A3D3 Postbaccalaureate fellows meet at Duke

By: Janina Hakenmueller

November 13, 2023

This year‘s postbac orientation took place at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina on 13th of November. The four new postbacs were welcomed by Prof. Jaiver Duarte (Equity and career committee co-chair) and local Prof. Kate Scholberg and got an introduction to the A3D3 research program.

The morning was spent on learning more about career paths in AI/ML in science and industry, hands on experience from an industry speaker, and how to apply to graduate schools. The afternoon and evening provided the opportunity to better get to know each other during a stroll through the beautiful Sarah P. Duke Gardens followed by a dinner in the inner-city of Durham. All four postbacs are excited about the year full of research that lies ahead of them.

Jada Marshall (Purdue University, Neuroscience) and Kira Nolan (California Insitute of Technology, multi-messenger astronomy) are looking into the academic career path. They enjoy research as well as working in education. Lucie Afko (Duke University, high energy physics, multi-messenger astronomy) is planning to develop her interests in a multitude of areas such as cosmology and large-scale structures, but also environmental issues such as light pollution, and the philosophy of science. Malina Desai (MIT, multi-messenger astrophysics) is especially intrigued by applying machine learning to health care.