CalTech Seeks to Boost the Number of Women Pursuing Graduate Study in Physics

Recently, the California Institute of Technology hosted the inaugural “FUTURE of Physics” event. The program brought junior and senior college women who are majoring in physics to CalTech for two days of panels and mini-workshops on big-picture science, student life, graduate applications, and how to navigate the physics field as a woman.

The participating women came from a wide range of schools, including top research universities, other non-research undergraduate institutions, women’s colleges, and historically Black colleges and universities. In addition to panels and workshops, students had the chance to tour several research labs and ask questions directly to faculty.

“We want to support the ambitions of aspiring young women in physics who will go on to become part of a diverse generation of scientific leaders,” says Sofie Leon, director of the Division of Physics, Mathematics, and Astronomy’s graduate program, who helped organized the event. “At the same time, we want to boost the pool of talented female applicants to our graduate program and advertise CalTech as a top destination for aspiring female scientists.”

Dr. Leon has been serving as the graduate program director of the Division of Physics, Mathematics, and Astronomy since 2016. She holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and a master’s degree and Ph.D. both in civil engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.