Undergrad Ashley Jones attends SCUWP

Undergrad Ashley Jones attends SCUWP

Submitted by Ashley Jones. The Southeast Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics was held January 14-17 on the campus of North Carolina State University.  It was a time for young women in the field to come together to share their knowledge and learn about their opportunities for the future.  It was geared specifically towards women in an effort to reach out to females in a male-dominated field.  Participants shared their research in oral presentations as well as a poster session.

They sat in on a graduate student panel.  Especially for students without a faculty mentor to guide them throughout the graduate application process, the information was invaluable. I especially enjoyed a talk by Duke medical physicist Georgia Tourassi. She told a bit about her life story as well as her profession, encouraging students to pursue their dreams while recognizing the difficulties that lie in front of them. The conference seemed to be a great success amongst the attendees, as they chatted and made important connections with each other between sessions. It was exciting to see students coming from many different states to attend the conference. It was inspiring to see professional women in physics and hear how far they have come in their journeys.