Science Outreach and Mentorship

WiSTEM Bangladesh Outreach Programs

WiSTEM (Women in STEM) Bangladesh, an organization focused on promoting STEM as a career path for high school and college women, has conducted workshops and mentorship programs all over Bangladesh. I am passionate about understanding the social pressures that prevent women from pursuing Sciences, and as a co-founder and mentor for this effort, I have presented at Wi-STEM events and mentored students (details below. Some slides about how to use Growth Mindset to combat stereotype threat is shown here (right).

Other Mentorship experience:

I have mentored the following students as a graduate student at Yale University:

• Emmanuel Newsome (Yale Summer Student, June-July 2018, Extracting X-ray spectra for Stripe 82X sources)

• Tristan Weaver (Yale Undergraduate Advisee,  May-June, 2019, Multiwavelength spectral energy distribution of AGN using BASS DR2 data)

Black Lives Matter

I have supported the Black Lives Matter movement in the past and will continue to support future initiatives to mitigate problems faced by my African American colleagues. This is not an outreach activity, but in order to promote a diverse Physics Identity, it is essential that astronomers and physicists become sensitive to challenges that different groups face, even outside academia. It is essential to support minority populations who go through these hardships, because their/our challenges may be more easily overlooked. I acknowledge my responsibility to support my colleagues’ personal and professional lives and be an ally to communities to the best of my abilities.

Black In Physics Organizing Committee

I am very excited to announce that as of July 2022, I have joined the Black In Physics Organizing Committee, and will be working with this inspiring and vibrant community to promote a very underrepresented group in Physics and Astronomy.

The Granville Academy

I have worked as an instructor for Yale University’s Diversity in STEM workshop, The Granville Academy. This workshop was established in honor of Evelyn Boyd Granville GRD ’49, the second African-American woman to receive a doctorate in Mathematics in the United States.

My workshops were focused on querying and handling large data sets. Databases such as SDSS, UKIDSS, VISTA, etc can be queried flexibly and efficiently using SQL. Some materials that I have developed to teach students how to use SQL to query astronomical databases are shown here (left).

WiSTEM Mentorship Program

As a mentor in Wi-STEM Bangladesh, I have instructed (2016-2018 Program):

• Antara Titiksha (Wi-STEM Bangladesh mentee, September-December 2016, Graduate Student, Carnegie Mellon University, Project: Organizing and conducting Mathematics workshops targeted at women high school students)

• Mashiat Lamisa (Wi-STEM Bangladesh mentee, Sept-Dec 2016, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Project: Data analysis project on incidences of cyber harassment in Dhaka)

For the 2021-2022 program:

• Shafaat Mahmud, June 2021-present, Undergraduate, Colgate University, Project: Data Analysis techniques in Astrophysics

• Adrita Khan (Wi-STEM Bangladesh mentee, July 2021-present,  Physics, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Project: Photometric Redshifts using Gaussian processes)

  Krishna Pushpita Banik (Wi-STEM Bangladesh mentee, June 2021-present, Applied Mathematics, University of Dhaka. Project: Exploring Machine learning techniques in Astronomy)

Other Outreach Activities:

During the COVID years, I have mostly been involved in remote outreach activities. Here are some selected outreach presentations/efforts that I have been involved in:

• Black in Physics Juneteenth Essay Competition Judge, June 2022

• Invited Speaker on the Physics of Black Holes, 14th Abdul Jabbar Astronomy Workshop 2022, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology

• Keynote speaker, EducationUSA, US Embassy in Dhaka, Women’s Day 2021

• Invited Talk on Astronomical Research, Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, February 2021 (outreach event aimed at middle school students)

• Invited Speaker on Extragalctic Phenomena, Bibha Girls Workshop, March 2021 (outreach workshop aimed at middle school and high school students)

• Invited Speaker on Current Astronomical Research Techniques, Jamal Nazrul Islam Astronomy Club, Jashore University of Science and Technology, July 2021 (outreach event aimed at college students)

• Invited Talk about Black Holes, Notre Dame Eco and Space Club, Dhaka, February 2021 (outreach event aimed at 10-12th grade students)