Writing/Editing

Since Spring 2010, I have been a writer, editor and blogger for the Berkeley Science Review. The BSR is aimed at the “intelligent non-specialist,” here meaning primarily other graduate students.

My credits include:

1. •“An epic explosion: Observing an exotic supernova” Spring 2010 issue (author)
   

2. •Spring 2011 issue (editor)
   

3. •Selected entries from BSR blog:
   

4. •“Backyard science at Cal: see a supernova tonight”
   

5. •“It’s all in your head: A review of The Belief Instinct by Jesse Bering”
   

6. •“Harnessing Nature to cure its (man-made) ills” - ResearchBlogging.org Editor’s Selection
   

Outreach in the Community

I participate in the Berkeley Compass Project, a group founded and still run by a group of physics and astronomy graduate students with a passion for education. The Project aims to help improve the representation of minorities and women in the physical sciences by introducing students to science research and building a community of peers and mentors to support them throughout their college careers. In Summer 2010, I got involved as a teacher for the two-week summer program for incoming freshman (see my blog post). Since then I have maintained an involvement in the organization, working to ensure the continued success of the program. In 2011, I was co-designer and leader for the Project’s first-ever fundraising campaign, which raised over $9,000 in small donations in one month. Throughout my tenure, I’ve been the Project’s representative on The Coalition for Excellence and Diversity in Mathematics, Science, and Engineering.

Public Speaking

In December 2012, I participated in the NASA Famelab competition. During the morning session, I took listeners on a 400,000 (or so) mile journey from the center out to the surface of the Sun, describing how the energy generated by nuclear fusion in the Sun’s core finds its way out and on its way to earth. After an informative afternoon seminar, I was selected as one of the final ten who presented in the evening to a public audience. That night, I colorfully described my investigations of what I like to call stellar indigestion. When the night came to a close, I was excited to receive one of two Wild Card spots that I hope will lead to a trip to the national finals in 2014!