A few weeks ago, I attended a conference where many found themselves struggling with the power in the room—in wielding it, and in resisting those wielding it against them. Junior scientists of color who were attendees, not facilitators, were being asked to provide personal testimony and lead conversations that were…

Toxic, abusive culture in research environments can be very hard to pin down — whether you’re an early career researcher who is new to long-term research projects, a first-generation (first-gen) academic who doesn’t necessarily know the rules and landscape of academia, or a URM (under-represented minority) who tends to put…

Spoiler warning for episodes 1–3 of The Book of Boba Fett, and Seasons 1–2 of The Mandalorian, and generally the Star Wars films. I should define “Marvel-ification,” especially as someone who doesn’t consume Marvel media these days (full disclosure, I watched The Avengers, Captain America, Iron Man 1–2, and, passively…

In my piece “What is the future of conferences? And what should be?” I discussed many concerns that I have with the current model of meetings (virtual and in-person) in academia. But, as I mentioned in passing in that piece, with every virtual or hybrid meeting that fails — from…

Thoughts from a virtual conference access consultant and organizer. In May 2020, I co-organized a virtual conference called Space Science in Context. Our vision was simple, but bold: bridge two or more very disparate fields — space science and social science — and innovate virtual platforms. Dr. Ellie Armstrong and…