Organizers

Her work is largely driven by her commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion. In addition to her work with the Climate Committee, she is a member of the University Senate EDI Committee and she is the Department lead and co-founder of the UMD-NIST Conference for Underrepresented Undergraduate Minorities in Physics (CU2MiP) previously held in 2016 and 2017. The conference will be held again on January 8-10, 2021. She also co-organized the UMD Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics (CUWiP) in 2014 and 2020.

While in the Department of Physics, Josiland has worked with the Women in Physics student group and advised the Graduate Student Committee. In 2018, she was awarded the Outstanding Coordinator of Graduate Studies from the UMD Graduate School. This award recognizes exceptional contributions made to the graduate student experience. She enjoys working with students and assisting them as they progress through the graduate program.

Thomas received his Ph.D. in Applied Physics in the Electrical & Computer Engineering Department at Rice University in 2011. His thesis work primarily focused on the magneto-optical properties of carbon nanotubes. Upon his appointment at Howard in the Fall of 2015,  Thomas has established a new research program in applied and materials physics.  During his career, Thomas has performed experiments at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Naval Research Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Brookhaven National Laboratory, UCSB Free Electron Laser Facility, National Institute of Materials Science (Tsukuba, JP) and Tohoku University (Sendai, JP). Furthermore, Thomas has completed Visiting Faculty Fellow appointments at Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Air Force Research Laboratory. Thomas graduated from Morehouse College with a B.S. in Mathematics and Physics. He is a native of Albany, GA.

She applies these novel measurements to study the underlying photophysics of nanomaterials, specifically noble and transition metal nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, graphene and other 2D materials resulting in over 160 publications. Presently Angela’s research is pushing the forefront of optical methods to characterize magnetic phenomenon in layered 2D systems. She also leads a team of experts from the National Metrology Institutes all over the world concerned with enabling SI-traceable, Raman measurements.  An issue of great importance to Dr. Hight Walker is encouraging the young and underrepresented to participate in science.  Through on and off site demonstrations and lectures, she actively engages in promoting the excitement of science.  She has co-organized two Conferences for Undergraduate Women in Physics (CUWiP) and this will be her third Conference for Undergraduate Underrepresented Minorities in Physics (CU²MiP).  Angela also leads the NIST side of the NIST-Howard APS-IDEA team.

She is also passionate about inspiring future scientists and increasing diversity and inclusivity in physics, and has participated in a wide variety of outreach and volunteering activities. When she isn’t in the lab or doing outreach, she enjoys traveling, hiking, attempting to cook, visiting all the Smithsonians and playing with her pet chinchilla. Dr. Amber McCreary is a physicist in the Physical Measurement Laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, MD. She is a member of the Nanoscale Spectroscopy Group under Dr. Angela Hight Walker in the Nanoscale Device Characterization Division. Her research interests include utilizing Raman and photoluminescence spectroscopies to investigate the properties of a variety of 2D materials, including graphene, transition metal dichalcogenides, transition metal phosphorus trisulfides, and transition metal halides. Currently, she is working towards developing methods to use Raman spectroscopy, which is non-destructive and extremely sensitive to minute changes in a material, to investigate magnetism in quantum materials, as well as facilitate their use in next-generation electronics.

His research interests include two-dimensional systems and applications of those systems’ behaviors for electrical metrology. He is a member of the American Physical Society and the Mellon-Mays Initiative of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

She is a member of the Center for Fundamental Laws of Nature and the Black Hole Initiative, studying black holes (BHs) and gravity under Prof. Andrew Strominger. In her research she characterizes universal observational signatures of Kerr BHs using analytic tools such as the analysis of critical null geodesics, and the emergent conformal symmetry of the near horizon region of near extremal BHs. She did her undergraduate at the University of Maryland, College Park where she studied physics and math.

Originally from Burundi, he came to the United States when he was 7 years old. He had a complicated path to physics yet eventually graduating with two degrees in physics and interdisciplinary physical sciences. He currently conducts research on shear driven waves near dipolarization fronts at the Naval Research Laboratory and is also interested in fusion research. Additionally, Landry is committed to expanding outreach and mentorship programs for people from marginalized backgrounds and to highlighting the value of diversity in physics. Apart from physics, he enjoys playing soccer, board games, and philosophy.

Angel has previously done research in gravitational theory and high-energy physics. His next goal is to become proficient in machining.

He has been part of the CU2MiP (2016, 2017) and CUWiP (2020) Conferences and is excited to be part of the team again!  As part of the University’s response to COVID-19, Eliot led the Academic Ambassadors Program this Fall.

He has chaired the Department of Physics at the University of Maryland since 2016, and before that served as co-Director of the Joint Quantum Institute (JQI), a collaborative center formed by UMD, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the Laboratory for Physical Sciences. In 2016-17, Rolston served as Chair of the American Physical Society’s Division of Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics.

Rolston is a Fellow of UMD’s Quantum Technology Center, the JQI, the American Physical Society, the Optical Society of America, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is the recipient of the Arthur S. Flemming Award, the Sigma Xi Young Scientist Award, the U.S. Dept. of Commerce Silver Medal, and UMD’s Kirwan Undergraduate Education Award.