pomona. “As countries around the world are increasing their investment in science and technology, making sure our nation uses all of the available talent in developing our expertise and capabilities in these fields is an issue of economic and national security.”

Maria “Katy” Rodriguez Wimberly is a striking example of the power of the Cal-Bridge approach. An Army veteran, Wimberly took classes at the community college level before transferring to California State University, Long Beach where she joined the Cal-Bridge program in 2015. Wimberly graduated with a B.S. degree in physics from Long Beach and went on to earn a PhD in astrophysics at UC Irvine in 2021. She is now an NSF MPS-Ascend postdoctoral fellow in astrophysics at UC Riverside.

Commenting on how the Cal-Bridge program provided the support she needed for success, Wimberly said, “The network of mentors and peers Cal-Bridge has helped me create has been invaluable in my pursuit of an astrophysics Ph.D.! I now have an incredible support system of similarly underrepresented astro grad students and mentors who actively work to build a more inclusive community.”

Kevork Abazajian, professor of physics & astronomy, is the Cal-Bridge UC-South director and runs the program at UCI.

About Cal-Bridge: The Cal-Bridge program has the mission to create a comprehensive, end-to-end pathway for undergraduates from the diverse student population of the CSU system through graduate school to a PhD, postdoctoral fellowship, and ultimately membership in the professoriate and science and technology workforce. Students in the program are referred to as Cal-Bridge scholars.

The program is a partnership between 9 University of California, all 23 California State University and the 116 community college campuses in the state, thus fulfilling the promise of cross-segmental cooperation envisioned in the California Master Plan for Higher Education. Scholars are recruited from CSU and community college campuses across the state, with the help of local faculty and/or staff liaisons at each campus. Community college students transfer to a participating CSU to join the program.

Published: March 22, 2022
Publication: The California State University
Author: Monica Alarcon

Joel Cortez was born in Hermosillo Sonora, Mexico, and migrated to the United States with his parents when he was one year old. His parents, Brenda Osuna and Joel Cortez, were uneducated and lived in poverty. They left Mexico for a better way of life and for educational opportunities for Joel. It was a huge sacrifice for the family as they left their family, friends, and culture behind them. They knew coming to the U.S. would be challenging because they did not know the language, were unemployed, and were unfamiliar with the culture. Joel’s future was more important to them than any challenge they would face as immigrants in a new country. 22 years later, they know they made the right choice in coming to American. They are proud of Joel for taking advantage of all the educational opportunities provided to him. Joel does not take their sacrifice for granted and is not complacent with how proud they are of him today. He wants to continue to make them more proud and he is ready to accomplish more extraordinary things in his educational and professional journey. Growing up, he always knew he would go to college and major in a STEM field because these classes always inspired him to think of the impossible.

Economic Challenges… After graduating from high school, Joel was accepted to Cal State San Bernardino and the University of La Verne. However, he was unable to attend either of them. Due to economic reasons his family and he were facing at the time, he attended a community college. This choice would allow him to afford school and be close to his family. Joel spent three years at the College of the Desert. It was disappointing for him not to be able to attend a 4-year university as he had planned to but he credits the community college for getting him interested in STEM. While completing his general education courses, he realized he enjoyed his math and science classes. He excelled in these courses and he thought he would eventually earn a degree in computer science.

Physics Inspired… After completing his three years at College of the Desert, Joel was finally ready to transfer to a 4-year university. Again, he was accepted to various higher education institutions and decided to attend Cal State San Bernardino for the fall 2020 semester. He knew that campus would be an excellent fit for him. It was a university that would not burden him economically. In addition, he was accepted into the Cal-Bridge program​, a program he knew would support him in reaching his education and research goals. During Joel’s first year at Cal State San Bernardino, he quickly learned that his true passion was physics. He wanted to learn everything about physics. He wanted to understand how things worked in the world and the mathematical problems one can use to solve them. He became fascinated with how physics helped the world organize the universe and he knew he wanted to be a part of that. He found that physics stimulated his creative side in positive ways. Physics also helped Joel see the world differently and inspired him to want to change and impact it positively. Physics also led him to become more interested in research projects. He sought opportunities at Cal State San Bernardino through the Cal-Bridge program to get more involved in research opportunities.

Staying Engaged During the Pandemic… His research experience at Cal State San Bernardino was unique. Joel had transitioned into his first year on campus online during a time when the COVID-19 pandemic was still surging throughout most communities. Thus, most of his first-year experience was as a student online. The pandemic made his research opportunities somewhat limited. Yet, he was able to lean on his Cal-Bridge membership and took advantage of the program’s resources. Cal-Bridge would host online workshops monthly to prep them for their semester curriculum and provide information about future research opportunities and internships. Although he was studying remotely, he was very active within the program. He stayed engaged, and eventually was assigned to two Cal-Bridge mentors, Dr.Matteo Crismani at CSUSB and Dr. Anson D’Aloisio of UC Riverside. The dual mentorship prepared him and encouraged him to apply to PhD programs. In addition, ​Dr. Matteo Crismani who saw a lot of potential in Joel and approached him about participating in his research. Joel agreed because developing research skills was important to him.

Research Experience… He found research challenging in the beginning. Joel struggled with how to read scientific journals and had to develop numerous skills he did not have at the time. He had to learn how to see things from a scientific perspective. He felt like quitting many times but with the help and encouragement of Dr. Crismani and the Cal-Bridge program, he was able to overcome many of those challenges. Eventually, Joel felt confident enough to present his research to an audience. When Dr. Crismani asked him if he wanted to participate in the STEM-NET Edison Student Research symposium, Joel agreed. Although he admitted he was nervous about presenting his research, he knew the experience would help expand his research growth. He presented his research on May 7th, and to his surprise, he had a great time. Since then, he has participated in three more research presentations. In the summer of 2021, he participated in the H&S Summer Research Symposium and presented the topic of light dark matter at Stanford University. That same summer, he participated in the Cal-Bridge Summer Research Symposium. He shared his research on light dark matter with incoming Cal-Bridge students to give them a glimpse of the type of research they can get involved in. In Fall 2021, he also presented his research on clouds on Mars at the Southern California Conference for Undergraduate Research (SCCUR) hosted by Cal State San Bernadino. He is currently still researching the topic of clouds on Mars with Dr. ​Crismani and is actively looking for future research presentation opportunities.

The Future… Joel will be graduating in May 2022 with a physics degree. He wants to continue his clouds on Mars research but it will depend on the Ph.D. programs he is accepted to. Joel is also very interested in dark matter or planetary science research opportunities in the future. He has applied to many Ph.D. programs but hopes to be accepted into UC Riverside. His goal is to become a physics professor or find a research position. Meanwhile, he is focusing on enjoying his last semester at Cal State San Bernadino. He is also grateful for programs such as Cal-Bridge and professors like Dr. Crismani because they were a massive part of him shifting from being uncomfortable with research to becoming comfortable with conducting research.​

Published: September 7, 2021
Publication: Women in Astronomy
Author: Bryne Hadnott

This feature is part of our ongoing series about the amazing women at Astronomers for Planet Earth (A4E),  a global network of astronomers and astronomy enthusiasts dedicated to offering their unique perspective to the fight for climate justice. For this post, we’ll hear from Imani Mairae Ware, an undergraduate student studying astrophysics at San Francisco State University (SFSU).

If you’re interested in learning more about A4E’s work combating global climate change and want to get involved, join them here at: https://astronomersforplanet.earth/join-us-1. And be sure to check out A4E’s white paper on what astronomers (like you!) can do to address the climate crisis: Astronomers for Planet Earth: Engaging with the Public to Forge a Sustainable Future. 

What is your current career and how did you end up there?
Right now, I am attending San Francisco State University to study astrophysics for my Bachelor’s degree. I decided to study astrophysics after taking a couple of physics classes in high school with my amazing and inspiring teacher, William Lemei. Our class watched a TEDx talk by astrophysicist Dr. Alex Fillipenko about his dark energy discoveries and after that, I knew I wanted to study astrophysics. Although I love studying the sky and the physics of the universe, I also love to build structures and design real-world systems, like an engineer. So to get the best of both worlds, I planned to study astrophysics to get a more fundamental understanding of aerospace engineering to take to an industry job. Little did I know that astrophysics was more than a fundamental understanding of aerospace, but an in-depth analysis of physical and theoretical micro and macro systems. I’m so happy I chose this route because I now know more about this world and the universe than I could have ever imagined back in high school.

What is your role in Astronomers for Planet Earth (A4E)?
I am one of the original members and co-founders of Astronomers for Planet Earth (A4E). While President of the Women in Physics and Astronomy Club, I helped organize A4E’s official debut panel session at the Astronomical Society of the Pacific’s 131st conference hosted at San Francisco State University in 2019. From there the co-founders and I worked on recruiting other astronomers passionate about climate activism and setting the foundation for this blossoming organization. As the word spread, we joined forces with a Europe-based group of astronomers focused on climate change, and from there we have coordinated social media content, membership events, conference talks, and calls to action for observatories around the world. As an undergraduate student taking online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic, I haven’t been as active as I wanted to, but have contributed in any way I can. My next step is to focus on administrative structures to help streamline the onboarding process of new members.

What goals do you have for your role in A4E?
Since a large portion of my time in A4E has been setting up a structure and foundation to make operations easier in the future, the activism side of our mission has been slow to start. One of my goals is to initiate events and meetings to focus on implementing action-based movements. Most companies and organizations that flaunt their eco-friendly initiatives are all talk, no action. I do not want A4E to become one of those organizations and intend to push for more front-line climate activism. I also want to involve more youth and underrepresented groups in the organization to diversify the voices we include in the climate conversation. Since I am still one of a handful of undergraduate students active in A4E, I want to facilitate outreach events to bring more youth activists into A4E and foster a safe space for open discussion. Astronomy is for everyone and everyone is affected by climate change. Anyone who values both astronomy and climate change, regardless of age and background, should have their voices heard in A4E.

Describe the first time you made a personal connection between your passion for astronomy and the urgency of fighting climate change.
I don’t really have a specific moment when I made the connection, but after learning that traveling to other planets outside of our solar system is still science fiction, I knew we need to take care of Planet Earth since it’s the only one we have. There really is no Planet B. Most of the other planets and moons in our solar system are currently uninhabitable and will take decades before any colony could be established on those with promising terrain. Of course, interstellar travel is a future possibility, but right now, that technology doesn’t exist. That is why we must take care of our planet and mitigate anthropogenic climate change so we can eventually build the interstellar technology of sci-fi fantasies. We only have a couple of decades to even get close to righting the wrongs we’ve inflicted on this planet. After realizing that the climate change problem is more urgent than interstellar space travel, I decided that the astronomical perspective on climate change could help bring humanity’s focus back from the fantasies of the stars to the realities of the earth.

How does your career in astronomy intersect with the fight against climate change?
Astronomy and fighting climate change are not often connected, but since they are both passions of mine, I made sure to bring these two worlds together. One connection I can think of is that effectively observing space from the ground requires good atmospheric conditions, but as climate change makes the atmosphere less predictable, astronomers must advocate for the planet like we advocate for space science.

How can the astronomical community engage with the climate crisis movement?
Since astronomers have a unique perspective on the climate crisis, we should first create and share educational tools to provide cosmological context to our global problem while presenting effective, concrete solutions. The most effective space astronomers have to share this information is in the classroom and academic community. But since the love for stars and space is not limited to members of academia, astronomers also have the ability to inspire and include everyone into the conversation through the wonderfully curious lens of astronomy.

If you weren’t in the field of astronomy, what would you be doing?
If I weren’t in astrophysics, I would probably be studying aerospace engineering at another university since SFSU doesn’t have aerospace engineering. I would still be volunteering as a climate activist, regardless of my career path, since climate change is everyone’s problem to solve.

Do you have any advice for future astronomers who might also be interested in addressing the climate crisis?
Check out the resources and information pages on the A4E website, join A4E, explore our slack space to connect with other members, and continue to apply climate solutions as often as you can! You are not alone in this fight!