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Bridging the gap: Combining music and astrophysics to improve representation in science

Feb. 27, 2024—  As a child, Shaniya Jarrett was fascinated by space and science fiction, but didn’t believe that pursuing the big scientific questions of the universe was a viable career option. Now a second-year astrophysics graduate student in the Fisk-Vanderbilt Master’s-to-Ph.D. Bridge Program, Shaniya is creating opportunities for young women of color that she would have...

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Paving the Way: Developing future leaders in science

Feb. 11, 2022—On this International Day of Women and Girls in Science, listen to some of our talented faculty describe how they’re helping to mold future generations of scientists and make the field more inclusive. 

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Anthropology department’s women Ph.D grads diversify, and change, the field

May. 3, 2021—Founded in 1987, the College of Arts and Science’s Department of Anthropology has been a leader in Andean archaeology, an important subdiscipline that studies some of the world’s earliest human settlements. In recent years, the department has maintained that leadership position by diversifying its small Ph.D. cohorts and more recently, by diversifying the faculty. The...

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Biological Sciences Ph.D. Student Finds Creative Outlet in Science-Themed Art

Jun. 30, 2020—It’s no surprise that Jacob Steenwyk became interested in art at a young age. Both his parents are artists: his father served as art director for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and his mother was a recognized art critic who has published in major magazines in the Philippines. Steenwyk loved making art as a child and...

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Physics Students Win U.S. Department of Energy Research Fellowships

Jun. 11, 2020—Two graduate students in the Department of Physics and Astronomy have been awarded coveted U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) fellowships to advance their research. David Curie, a third-year physics Ph.D. student, received an Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) Fellowship to conduct part of his dissertation research in a DOE laboratory. Laura Nichols, a...

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Elsa Mercado Sanchez, PhD’20 | Stronger together: the future of VU’s Latinx community

Sep. 27, 2019—Elsa Mercado Sanchez has not always had a clear or easy path to the Ph.D. she is pursuing. She grew up in an urban, racially-segregated neighborhood in Milwaukee, Wis., with Mexican immigrant parents who didn’t speak much English. Education was a top priority for her parents, but college was never a guarantee. Mercado Sanchez’s parents...

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