Notes from the Coordinator Kristene Henne
Wow! It’s hard to believe the summer is almost over! I hope everyone has had a chance to enjoy the unusual non-humid weather we’ve been having. For those who are new to Illinois, there is an unwritten rule that states you cannot complain about summer heat without commenting on the humidity. Having grown up in Illinois and having lived in Memphis, TN for a year, I would say Illinoisans could rethink that rule. I have a feeling I’d be outnumbered, though!
This past spring brought many changes to the lab. We said goodbye to Dr. Eric Isaacs, former Laboratory Director and the new Provost at the University of Chicago. We welcomed new Laboratory Director Dr. Peter Littlewood, with whom the Postdoctoral Society of Argonne leadership met this past June. The vibe from this meeting was extremely positive and we can look forward to evolving the postdoctoral experience even further at Argonne.
In April, PSA Liaison Officer Dooshaye Moonshiram presented a poster at the Annual Meeting of the National Postdoctoral Association on behalf of the PSA and the Postdoctoral Program Office on best practices for establishing an institutional postdoctoral mentoring program. The poster was well received and generated much conversation, as Dooshaye notes in this edition’s Mentoring Matters article. Bachir Aoun (XSD) also attended the meeting and shares his experience in the Career Corner. Sarah Soltau (CSE) and Jessica Linville (ES) tell us about Communicating Science to a broad audience, and recent staff convert, Kamlesh Suthar (AES), is the Postdoc in the Spotlight. In addition to these features, we catch up with alumni Javier Bareno (CSE) and Maria Chan (NST). Finally, guest columnists Prof. Walt Henne, Governors State University, and Dr. Richard Buck, Chevron Phillips, share advice on the faculty search process and the culture of safety in industry, respectively.
We have a lot to look forward to this fall, so pay attention to your inboxes for announcements on some of the notable happenings such as National Postdoctoral Appreciation Week in September and the Postdoctoral Research and Career Symposium in October. If you want to stay in the know and help guide postdoctoral activities at the lab, I encourage you to get active in the PSA. Help us help you!