{"579951":{"#nid":"579951","#data":{"type":"news","title":"School of Physics Wins 2016 Gender Equity Champion Award","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.physics.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Physics\u003C\/a\u003E, in the College of Sciences,\u0026nbsp;has been awarded the prestigious Gender Equity Champion Unit Award by Georgia Tech. The award was presented at the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.news.gatech.edu\/2016\/09\/18\/institute-diversity-honors-four-gender-equity-champions-eighth-annual-diversity-symposium?utm_source=dailydigest\u0026amp;utm_medium=sept19\u0026amp;utm_campaign=gendereqchamps\u0022\u003E8\u003Csup\u003Eth\u003C\/sup\u003E Annual Diversity Symposium\u003C\/a\u003E held on Sept. 16, 2016, at the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/pe.gatech.edu\/global-learning-center\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech Global Learning Center\u003C\/a\u003E and the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatechhotel.com\/\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe in the School of Physics are honored by this award recognizing our commitment to gender equity and diversity,\u201d says \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.physics.gatech.edu\/user\/pablo-laguna\u0022\u003ESchool of Physics Chair Pablo Laguna\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe School of Physics was commended for its commitment to and success in increasing the admission and retention rates of female students through outreach programs.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne such program began in 2015, when prospective female students were invited to tour the physics labs as a single cohort. During these tours, they are introduced to female faculty and student groups and to potential resources to help them gain a positive Tech experience. This initiative has helped to significantly increase the representation of female students to 30% of the two most recent batches of admitted physics majors, according to \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.physics.gatech.edu\/user\/deirdre-shoemaker\u0022\u003EDeirdre Shoemaker\u003C\/a\u003E, a professor in the School of Physics and the director of the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.cra.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ECenter for Relativistic Astrophysics\u003C\/a\u003E. Shortly before that, women made up only 12% of undergraduate majors and only 9% of graduate students.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe cornerstone of the School\u2019s ambition to attract female students has been its \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.wip.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESociety of Women in Physics\u003C\/a\u003E (SWiP) group. Founded in 2013, SWiP spreads awareness of the achievements and impact of female physicists and highlights employment opportunities for women of all ages. Currently, SWiP has more than 100 members. SWiP has contributed to the dramatic increase in enrollment and retention of female students, particularly at the undergraduate level, Shoemaker says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESWiP hosted its first annual \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.cuwip.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EAmerican Physical Society Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics\u003C\/a\u003E, in January 2016. \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.cos.gatech.edu\/hg\/item\/491471\u0022\u003EThe conference\u003C\/a\u003E was organized by Andrea Welsh, a graduate student. The meeting gave attendees, who were predominantly female undergraduate physics students, the opportunity to experience a professional conference. It also offered attendees information about graduate school and career opportunities. Many participants presented their research to their peers for the first time.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMore than 200 students from the southeastern U.S. and Puerto Rico attended the conference, which was the first of its kind at any university in Georgia.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cGender equity and inclusive excellence are among the top priorities of the College of Sciences,\u201d says Dean Paul M. Goldbart. \u201cI am delighted and proud that the efforts of my physics colleagues to attract and retain talented physics majors and to increase the representation of women among our students are paying off and being recognized by the Institute.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAll recipients of the 2016 Gender Equity Champion Awards are featured in this \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.news.gatech.edu\/2016\/09\/18\/institute-diversity-honors-four-gender-equity-champions-eighth-annual-diversity-symposium?utm_source=dailydigest\u0026amp;utm_medium=sept19\u0026amp;utm_campaign=gendereqchamps\u0022\u003Estory\u003C\/a\u003E and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/youtu.be\/Z_5XNjiCnm8\u0022\u003Evideo\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EPhoto caption: (From left) Institute Diversity Associate Vice President Julie Ancis presented the award to\u0026nbsp;School of Physics Graduate Research Assistant\u0026nbsp;Andrea Welsh, School of Physics Associate Professor Flavio H. Fenton, and College of Sciences Dean Paul M. Goldbart at the award ceremony on Sept. 16, 2016.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMatt Barr\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EScience Communications Intern\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECollege of Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"College of Sciences unit advances gender equity on multiple fronts with great success"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ECollege of Sciences unit advances gender equity on multiple fronts with great success\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"College of Sciences unit advances gender equity on multiple fronts with great success"}],"uid":"30678","created_gmt":"2016-09-20 14:22:51","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:22:41","author":"A. Maureen Rouhi","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2016-09-20T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2016-09-20T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"579971":{"id":"579971","type":"image","title":"School of Physics is 2016 gender equity champion among Georgia Tech units.","body":null,"created":"1474396605","gmt_created":"2016-09-20 18:36:45","changed":"1475895391","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:56:31","alt":"School of Physics is 2016 gender equity champion among Georgia Tech units.","file":{"fid":"207327","name":"gender_equity_champion_awards_-_unit_winner_low_res_0.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gender_equity_champion_awards_-_unit_winner_low_res_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gender_equity_champion_awards_-_unit_winner_low_res_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":132291,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/gender_equity_champion_awards_-_unit_winner_low_res_0.jpg?itok=lh5EfulE"}}},"media_ids":["579971"],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"132","name":"Institute Leadership"}],"keywords":[{"id":"4896","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"13402","name":"Deirdre Shoemaker"},{"id":"172355","name":"Gender Equity Champion Award"},{"id":"12043","name":"Pablo Laguna"},{"id":"172356","name":"Paul Goldbart"},{"id":"166937","name":"School of Physics"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA. Maureen Rouhi\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDirector of Communications\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECollege of Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["maureen.rouhi@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}