I get to do what I do thanks to many others, and I do my best to pay that support forward. This page lists a few of the ways that I do outreach that the reader might be able to benefit from or contribute to. (See my CV for a complete list.)
Would you like to talk to me about these or other outreach opportunities? Contact me and let’s chat!
Inmate education
I strongly believe in efforts to reform criminal justice in the United States, and the most direct contribution I can make is to support incarcerated individuals as an educator. I started working on this with the Prison University Project at San Quentin State Prison, and I continued in the Santa Cruz County jail system with the UC Santa Cruz Project for Inmate Education. I now teach with TEJI at MIT.
Youth outreach
I share the science I work on with elementary, middle, and high school students through Skype a Scientist. The program is exactly what it sounds like: scientists get matched with classrooms for a conversation about whatever the class finds most exciting. It’s a ton of fun. I also participate in Letters to a Pre-Scientist, which is a pen-pal program in a similar vein.
Physics Values Committee at MIT
As a field, physics has an unfortunate history and reputation on issues of inclusion, and we have a responsibility to work towards a better future. I work to improve the environment locally as a member of the MIT Physics Values Committee. The committee is dedicated to making concrete progress for our community. If you have any related concerns or would like to talk for any reason, please, by all means, contact me or any other member of the committee.
Teaching & Mentoring
In addition to my usual teaching responsibilities and my research work with undergrads, I have been a regular participant in the UCSC SPS/WiPA mentoring program. The program matches undergrads with grad students, and I worked with my mentees to help them get the most out of their time in the department. Along similar lines, I have mentored for SU(5), a new peer mentoring group aiming to ease the transition into graduate programs. I also worked with the UCSC Physics Collaborative, a graduate student initiative to facilitate positive experiences in introductory physics courses.