Two UChicago PhD Alums Selected for Inaugural Class of RCSA Fellow
The Research Corporation for Science Advancement has selected eight postdoctoral scholars to participate in the first year of its new RCSA Fellows initiative, including two UChicago PhD alums, Michelle Brann and Phillip Gemmel. The new initiative aims to help increase faculty diversity in the physical sciences through job search preparation and community building.
Michelle Brann is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Öberg Group at the Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. She previously worked with the Sibener Group at UChicago where she explored gas-surface dynamics and received her PhD in Chemistry in 2022. Philip Gemmel is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Life Sciences Institute at the University of Michigan. At UChicago, he worked with the Snyder Group and earned his PhD in Chemistry 2022.
According to the RCSA website, “The first cohort will access professional development programming and support as part of a multiyear program that includes preparation for a job search, a mock interview at a host institution, structured feedback and guidance throughout the job search process, and transition to a tenure-track faculty position.
‘Even for very successful postdocs at top institutions, the faculty search process can be daunting and difficult to navigate,” said RCSA President & CEO Daniel Linzer. “Our goal is to provide guidance, support, and a network that can better prepare postdocs throughout their transition to independent positions.’”
The eight fellows will be honored at RCSA conference that will be held May 21-23 in Tucson, Arizona. Cottrell Scholar 2005 Teri Odom, Northwestern University, will give the keynote talk on the faculty hiring process from the perspective of a department chair. CS 2018 and Scialog AES Fellow Luisa Whittaker-Brooks, University of Utah, and CS 2008 Casey Londergan, Haverford College, will serve as Facilitators, engaging the cohort in professional development programming on topics including how to plan for a faculty job search, work-life balance as an academic scientist, and how to manage a research team.
Research Corporation for Science Advancement is a private foundation that funds basic research in the physical sciences (astronomy, chemistry, physics, and related fields) at colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. It creates and supports inclusive communities of early career researchers through two core programs -- the Cottrell Scholar Program and Scialog -- as well as its newly launched RCSA Fellows initiative.