Join HEMI and the Materials Science in Extreme Environments University Research Alliance (MSEE URA) for a Workforce Development panel about careers in national and defense department laboratories! Each of our panelists works at national laboratories and can offer advice for others looking to do the same. Most of the discussion will be devoted to Q&A, so come prepared to ask anything that’s on your mind!

Please register for this event here. Interested participants who do not register will not get sent the Zoom link required to attend the event.

Improve your interviewing and networking skills with improv! In this low stakes, highly interactive digital workshop, participants will participate in improv exercises to enhance personal confidence and communication skills. No prior experience is necessary for this session but participants should be prepared to actively engage and participate.

The workshop is limited to 25 participants.

Please register for this event here. Interested participants who do not register will not get sent the Zoom link required to attend the event.

Workshop Facilitators:

Michael Hartwell (he/his) is a Baltimore-based educator, improviser, and facilitator. He is the Education Director for the Baltimore Improv Group, a Teaching Artist for Young Audiences of Maryland, and an adjunct faculty member at Johns Hopkins University, teaching applied improv and oral presentations. He has taught improv to adults and children since 2013. Prior to his current work, Michael was a Teach For America corps member and Baltimore City Schools middle school teacher for ten years.

Tavish Forsyth (he/his) is a queer improviser, educator, and social justice advocate based in Baltimore. He is the founder of Bird City Improv. He has two degrees in theatre. He also studied at the Baltimore Improv Group, iO Chicago, and Powerhouse Theater. In addition, Tavish is an adjunct faculty member at Johns Hopkins University in the Center for Leadership Education, and he is a lead teaching artist with the Maryland Center for Creative Classrooms. Through creating an atmosphere of play, Tavish empowers individuals to communicate, collaborate, and innovate to increase their personal and professional success.

There are more opportunities than ever for us to communicate our science: Talks, papers, and posters, of course, but also social media and blogs. Effective communication is particularly important for students, not only to make their work more influential but also as advertising to potential employers and collaborators. But how many times have you watched a scientist ramble through an interminable series of slides and wondered, “What is the point of all of this?”

Don’t be that speaker. Learn how to give a great talk (or write a great paper) by using the basic building blocks of storytelling — momentum, conflict, and resolution — to craft a compelling narrative for your work. Using techniques described by Randy Olson in his book Houston, We Have a Narrative: Why Science Needs Story, we’ll learn to tell the difference between good and bad scientific storytelling and use that understanding to develop narrative structures that will capture an audience’s attention.

Todd Hufnagel has a long-standing interest in helping students learn to communicate their work through effective speaking and writing. He is Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and Mechanical Engineering, Associate Director of the Materials Science in Extreme Environments University Research Alliance and HEMI Fellow.

Note: The workshop is limited to 25 participants. All participants will receive a copy of the book in either Kindle or paperback form ahead of the workshop.

Please register for this event here. Interested participants who do not register will not get sent the Zoom link required to attend the event.