Stanford PIE

Stanford Pie Logo

Stanford Physics, Identity, and Equity (PIE) Program

The Stanford Physics, Identity, and Equity (PIE) program is designed to support candidates who have aspirations to apply to doctoral programs and become future leaders in the scientific community, and who will promote and/or contribute to a more equitable and inclusive physics community that would enhance our field. This three-day program (10.17.2024-10.19.2024) will provide prospective applicants with information and guidance on the graduate experience, the PhD application process, and the various research interests at Stanford. Students will have the opportunity to interact directly with Stanford faculty, postdocs, and graduate students. 

Applying

The main objective of our program is to help mitigate the systematic challenges and barriers to broadening participation in physics. With that in mind, our application is designed to be as accessible and equitable as possible. We do not accept letters of recommendation, transcripts, or standardized test scores as a part of our application process. Applicants are asked to fill out a set of short questions establishing their interest in pursuing graduate work in physics or astrophysics and noting challenges they have faced and their availability for the program dates. The application is intended to take only a few minutes to complete. Applicants who are not selected to be participants will still be invited to register for the program. All registrants will have access to the graduate and faculty panels. See the program schedule for more information. 

Applications for PIE 2024 are live and due by 10.06.2024. All current physics undergrads, recent grads, or students in bridge or terminal masters programs who intend to apply for a Ph.D. program in the upcoming cycle are invited to apply.  We strongly encourage applicants from all groups that are underrepresented in physics and from those who are committed to building a more equitable field that provides opportunities to those from a wide range of backgrounds.
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Participation

The Stanford PIE program will be conducted entirely online. Participants will be asked to join the program events via zoom.

Program Schedule

All times in PST

Day 1 (10/17/2024): The PhD Application Process
Morning Session (All Registrants)

9 am: Welcome and Overview of the program schedule and format

9:10 am: Chair's Welcome

9:15 am: Overview of PhD application process given by current Stanford faculty members with participant Q&A

10:45am: Interaction break [with participants]

11:15am: Discussion from students describing the experience of being a graduate student, including highlights of their own science and their experiences in research and daily life

Day 2 (10/18/2024): Research at Stanford
Morning Session (Accepted Participants)

Overview of graduate research areas given by student-faculty pairs. Each talk will highlight a few of the most pressing and interesting research topics in each subfield and the relevant research happening at Stanford. Each talk will be followed by a 5 minute Q&A.

9:00 am - 9:40am: Topic TBD

9:40am - 10:00 am : Interaction break 

10:00am - 10:40am: Topic TBD

10:40am - 11:00am : Interaction break

11am - 11:40am : Topic TBD 

Day 2 (10/18/2024): Physics E&I panel
Afternoon Session (Accepted Participants)

1:00pm-2:00pm : Physics Equity & Inclusion Panel

Day 3 (10/19/2024): Graduate Research and Student Life
Morning Session (Accepted Participants)

9:00 am: Graduate research panel hosted by current graduate students with participant Q&A.

10:00 am: Graduate life panel hosted by current graduate students with participant Q&A.

11:00 am: Break

11:30 am: Short introductions from current graduate students about research, background, and Stanford experience

12:00 pm: Chance to connect one-on-one or in small groups with graduate student presenters to discuss specific questions and concerns about graduate school

Post-Conference Opportunities (Accepted Participants)

After the conclusion of the conference, accepted participants will be given the opportunity to sign up for open office hours with current Stanford faculty members. Accepted participants will also be paired with current graduate students that will help in offering one-on-one feedback on application components.

Panelists and Speakers

Over the course of our three-day program, participants will get the opportunity to hear from and talk to a number of the members of our physics community at Stanford. Our goal is to give participants access to a wide range of voices, both in terms of career stages and personal background. We will release this year's list of faculty soon. There will also be opportunities for participants to schedule meetings with additional Stanford faculty in the weeks proceeding the program.

Invited Speakers

TBD

Graduate Student Speakers

TBD

Graduate Life Panel

  • Speakers: TBD
  • Moderator: TBD

Graduate Research Panel

  • Speakers:  TBD
  • Moderator: TBD

Equity in Physics Panel

  • Speakers:  TBD
  • Moderator: TBD

Organizing Committee

  • Maya Martinez, Viraj Manwadkar, Arjun Mirani, Benjamin Dodge, Bernardita Ried Guachalla, Laura Zhou, Lillian Santos-Olmsted, Sara Irvine, Cesar Lema, Susan Clark, Risa Wechsler