Jeremy Walcott
Hello Young DUNE!
By now you probably recognize my name from various Young DUNE emails over the last few months :) Because of the unique circumstances surrounding my first term (you may recall that elections for SL were delayed due to COVID disruptions and my term began about 6 months later than the by-laws envisioned) I believe I'm the first incumbent ever to run for a second term as Spokesperson Liaison. Before I say anything else about myself, I want to stress that I am extremely glad we have fielded a competitive election this time around and encourage you to vote for whoever seems like the best candidate, irrespective of incumbency status!
My vision for what the SL should be doing has not changed much since I ran the first time back in February. I still think it's essential that our collaboration management view the early-career members of the collaboration not simply as a labor pool, but instead as fully-rounded human beings as well as important intellectual and scientific contributors to the experiment; and, based on the YD conversation with the Spokes at the last collaboration meeting, I believe that we've moved the needle a bit on that front since then. I also continue to believe that professional development for YD is as vital as ever. (And I'm hoping that the "Being a healthy human in physics" panel we aim to do at the next collaboration meeting will be a good entry in that catalogue.) I think that whoever is elected as SL should be able to build on those foundations.
I remain interested in doing what I can to empower all of you to attain your full potential as scientists and human beings, whether I continue on as SL or not. If you elect me to serve a second term I'd like to find more and better ways to hear from you all, especially in the midst of our COVID-imposed separations. (I'm especially interested in finding ways to better engage with those of you who hail from our South American, African, and Asian institutions, because it seems you're often not well represented in our decision making process!)
Thanks again for your consideration!
Jeremy W.
Steven Gardiner
Hi Young DUNE! My name is Steven Gardiner, and I'm a postdoc at Fermilab. I'm grateful to have been nominated as a candidate for Young DUNE Spokesperson Liaison. Previous leaders of Young DUNE have been strong advocates for the needs and concerns of early-career members of the experiment, and I plan to continue the important work of highlighting our contributions to management and ensuring that our voices are heard. As our pandemic-induced adaptations to various forms of remote work continue, helping DUNE leadership to remember the human beings on the other side of the Zoom call continues to be crucial.
The Spokesperson Liaison role also involves a responsibility to act as a professional development coordinator. I've greatly appreciated recent efforts to interpret this responsibility broadly and focus not just on "getting the next job" but on exploring ways to make all aspects of "life in physics" better for our members right now. If elected, I intend to organize future activities based on the takeaways from the upcoming "How to be a healthy human being in physics" panel. I'll be keen to hear from you about what topics should be pursued further and about any important issues that may have been omitted. I'm also interested in exploring how we can strengthen a sense of community and mentorship within Young DUNE. COVID-related restrictions make it even harder than usual for us to build strong working relationships with our collaborators. As Spokesperson Liaison, I'd like to experiment with new ways to create those connections, building upon experience from similar efforts like the "Coffee Collisions" activity organized by the Snowmass Early-Career Inreach group.
I'd also like to thank Jeremy Wolcott for his excellent recent service in this role. I hope he will continue to be involved in related efforts for Young DUNE regardless of how this election turns out.