This award provides funding for the 8th annual Conferences for Undergraduate Women in Physics and for a formative assessment of the effectiveness of the conferences in meeting their goals. The next conferences will take place on January 18-20, 2013, simultaneously at Caltech, Colorado School of Mines, Cornell University, the University of Central Florida, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the University of Texas.
The conferences have two overarching goals: 1) To give undergraduate women the resources, motivation, and confidence to apply to graduate school and to successfully complete a Ph.D. in physics or a related discipline; and 2) To increase awareness by undergraduate women in physics of the wide range of career opportunities available to them. Regional conferences are held simultaneously to maximize student attendance by minimizing travel, to increase the excitement of the participants in a joint national venture, and to allow the interactive simulcast of a keynote address. The conference goals are achieved by providing a series of inspiring talks by female physicists, panel discussions on graduate school and physics careers, student presentation sessions, and ample opportunity for networking and informal mentoring. The success of these goals will be measured by surveys given to students before and after the conferences, as well as by longitudinal studies following the students' post-graduation paths and comparing them with female student cohorts who did not attend the conferences.
Outcome Statements for Collaborative Research: Conferences of Undergraduate Women in Physics Funded by the National Science Foundation’s Division of Physics/Physics Education & Interdisciplinary Research: 1249664 On January 18-21, 2013 the eighth annual Conferences for Undergraduate Women in Physics (CUWiP) occurred at California Institute of Technology, University of Texas at Austin, Colorado School of Mines, University of Illinois Urbana-Champagne, University of Central Florida, and Cornell University. The evaluation site for these conferences was Indiana University. A total of 875 university students attended these conferences. The attendance at the various sites was as follows: California Institute of Technology (198), University of Texas at Austin (88), Colorado School of Mines (129), University of Illinois Urbana-Champagne (235), University of Central Florida (90), and Cornell University (135). Among those participants that submitted pre-surveys, 660 had not previously attended this conference series, 131 had attended once before, 19 had attended twice before, and 3 students were attending for the third time. The participants represented at least 260 different home institutions (Appendix A). These included 11 two-year/community colleges, 56 liberal-arts colleges, 8 institutions with a student population fewer than 2000, 82 institutions with a student population of 2000-15000, and 103 institutions with a student population greater than 15000 The following outcome statements reflect the series of conferences overall. 1. Overall, the participants were highly satisfied with the CUWiP. 2. The CUWiP participants expressed that they were highly satisfied with the information/resources they received. They noted that they left with a deeper understanding of physics, graduate school, and women’s experiences/issues in physics. A significant percentage of participants noted a need for more information on non-academic careers in physics. 3. The CUWiP participants were enthusiastic about the networking opportunities they experienced. A significant percentage of participants were satisfied with the connections they made at the conference. However, a need for more opportunities to make such connections emerged from the analysis. The participants provided several suggestions for increasing these opportunities. Some participants expressed a desire to learn more about how to network. 4. The pre/post-questionnaire data did not reveal a significant increase in the participants’ stated level of confidence for succeeding both in graduate school and a career in physics. However, the participants believed the conferences had a positive influence in this area. Several expressed an appreciation for learning about "imposter syndrome" and strategies for countering self-doubt. A few participants noted that they learned that a career in physics was not for them. 6. The specific aspects of the conference structure that emerged as being highly valued included: panels, speakers, networking opportunities, Science Cafés, and poster sessions. Aspects of the conference that generated some negative/mixed reactions included: the promotion of one particular graduate school, the level of emphasis on women’s issues, male participants, an emphasis on one area of physics, and stereotypical understandings of gender (White, heterosexual, binary). 7. Although no particular aspect of the conference set-up was highly emphasized in the survey responses/group discussions, comments indicated that the participants were satisfied with the food and accommodations. They did, however, express some dissatisfaction with a few of the logistical aspects (transportation, technical difficulties, reimbursements).
