Early Career Seminar Series

The FSPA is pleased to host a monthly seminar series aimed at all early-career researchers from across Fermilab’s Divisions. The purpose of this series will be to focus on career perspectives presented by researchers in the early stages of their careers, both in academia and in industry. Speakers will discuss what made their career paths unique and will provide advice for navigating the job market. The talks will be held on the first Thursday of the month at noon CST as a “lunchtime” discussion or workshop starting in April 2023. It will be primarily aimed at grad students and postdocs, but we welcome all users and employees – including interns and engineers – to join in.

Please note that last year’s series is available in the videos and links at the bottom of this page.

Note: The FSPA Early-Career seminar series will now take place in hybrid mode. In-person location: ND/ Oscillatorium (WH13NW) or Nu’s Room (WH12X).

While we will continue to monitor attendance to ensure the safety of all participants and to comply with COVID-era capacity limits, the FSPA officers are pleased to announce that onsite Fermilab users and employees can attend this seminar in person.

We will still be maintaining a virtual presence for those who wish to join us remotely. Note that in the short term, speakers will continue to connect via Zoom.

Also, light refreshments and snacks will be offered during the talk.

If you have any questions or would like to give a talk, please contact the FSPA officers at: fspa_officers@fnal.gov.

Zoom Connection Details

The connection link will be sent via email. Those who subscribe to either the users, FNALgrad, or FSPA listservs should automatically receive the announcement. You can also access the zoom link by clicking “ZOOM” under the Date and Location section below if you have a Fermilab SERVICES account. Otherwise, please contact the FSPA officers via the email listed above.

Next Event

Date and Location Topic Speaker


      TBA                          TBA                    TBA

Past Talks

Date and Location Topic Speaker Slides / Recording

July 13th, 2023     Antineutrinos for Nuclear            Ohana Rodrigues         Slides / Video
(ZOOM) & WH12X      Safeguards                           (IIT)

June 1st, 2023      Predictive Modelling in              Katherine Rybacki       Slides / Video
(ZOOM) & WH12X      Finance                              (Zopa, London)

May 4th, 2023       Navigating Career Opportunities      Steven Gardiner         Slides / Video
(ZOOM) & WH8X       at the DOE National Laboratories     (Fermilab) 

April 6th, 2023     From Colliders to Neutrinos          Tia Miceli              
(ZOOM) & WH12X      to Data Science to Whatever It       (Fermilab) 
                    Is That I Do Now

January 26th, 2022  Navigating the job market as a       Wennie Wang             Slides
(ZOOM)              physics or STEM degree holder        (UChicago, UT Austin)
                    (in an era of COVID)
February 24th, 2022 Experimental Physicist:              Monica Nunes 
(ZOOM)              from analysis to bolts and screws    (Fermilab)

March 30th, 2022    Curious about being a Faculty        Drew Alton              Slides
(ZOOM) & WH13NW     member at a four-year college        (Augustana University)

April 27th, 2022    From Fermilab to science policy      Joe Grange              Slides
(ZOOM) & WH13NW                                          (Environmental 
                                                          Incentives, LLC)


May 25th, 2022      From muons to supercomputers         Stefano Tognini         Slides
(ZOOM) & WH13NW                                          (Oak Ridge Lab)

June 29th, 2022    Studying Dark Matter and Cosmic       Yu-Dai Tsai             Slides
(ZOOM) & WH13NW    Neutrinos while Defending the Earth:  (UCI)
                   Space Missions & Quantum Technologies
                               AND
                   Hidden Sector of Diversity: Mental Health, 
                   Invisible Disabilities, and Neurodiversity

July 27th, 2022    A comprehensible study of ionization  Youssef Sarkis Mobarak  Slides
(ZOOM) & WH13NW    efficiency for pure crystals, LAr     (UNAM Mexico)
                   and LXe ionization detectors

Sept. 28th, 2022   Medical Imaging and Medical           Benton Pahlka 
(ZOOM) & WH13NW    Nuclear Physics at a                  (Texas Children's Hospital) 
                   Pediatric Hospital

Video recordings of Past Talks

*Note: Due to the large size o some of the video files, there are some seminars that will be located on a separate page through the links provided below.

May 4th, 2023 “Navigating Career Opportunities at the DOE National Laboratories”

January 26th, 2022 “Navigating the job market as a physics or STEM degree holder (in an era of COVID)”

February 24th, 2022 “Experimental Physicist: from analysis to bolts and screws”

March 30th, 2022 “Curious about being a Faculty member at a four-year college”

April 27th, 2022 “From Fermilab to science policy”

May 25th, 2022 “From muons to supercomputers”

June 29th, 2022 “Studying Dark Matter and Cosmic Neutrinos while Defending the Earth: Space Missions & Quantum Technologies” and “Hidden Sector of Diversity: Mental Health, Invisible Disabilities, and Neurodiversity”

FSPA