Date: Thu 30-Jan-2020
Speaker: Omar Eaton-Martinez
Title: "Establishing your professional vision in order to inform the next steps of your career"
Omar Eaton-Martinez has had a breadth of experience in education and outreach, from K-12 teaching to exhibit research for Smithsonian museums. He is an alumnus of UMD, receiving a B.A. in African American Studies, a masters in Educational Leadership, and completing doctoral work in American Studies. While working as education and public outreach specialist at NASA Goddard, Omar associate-produced the Archaeoastronomy documentary "Places of Mirrors", connecting space science and indigenous cultures. As the Assistant Division Chief of Historical Resources for PG County Parks & Rec, Omar leads the programming of historical sites with an emphasis placed on preserving, sustaining and enhancing these resources as well as engaging and building communities through education, outreach, and innovation. Omar has also been involved in several non-profit boards and museum initiatives focused on race and social justice, including being a Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion Fellow for the American Alliance of Museums. Most recently, he was appointed to be on the Maryland Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Commission last November.
Date: Thu 06-Feb-2020
Speaker: Caleb Harada, Claire Hinrichs, Kathleen Hamilton-Campos, and Mackenzie Carlson and other AAS attendees
Title: "Results and Reflections from the January AAS Meeting"
This week, we will have an open conversation centered around reflections from various conferences, with an emphasis on the 235th AAS. Everyone is welcome to join, regardless of whether you attended the AAS Meeting: please come in to share your experiences participating/organizing various conferences and/or learn from others!
If you would like to contribute to the discussion, here are some suggestion questions that can guide you in thinking about your most recent conference. Please feel free to expand upon the list:
- What motivated you to go to this specific conference? Did you get out of it what you hoped you would? - What do you think was the most valuable take-away from this conference? - What is something that you really enjoyed during the conference? - What were some challenges that you faced during the conference? What could have been better in terms of organizing the conference? What do you think the department and/or our community could do to better prepare you for this event? - What are some sessions that you wish you went to, but couldn't? - What advice would you have for someone who would like to go to the same conference? - What advice would you have for someone who would like to plan a conference or a workshop?
Furthermore, we will have four undergraduate students (Caleb, Claire, Mackenzie, and Kathleen) and a few graduate students (yet to be decided who :) bring their posters that will be placed around the room for a very informal exchange of what people have been up to with their science. If you would like to join in, please feel free to bring a poster with you and we will put it up. Also, if you attended a particularly exciting workshop relating to some of the BANG topics that you would like to discuss, please let us know so that we can count you in for structuring the hour!
Date: Thu 13-Feb-2020
Speaker: Dr. David Rupke (Rhodes)
Title: "Research and Teaching at a Liberal Arts College"
We expect that Prof Rupke (UMD PhD) will discuss his career path, his experiences with research and teaching at a liberal arts college, and provide some advice on what colleges are looking for when they hire.
Date: Thu 20-Feb-2020
Speaker: Leslie Sage
Title: "Dealing with Depression"
Date: Thu 27-Feb-2020
Speaker: Dr. Jane Rigby (GSFC)
Title: "LGBTIQ+ Inclusion in Astronomy: a status report"
It's been sixty years since astronomer & activist Frank Kameny was fired for being gay, fifty years since the moon landings and the Stonewall riot, seven years since LGBTQIA+ astronomers gained a voice within the AAS, and four years since same-sex couples gained the right to marry throughout the U.S. For the first time, the Astro2020 Decadal Survey will explicitly consider the State of the Profession and the status of under-represented minorities. So, what's the workplace climate for queer astronomers? Are we under-represented? How's visibility? What should be the priorities for inclusion going forward? This is a crowd-sourced talk, with contributions from 21 astronomers.
Date: Thu 05-Mar-2020
Speaker: All
Title: "Mental Health: reflections and brainstorming"
Following up on the Mental Health Report produced by the UMD Physics Mental Health Survey Task Force, we would like to spend our BANG! hour talking and reflecting on the current mental health support systems in our department and/or the university. We will start off by briefly summarizing the results from the survey, and then move onto reflections. Also, we plan to use this seminar to brainstorm some ideas regarding what we would like our department to do in the future to support the individuals that make up our department. We will spend some time talking about Astronomy’s involvement in the survey and how we would like to adjust it to better fit our needs.
Although the survey specifically targeted graduate students, everyone is welcome to attend, participate, and/or contribute to this BANG seminar, should you like to do so. We will break into smaller groups for guided reflection, discussion, and brainstorming on various topics mentioned above; and then move the discussion to the larger group.
As always, and in this discussion, we would like to encourage you to be respectful of BANG! space by following these guidelines (full URL: https://go.umd.edu/i8H).
Date: Thu 12-Mar-2020
Speaker: No seminar (prospective visit)
Title:
Date: Thu 19-Mar-2020
Speaker:
Title: "SPRING BREAK"
Date: Thu 26-Mar-2020
Speaker: Dr. Vicki Toy-Eden (Protenus) (POSTPONED UNTIL FALL)
Title: "From Astronomy PhD to Data Science"
Date: Thu 02-Apr-2020
Speaker: Dr. Meredith Brown
Title: "Careers in climate and environmental science"
Interdisciplinary careers in climate and environmental science, machine learning, with a Physics/Math background
Date: Thu 09-Apr-2020
Speaker: Dr. Judith Racusin (GSFC) POSTOPONED UNTIL FALL 2020
Title: "Cubesats / Replaced with Department Virtual Check-in"
Date: Thu 16-Apr-2020
Speaker: Department members
Title: "Department Check-In"
This BANG seminar is a first in a series of department-wide check-in Zoom gatherings during the time of Covid-19. Please join the rest of the department for an hour of informal conversation and chit-chat with the goal of making sure that everyone is doing well in isolation. We plan to break up into smaller groups and provide conversation prompts; but nothing too structured---the main goal of this gathering to foster the sense of the departmental community during these challenging times.
Date: Thu 23-Apr-2020
Speaker: Dr. Luc Riesbeck (GWU) **** POSTPONED TO FALL **** replaced with Department Check-In
Title: "The Nonbinary Fraction: Looking Towards the Future of Gender Equity in Astronomy // REPLACED WITH DEPARTMENT CHECK-IN"
Date: Thu 30-Apr-2020
Speaker: Department members
Title: "Department Check-In"
This BANG seminar is a first in a series of department-wide check-in Zoom gatherings during the time of Covid-19. Please join the rest of the department for an hour of informal conversation and chit-chat with the goal of making sure that everyone is doing well in isolation. We plan to break up into smaller groups and provide conversation prompts; but nothing too structured---the main goal of this gathering to foster the sense of the departmental community during these challenging times.
Date: Thu 07-May-2020
Speaker: Dr. Barb Mattson (GSFC/UMD)
Title: "Taking Science Beyond the Journal: Sharing Astrophysics Stories with the Public
Have you seen a story about black holes on a news website and wondered how it got there? Curious about what it takes to turn your next science result into a media sensation? Or do you want to be the one translating science stories into media products?
I'll talk about my position as the Astrophysics Communications Scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, how we turn scientific papers into news features and social media posts, and the circuitous path I took getting to this position. There should be something for everyone -- from researchers who want to know about how to work with their local friendly communications teams to folks looking at alternate paths in astronomy.
