Programs
The objective of the School of Physical Sciences mental health workshop series is to create an open dialogue across the school focused on mental health awareness. Our hope is that by engaging in critical conversations about different mental health topics guided by licensed professionals, then we may encourage our school community to prioritize their well being and ultimately work together to create a more equitable, inclusive and mindful environment within the School of Physical Sciences.
The AIE Award has been developed to offer modest financial support to SoPS students, staff, postdocs and faculty who plan to develop an activity, event or project that will support the advancement of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts and initiatives across the UCI SoPS community.
The DEI Graduate Leaders Fellowship provides funding to graduate students who have a passion for an commitment to improving DEI efforts within their department. Fellows will receive full support for one academic quarter during the academic year. Fellows will spend the year working on a DEI related project/initiative in their department collaborating with their Vice Chair for DEI and Inclusive Excellence Committee.
Clubs & Organizations
The following clubs and organizations are dedicated to advancing inclusive excellence in STEM fields.
ChemUNITY
The ChemUNITY Peer Mentorship Program, is a grad-to-grad volunteer-based mentoring program where two graduate students will be paired with three incoming first-year students to acts as mentors throughout the year.
MAES: Latinos in Science and Engineering
MAES was assembled by the Latinx engineers and scientists in order to create a sense of community, or “familia”, on campus. The sense of a “familia” is one of the things that truly separate MAES from other academic clubs. MAES is the home away from home that offers networking opportunities, student-alumni relations, academic mentoring, and social events.
PACE (Physics & Astronomy Community Excellence)
PACE is a graduate student led mentoring organization that focuses on peer-mentoring programs by students for students.
QT STEM
QT STEM is an organization at UCI for queer and/or trans people who are part of the STEM fields. With this group, we hope to create a more visible LGBTQ+ community what an be an underrepresented area of academia.
Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS)
SACNAS is a society of scientists dedicated to advancing Hispanics/Chicanos and Native Americans in science. It is a national nonprofit organization of individuals and organizations interested in quality science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) research, teaching, leadership, and policy.
Underrepresented Genders in Physics & Astronomy (UNITY)
UNITY at UC Irvine is a representative body for all folks whose gender identities and/or experiences of gender have been historically marginalized in physics and astronomy at the undergraduate and graduate levels and beyond. Our overarching goal is to create a more diverse community and a supportive environment.
Undergraduate Mathematics Committee (formerly FACES in Mathematics)
The UMC mission is to foster and sustain an inclusive community for all undergraduates interested in pursing mathematics at UC Irvine.
The school hosts conferences and symposiums to provide opportunities for scientific collaborations, building community through networking and mentoring, recruiting and advancing diversity and inclusion in STEM.
The American Physical Society (APS) Conferences for Undergraduate Women in Physics (CUWiP) 2020
Symposium for Women in Mathematics in Southern California 2020
EmpowHER Fall Conference 2022-24'
UCI Cal-Bridge Fall Conference 2024
National Society Conferences
NSBP- The National Society of Black Physicists (NSBP) Conference is the largest academic meeting of minority physicists in the United States. The goal of the conference is to provide mentorship opportunities, increase participant access to recruiters, offer networking opportunities and inform the broader physics community on best practices that will be gleaned during and after the meeting. The School of Physical Sciences has funded students registrations fees in recent years, to find out more contact Mu-Chun Chen muchunc@uci.edu.
NSHP- The National Society of Hispanic Physicists (NSHP) has teamed up with NSBP to build on the successful 2023 Student Leadership Development Summit (SLDS), NSBP and NSHP will again be hosting 50 physics students, both undergraduate and graduate students, in Washington DC, August 7-11.
LATINO EXCELLENCE AND ACHIEVEMENT AWARD (LEAD)
The UCI Office of Inclusive Excellence LatinX Resource Center awards the annual Latino Excellence and Achievement Award in recognition of Graduate Student Excellence. Award recipients are honored at the Latino Excellence and Achievement Dinner (LEAD), the only awards ceremony in the UC system that elevates Hispanic and Latinx graduate student success. LEAD aims to raise awareness of challenges in the graduate community, increase visibility of success, and inspire the Latinx community to advance in graduate and postdoctoral programs.
UCI Physical Sciences LEAD Award Recipient 2024
Victoria Knapp Pérez, Ph.D Candidate, UCI Physics & Astronomy