More than 140 participants attended Argonne’s annual Postdoctoral Research and Career Symposium held this fall. The event showcases the scientific research of postdoctoral scientists and engineers and graduate students from Argonne, Fermilab and Chicago area universities and also offers networking opportunities.
This year’s Symposium Committee Chair, Yasi Ghadar (LCF) noted that the Postdoctoral Society of Argonne Symposium encompasses three goals: Allow postdocs to showcase their work; create a unique opportunity for them to speak directly with company representatives; and learn about preparing for job transitions and diverse career paths. This symposium aims to help postdocs find the next step of their career journey
The symposium also connects industry and government recruiters with the nation’s top scientific and engineering talent. A networking lunch provided company exhibitors and representatives from diverse career paths with the chance to talk with postdocs in small groups. Fifteen companies participated in this year’s event through exhibit booths and networking tables. In addition, several alumni of Argonne’s Postdoctoral Program from Benedictine University, North Park University, Honeywell UOP, Nalco, an Ecolab Company and Cabot Microelectronics participated in a panel discussion about career next steps and life in academia and industry.
Poster presentations at the symposium give participants an opportunity to practice the important skill of speaking with people outside their field. This is an essential skill for scientists who need to successfully communicate the value of their research with potential funders and other key stakeholders.
Four individuals received an award for outstanding poster presentation:
- Huihuo Zheng (LCF): Performance optimization of WEST and Qbox on Intel Knights Landing
- Chad Husko (NST): A Hybrid Silicon-phosphorene Nanolaser
- Hao Liu (XSD): Intergranular Cracking as a Major Cause of Long-Term Capacity Fading of Layered Cathodes
- Gina Magnotti (ES): Modeling the Influence of Nozzle-Generated Turbulence on Diesel Sprays.
 Huihuo Zheng (LCF) |
 Chad Husko (NST) |
 Hao Liu (XSD) |
 Gina Magnotti (ES) |
Winners received a certificate and monetary award. Poster presentations were judged for overall poster appearance and quality, topic organization, clarity and significance of illustrations and knowledge of topic. The awards were presented by John Quintana, interim deputy laboratory director for operations and chief operations officer.
Marius Stan, senior computational scientist and leader of the complex physical systems group in the Global Security Sciences division, was the keynote speaker. An avid soccer player, Stan spoke on “How to Get a Job After a Postdoctoral Appointment: Lessons from Sport.”
“The Symposium Committee put together a great program, as always. Yasi, the committee chairperson, really ran with this and did an excellent job leading this effort. The whole committee should be proud. Based on comments from participants, I think this was the best year yet,” said Tina Henne (ALI), postdoctoral programs pead.
“I also want to thank our friends at Materials Development, Inc., the Illinois Science and Technology Coalition and Honeywell UOP for their continued support and sponsorship for the symposium. It’s great to see that local companies and organizations recognize the importance of showcasing Argonne’s postdoctoral talent.”
Member of this year’s planning committee were: William Christopher Jolin (NE), Aaron J. Oaks (NE), Noah Van Dam (ES), Ahmed A Abozeed Farghaly (AES), Pice Chen (XSD), Mark Pfeifle (CSE), Colleen Bertoni (LCF), Walan Grizolli (XSD), Le Ge (CSE), Kalyan C Mutyala (NST), Paytsar Muradyan (EVS), Jonnathan Medina Ramos (CSE), Carolyn A. Tomchik (NE), Vineeth Gattu (NE), James Dolan (MSD), William Rock, Company Recruitment, Tina Henne (ALI), postdoctoral program lead, and Yasaman Ghadar (LCF), symposium chair.
The 2017 Postdoctoral Research and Career Symposium program book is available online.
Top photo: Ananya Sen (CSE)