Vincent Rodgers
www.physics.uiowa.edu
The Issue of Climate and Diversity:
1. Uneasiness in Physics because it is elitist or
because it is hard?
2.History of minority and women physicists
3.Diversity issues are a barometric reading of
issue related to nation
4.Inclusion and cultural competency
Vincent Rodgers
www.physics.uiowa.edu
Edward Bouchet (1852 – 1918)
First African America with Ph.D.
1876 Yale University, Physics
• Only 7 Americans had a Ph.D in Physics
Vincent Rodgers © 2006
www.physics.uiowa.edu
Elmer Samuel Imes (1883 -1941)
Second African America with Ph.D in physics.
1918 University of Michigan
-work was important for discovery of the universality of quantum
mechanics
Vincent Rodgers © 2006
www.physics.uiowa.edu
NSF Statistics
• 1999 57% of PhDs awarded in U.S. went to
citizens and permanent residents
• 2001 that number was 51%
• 12.6% of all PhDs awarded in the U.S. went to
women from any nation with the United States
lagged significantly behind Italy, Spain and
France.
• U.S. citizens who are members of
underrepresented ethnic groups constituted less
that 6%.
Vincent Rodgers
www.physics.uiowa.edu
• To add to this underutilization of
Americans in the scientific workplace,
the number of Americans attempting the
PhD in Physics has steadily decreased
from 1990 to 2001.
• 1998 - Congresswoman Constance A
Morella formed the Commission on the
Advancement of Women and Minorities
in Science, Engineering, and Technology
Development (CAWMSET)
Vincent Rodgers
www.physics.uiowa.edu
Vincent Rodgers
www.physics.uiowa.edu
Strategies for Preparing Students
• GAANN – Government Assistance in Areas of
National Need (Physics qualifies as “National
Need”)
• AGEP – NSF’s Alliances for Graduate
Education and the Professoriate
• REU – NSF’s Research Experience for
Undergraduates
Vincent Rodgers
www.physics.uiowa.edu
• These strategies use summer internship
programs to bring in students
• REU vs. AGEP: are we segregating research
opportunities in physics?
Vincent Rodgers
www.physics.uiowa.edu
Novel Approach: Student Summer
Theoretical Physics Research Session
• Alliance of research faculty since 1999:
S.J. Gates (UMD) and V.G.J. Rodgers (IOWA)
• Provide bridge between graduating seniors and
graduate school, but other undergrads and high
school students are admitted
• Inclusion of women, minorities, international
students in a one month research effort
• Informal but intensive for full month of June
Vincent Rodgers
www.physics.uiowa.edu
• Students are not given stipends but
room and board paid
• Students have access to faculty
members day and night and live on the
host campus
• students, particularly undergraduates, to
gain a closer working knowledge of the
work, roles and research responsibilities of
the physics professoriate that are engaged in
the mathematical/theoretical portion of the
field
Vincent Rodgers
www.physics.uiowa.edu
• increases in their level of mathematical
sophistication and mastery
• and perhaps become a co-author to a research
paper to be published in a refereed physics
journal.
Vincent Rodgers
www.physics.uiowa.edu
• Inclusion is a key ingredient
Vincent Rodgers
www.physics.uiowa.edu
Example: Initial Training
• Calculus on curved manifolds & differential
geometry,
• Lie algebras and group theory with a special
emphasis on SO(d), SO(1,d-1), spinors and
infinite dimensional Lie algebras,
• Relativistic E&M as a prelude to General
Relativity as classical field theories,
• Supernumbers, superfields, superspace \&
supersymmetry, and
• Bosonic and RNS strings as 2d field
theories.
Vincent Rodgers
www.physics.uiowa.edu
Then work on real research alongside
faculty
• Vast majority of students have continued on to
grad school or have completed grad school in
physics/math
• Publications with undergrads/grads possible
Vincent Rodgers
www.physics.uiowa.edu
Vincent Rodgers
www.physics.uiowa.edu
Vincent Rodgers
www.physics.uiowa.edu
SSTPRS
Research Session - 2004
Vincent Rodgers
www.physics.uiowa.edu
Tencia Lee in Lane 6
“ Caltech's been treating me pretty well. I am
really busy, but I've learned so much already
from just over 2 years here. Although I have
done two different research projects over the
past two summers, and I have to say that the
summers I spent working with you were still the
most fun and interesting I've experienced yet!
It really was an extraordinary opportunity. Have
any more high school students worked with you
since then?”
Vincent Rodgers
www.physics.uiowa.edu
SSTPRS
Research Session - 2005
Standing: Xiaolong Liu, Prof. Leopoldo Pando Zayas, Prof. Vincent Rodgers, Chris
Negron, Jeff Hansen, Stephen Colodner, Brislin Thomas, Osaro Harriott, Quentin A
Collier, Nichole Kiefer, Stephen Gliske, Prof. Jim Gates
Seated: Ninad Jog, Ibrahima Bah, Leo Rodriguez, Nick Romano
Vincent Rodgers
www.physics.uiowa.edu
SSTPRS
Research Session - 2006
Vincent Rodgers
www.physics.uiowa.edu
Other Faculty Involved:
• Prof. Tristan Hubsch - Howard University
• Prof. Leopoldo Pandos Zayas – Michigan
• Ms. Mary Kemp – John Hersey High School, Illinois
Vincent Rodgers
www.physics.uiowa.edu