Friday, October 6
9:00 AM Conference Check-In Opens
10:45 AM - 11:00 AM Bus Pick-Up for NIST
11:00 AM - 5:00 PM NIST Tour and Luncheon
Speaker: Willie E. May, Director of Major Research and Training Initiatives,
University of Maryland CMNS, and Former Director of NIST
5:30 PM Registration/Room Check-In at UMD
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Welcome Dinner
Welcome: Steve Rolston, Professor of Physics, Department Chair
Willie E. May, Director of Major Research and Training Initiatives,
University of Maryland CMNS, and Former Director of NIST
Opening Remarks: Sylvia M. James, Ed.D., Acting Deputy Assistant Director
(DAD), Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR),
National Science Foundation

Banquet Speaker: Freeman Hrabowski, III
President of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County
9:00 PM Networking Introductions
Brad Conrad, Director of SPS and Sigma Pi Sigma, American Institute of Physics
Saturday, October 7 Panels: Graduate School, Research Opportunities, Careers in Physics
8:00 AM - 9:00 AM Breakfast and Conference Welcome
Donna Hammer, Director of Education, Physics Department,
University of Maryland
Angie Hight Walker, Senior Scientist, NIST
Remarks: Brad Conrad, Director of SPS and Sigma Pi Sigma,
American Institute of Physics
9:00 AM - 9:45 AM Honored Guest: Willie Rockward, Chair and Associate Professor of Physics,
Morehouse College
9:45 AM - 10:00 AM Break
10:00 AM - 11:15 AM Graduate School Session
Going to Graduate School: Rolando Valdes Aguilar, Assistant Professor,
The Ohio State University
APS Bridge Program: Ted Hodapp, Director of Project Development and
Senior Advisor to the Department of Education and Diversity,
American Physical Society
Erika Alexander Brown, Bridge Program Manager, American Physical Society
Ethel Perez-Hoyos, Graduate Student, The Ohio State University
Zack Hall, III, Graduate Student, University of North Carolina
CAMPARE and Cal-Bridge Programs: Freddy Cisneros, Graduate Student,
University of Maryland
11:15 AM Group Photo
12:00 PM - 1:15 PM Networking Lunch
1:15 PM - 1:30 PM Break
1:30 PM - 3:45 PM Conference Sessions
Career Paths 1: Where Your Physics Degree Can Take You, Rm2105
Brian Cooper, TD Process & Integration Yield Engineer, Intel
Carl Jackson, Senior Engineering Manager/Chief Engineer, Lockheed Martin
Vashti Miles, Laboratory Technician, Chemours

Applying to Graduate School and Internships: Resume/CV Clinic, Rm2102
Danielle Weiland, SPS Education Programs Coordinator, American Institute of Physics
Beatriz Burrola Gabilondo, Lecturer, The Ohio State University

Career Paths 2: Where Your Physics Degree Can Take You, Rm2106
Ashley Smart, Senior Editor, Physics Today, American Institute of Physics
Jonathan Smythe, Teacher (Physics/AP Physics), McKinley Technology High School
Tabbetha Dobbins, Associate Professor, Biophysics Coordinator, and Associate Chair,
Rowan University
Brian Beckford, Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Michigan (M)

Internships and Research Experience, Rm2108
Christiane Ebongue, Graduate Student, Delaware State University
Delilah Gates, Graduate Student, Harvard University
Johnny Echevers, Graduate Student, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Thomas Searles, Assistant Professor, Howard University (M)
3:45 PM - 4:15 PM Break
4:15 PM - 5:15 PM Speaker: Kandice Tanner, Principal Investigator, Tanner Lab,
Center for Cancer Research, National Institutes of Health (NIH)
5:15 PM - 7:00 PM Poster Session and Reception
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Conference Dinner
Welcome: Donna Hammer, Director of Education, Physics Department,
University of Maryland
Angie Hight Walker, Senior Scientist, NIST
Remarks: Siddhartha Harmalkar, Undergraduate Student, University of Maryland
Delilah Gates, Graduate Student, Harvard University

Banquet Speaker: S. James Gates
Visiting Professor, Brown University
College Park Distinguished Professor, University of Maryland
9:00 PM Society of Physics Students Sponsored Open Mic Event!
Sunday, October 8    
8:00 AM - 9:00 AM Breakfast and Poster Awards
Sergio Smith, Graduate Student, University of Maryland
Landry Horimbere, Graduate Student, University of Maryland
9:00 AM - 10:15 AM Workshop: Working Together to Combat Impostor Syndrome, Implicit Bias,
and Stereotypes
Delilah Gates, Graduate Student, Harvard University
10:15 AM - 10:30 AM Break
10:30 AM - 12:00 PM Career Chats and Exhibits
12:00 PM - 1:45 PM Conference Lunch
Remarks: Tabbetha Dobbins, Associate Professor, Biophysics Coordinator,
and Associate Chair, Rowan University

Honored Guest: Larry Gladney, Associate Dean for Natural Sciences,
Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Professor for Faculty Excellence
in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania
1:45 PM University of Maryland Laboratory Tours