![Images of panelists: Dr. Phillips, DR. Simien, Dr. Zimba, Dr. Schleier-Smith, and Dr. Frost.](https://www.blackinphysics.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/BIPgradpanel2021.png)
Dear Doctor: Transition from Graduate Student to Beyond
Speakers
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Dr. Abigail FrostPostdoctoral Researcher in Astrophysics
Born and raised in the UK, Dr. Abigail Frost is a postdoctoral researcher in astrophysics. Since completing her PhD at the University of Leeds in 2019, she has been working at KU Leuven in Belgium, where she investigates the birth and evolution of massive stellar systems and gravitational wave progenitors.
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Dr. Clayton SimienAssociate Professor at University of Alabama
Dr. Simien is an Associate Professor at University of Alabama at Birmingham, his research directive is to sustain an innovative and transformative world-class research program in Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics; specifically in the areas of precision spectroscopy as it relates to precision measurements, next generation frequency standards, ultracold atoms and plasmas, quantum information and computation, and nanotechnology. He is a current recipient of the National Science Foundation CAREER Award in AMO Physics. In addition, he is member of American Physical Society and serves on the Committee on Minorities in Physics. Moreover, he is an active member of the National Society of Black Physicists, and is passionate about scientific engagement and outreach to all communities with special emphasis to low income urban and rural areas.
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Dr. Monika Schleier-SmithAssociate Professor in the Physics Department at Stanford University
Monika Schleier-Smith is an Associate Professor in the Physics Department at Stanford University. She received her Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, following undergraduate studies at Harvard University, and subsequently pursued postdoctoral research at the LMU Munich and Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics. Her current research centers on advancing optical control of interactions among laser-cooled atoms, with an eye towards applications in quantum simulation, metrology, and computation. She has pioneered techniques and ideas for simulating phenomena of condensed-matter physics and quantum gravity using tools of atomic physics, and developed protocols in quantum control for entanglement-enhanced sensing. Her honors and awards include the National Science Foundation CAREER Award, President’s Early Career Award for Science and Engineering, a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, and the I. I. Rabi Prize of the American Physical Society.
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Dr. Naaza ZimbaData Analyst
Naaza Zimba studied physics at the University of Leeds. Driven to use his scientific background in a professional environment, he pursued work as a data analyst after graduation. He strives to combine his passion for data and science communication to tell data driven stories.
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Dr. Phillip PhillipsTheoretical Condensed Matter Physicist
Professor Philip Phillips received his bachelor’s degree from Walla Walla College in 1979, and his Ph.D. from the University of Washington in 1982. After a Miller Fellowship at Berkeley, he joined the faculty at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1984-1993). Professor Phillips came to the University of Illinois in 1993. Professor Phillips is a theoretical condensed matter physicist who has an international reputation for his work on transport in disordered and strongly correlated low-dimensional systems. His research focuses sharply on explaining current experimental observations that challenge the standard paradigms of electron transport and magnetism in solid state physics. Phillip is a leader in the field and we’re very excited to have him with us today.