In the News
2021
First-Ever Data4All Workshop Nurtures Future Data Scientists From Chicago’s South Side
Seven high school students learned about the basics of data science and the various career pathways available to them with computational skills.
Developing Algorithms That Might One Day Be Used Against You
Brian Nord is one such researcher weighing his own work against the potential to cause harm with AI algorithms.
[Ryan F. Mandelbaum in gizmodo]
AAAS Holds Annual Meeting
Among a number of sessions focused on diversity and inclusion, Fermilab physicists Jessica Esquivel and Brian Nord will facilitate a panel discussion featuring Black STEM professionals speaking about the movement against racism in science.
[American Institute of Physics]
Meet the AAS Keynote Speakers: Dr. Brian Nord
“I’d like to talk about the winding road that machine learning has gone through in astronomy,”
[Gloria Fonseca Alvarez in astrobites]
2020
Meet 5 Black researchers fighting for diversity and equity in science
These researchers are standing up for their Black peers in STEM fields
[Science News]
UChicago scientists teach a neural net to find baby star flares
Artificial intelligence helps understand the evolution of young stars and their planets
[Louise Lerner in UChicago News]
To Make Fairer AI, Physicists Peer Inside Its Black Box
After repurposing facial recognition and deepfake tech to study galaxies and the Higgs boson, physicists think they can help shape the responsible use of AI.
[Sophia Chen in Wired]
#ShutDownSTEM
While the United States — and the world — begins to take a more critical look at racism and the treatment of Blacks in society, academia and STEM called for a strike to stop business as usual and start actively working toward change.
[SWE Magazine] sept 2020
Scientists and Others Stage a #Strike4BlackLives
June 10 is a day off from “business as usual” for non-Black academics and a day of rest for Black students, staff and faculty
[Gary Stix in Scientific American]
Academics to stage Strike for Black Lives, ShutDownSTEM on 10 June
An effort organized by Black physical scientists and allies calls on the academic community to take specific actions to combat anti-Black racism.
[Andrew Grant in Physics Today]
Earth scientists #ShutDownSTEM — and reckon with racism in their departments
By noon on June 10, the day of the Strike for Black Lives across higher education, nearly 6,000 scientists had signed a pledge to #ShutDownSTEM:
[Joseph Winters in grist]
#BlackInAstro: How Can We Support Black Astronomers?
Suggested reading lists
BlackLight, a compilation about the Black experience in the US, co-curated by Brian Nord,
[astrobites]
Anti-racism in physics requires more than incremental action
[The Daily Californian]
Thousands Of Scientists To Strike For Day To Evaluate How Racism Effects Their Research
“Racism in science is enmeshed with the larger scheme of white supremacy in society,” Brian Nord, a physicist, tells The New York Times.
[KHN Morning Briefing]
#ShutDownSTEM Movement Co-Founded by UChicago Scientist Goes Global
“This moment is about black people and the conditions under which we live and work, It is about how white supremacy pervades my professional spaces, as well as my life outside of them.”
[Nona Tepper in Built in Chicago]
US scientific societies condemn racism in the wake of George Floyd death
US scientific societies, universities and technology companies have reacted strongly to the death of African American George Floyd, who was killed on 25 May by a Minneapolis policeman
[Peter Gwynne is Physics World's]
UChicago scientists reflect on need to address racism, inequality
Black scientists lead #shutdownSTEM movement to call for change
[Louise Lerner in Uchicago News]
For a Day, Scientists Pause Science to Confront Racism
[The New York Times]
The Equity-Diversity-Inclusion Industrial Complex Gets a Makeover
Companies and universities have long relied on seminars to reduce racism, despite lackluster results. Maybe institution leaders can salvage the format.
[Sophia Chen in Wired]
amazing-black-scientists
Nord is the third and youngest Black physicist to hold a position at Fermilab, a U.S. Department of Energy lab that's been in operation since 1967.
[Live Science]
Scientists across the US went on strike Wednesday in support of Black Lives Matter, organized in part by Fermilab, U. of C. physicist
“We are asked to leave our blackness at the door when we enter the academy,” Nord said. “We’re all tired and angry and upset, and we’re ready for change to happen.”
[Alice Yin in Chicago Tribune]
How Self-Driving Telescopes Could Transform Astronomy
What if an autonomously operating telescope, free from human biases and complications, could find the solutions we’ve been missing?
[Ryan F. Mandelbaum in Gizmodo]
2019
The Growing Importance of a Tech Savvy Astronomy and Astrophysics Workforce
Fundamental coding and software development skills are increasingly necessary for success in nearly every aspect of astronomical and astrophysical research as large surveys and high resolution simulations become the norm.
[SpaceReff]
Q&A: Paving A Path for AI in Physics Research
Brian Nord imagines a future where machines test hypotheses on their own—and considers the challenges ahead as scientists embrace artificial intelligence techniques.
[Sophia Chen in Physics]
Students envision future of tech—from AI to computer programming
DOE, national labs host event aimed at inspiring next generation of problem-solvers
[Emily Ayshford in UChicago News]
How AI could change science
Researchers at the University of Chicago seek to shape an emerging field
[Rob Mitchum and Louise Lerner at UChicago News]
Fermilab scientist Brian Nord awarded University of Chicago grant to bring AI to cosmology
“The University of Chicago has awarded Fermilab scientist Brian Nord a grant to explore the use of AI to design cosmology experiments, which seek to understand the origin and evolution of the universe.
2018
Studying the stars with machine learning
To keep up with an impending astronomical increase in data about our universe, astrophysicists turn to machine learning.
[Evelyn Lamb in symmetry]
AI In the Sky (APS press conf)
The Application of Artificial Intelligence to Strong Lensing. From press conference at APS April meeting 2018.
2017
Using AI to Find a Cosmic Looking Glass
The automation of astronomy has only just begun—and there's no telling where it will end.
[Joshua Sokol in The Atlantic]
Computer Science Technique Helps Astronomers Explore the Universe
"Deep learning" finds telltale arcs of light that indicate massive objects. [Ramin Skibba for Inside Science]
Machines Learning Astronomy
The new era of artificial intelligence & Big Data is changing how we do astronomy.
[Monica Young for Sky and Telescope Magazine]
AI in Action: Machines that make sense of the sky
[Joshua Sokol for Science Magazine]
2016
A Case of Warped Space
Confirming strong gravitational lenses in the Dark Energy Survey
[Brian Nord and Liz Buckley-Geer for Gemini Focus Magazine]
At This Art Exhibit, The Artists Are Also Astrophysicists
Scientists studying dark energy are amassing thousands of images of galaxies and exploding stars. Now, they’re finally getting an art show.
[MEG MILLER for Co.Design]
Scientist Brian Nord receives 2016 Director’s Award
On Nov. 7, scientist Brian Nord was honored with the 2016 Director’s Award for his exceptional contributions to the laboratory’s education programs.
2013
Physics becomes entertainment at Fermilab
Give five physicists 10 minutes to talk about their research as if they were a detective, Elvis or Stephen Colbert and you might regret sleeping through high school physics class all those years ago.
[Stephanie K. Baer
2012
Dark Energy Survey
Members of the Dark Energy Survey collaboration explain what they hope to learn by studying the southern sky with the world's most advanced digital camera, mounted on a telescope in Chile. For further information on the project: http://www.darkenergysurvey.org
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