Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Ceci Vollbrecht @cvollbrecht.bsky.social · Jul 12

I need to go back and try this again….

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Ceci Vollbrecht @cvollbrecht.bsky.social · Jul 11

Thanks!

Ceci Vollbrecht @cvollbrecht.bsky.social · Jul 11

Thanks! My proposal was in part inspired by how often people in the group used to say they wish they knew at least a little bit of computer programming coming into grad school!

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Ceci Vollbrecht @cvollbrecht.bsky.social · Jul 11

Thrilled to have receive this fellowship to help add new skills to the chemistry curriculum that will help my students become better scientists! And thanks to the college for highlighting it! www.kzoo.edu/news/faculty...

That Computes: Faculty Member's Fellowship to Benefit Students

Cecilia Vollbrecht is one of just 10 faculty members from around the country to earn a fellowship that will help students learn new skills.

www.kzoo.edu

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Ceci Vollbrecht @cvollbrecht.bsky.social · Jul 2

The thoughts and the clarification are great! Because I did stare at the first image trying to figure out which beet matched which orbital...

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Reposted by Ceci Vollbrecht

Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · Jun 30

I gotta say I find a lot of AI discourse around higher ed very confusing. "if ChatGPT can write your essays is college even worth it?" did people think math teachers were assigning problem sets because *they* couldn't figure out the answers?

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Ceci Vollbrecht @cvollbrecht.bsky.social · Jun 27

I am happy and tired after an awesome week of learning with the MolSSI Act-CMS group. And I regret nothing 🤣

Marie van Staveren @chemdrv.bsky.social · Jun 27

Lesson learned from the MolSSI ACT-CMS workshop: If @cvollbrecht.bsky.social invites you to the hotel lobby for an evening 'work' session after dinner, don't bother bringing your laptop and be ready to be up past your bedtime

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Reposted by Ceci Vollbrecht

Marie van Staveren @chemdrv.bsky.social · Jun 27

Lesson learned from the MolSSI ACT-CMS workshop: If @cvollbrecht.bsky.social invites you to the hotel lobby for an evening 'work' session after dinner, don't bother bringing your laptop and be ready to be up past your bedtime

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Reposted by Ceci Vollbrecht

Nelson Flores @nelsonlflores.bsky.social · May 14

Two possible reasons for this are:

1.) Women, POC and/or disabled people are more likely to do equity oriented work

2.) Women, POC and/or disabled people have been marked as DEI regardless of what they do

The government will try to point to the former reason when it is in reality the latter

Jacquelyn Gill @jacquelyngill.bsky.social · May 14

NSF grant terminations are disproportionately affecting underrepresented scientists. 58% of canceled grants have women PIs, despite making up only 34% of awards. 17% of canceled grants have Black PIs (versus 4% of the pool). Hispanic and disabled PIs are twice as likely to have NSF grants canceled.

Trump officials take steps toward a radically different NSF

Efforts to shrink staff, budget, and focus have alarmed members of Congress

www.science.org

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Reposted by Ceci Vollbrecht

Dr. Katy Croff Bell @katycroffbell.bsky.social · May 3

📣🧪
$25k grants for those who:

1. are working on research on STEM and education (including AI and CS, graduate education and MSIs, and scholarship that aims to reduce inequality), and

2. have had a recently terminated or cancelled grant from NSF.

Early-career scholars prioritized

500 Women Scientists @500womensci.bsky.social · May 3

🧪 funding alert! www.spencer.org/grant_types/...

Rapid Response Bridge Funding Program

In the face of recent abrupt shifts in federal funding for education research, including large-scale terminations of National Science Foundation (NSF) research grant awards, we have developed a rap...

www.spencer.org

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Ceci Vollbrecht @cvollbrecht.bsky.social · May 2

A lot is wrong in the world, but a student told me they look forward to office hours every week and I'm holding that close for the day.

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Paul Byrne @theplanetaryguy.bsky.social · Apr 29

This is a new image from #JWST.

The bright points with spikes are stars in the Milky Way.

Everything else is a galaxy.

Everything. Else. Is. A. Galaxy.

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Reposted by Ceci Vollbrecht

David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · Apr 21

It's really ok to say "I am not well-informed enough about this news item that people are discussing to feel like my opinion will contribute meaningfully to the discussion, and therefore I will choose to say nothing."

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Reposted by Ceci Vollbrecht

Katharine Hayhoe @katharinehayhoe.com · Apr 15

Students often talk with friends & fam about climate, @lizbarnes.bsky.social + colleagues find. But they tend to go heavy on the stats & facts, and don't know how to bring up solutions. They rarely learn how to have effective conversations, and would love training & practice.

Well, guess what! 🧵

Undergraduate Biology Students’ Climate Change Communication Experiences Indicate a Need for Discipline-Based Education Research on Science Communication Education about Culturally Controversial Scien...

Science communication is a key skill for undergraduates, but little research explores how biology students communicate about societally important, yet controversial topics like climate change. In this...

www.lifescied.org

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Reposted by Ceci Vollbrecht

c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · Apr 14

If you visit the Upper Peninsula of Michigan & go to the shores of Lake Superior at night, be sure to bring a long-wave UV light source so you can hunt for fluorescent Yooper Stones.

"Yooper" here is a play on 'U.P.' (Upper Peninsula), but they're rocks that contain a fluorescent mineral, sodalite.

Five glowing stones are stacked in a cairn orientation on a rocky beach with water and a sunset in the distance. They rocks are of various colors: the glowing ones are blueish, but with a yellow-orange glow.

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Reposted by Ceci Vollbrecht

Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽 @needhibhalla.bsky.social · Apr 1

Hi all, I'm hiring a junior specialist/research technician for my lab at UCSC. An ideal applicant would be an undergraduate who would like more research experience before applying for grad school but all are welcome to apply 🧪
recruit.ucsc.edu/JPF01882

Bhalla Lab - Research Specialist (Junior Specialist)

University of California, Santa Cruz is hiring. Apply now!

recruit.ucsc.edu

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Ceci Vollbrecht @cvollbrecht.bsky.social · Mar 12

I shared this with my quantum chemistry class the other week and they loved it! Thanks for providing a cool visualization and intro to class discussion

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Ceci Vollbrecht @cvollbrecht.bsky.social · Mar 12

Thanks for the updates! Don’t have insider so appreciate it. Hoping she is able to get moving and everything is ok!

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Ceci Vollbrecht @cvollbrecht.bsky.social · Mar 12

Anyone heard about Emily Ford? Feel like she’s been in the same spot for a while after a really strong start…

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Reposted by Ceci Vollbrecht

Drug Monkey @drugmonkey.bsky.social · Mar 4

For any REI members who may not realize there is a Board election, or that it is contentious, see this. I ended up supporting one and not supporting the other two. do your research, make your call and VOTE.

Kasey Kagawa @punkey.org · Mar 4

If you're an REI member, you can vote to toss out the board that's endorsed Trump's candidate for Dept. of Interior and has worked to stop REI unions. Vote runs until May 2nd. Spread the word. vote.escvote.com/REI/

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Liz Neeley @lizneeley.bsky.social · Feb 17

Does anyone have a running list of universities that have paused or slashed graduate admissions?

We’ll add it to ours if it doesn’t exist

Daniel Aldrich @danielaldrich.bsky.social · Feb 17

Another consequence from Trump's attack on science : Vanderbilt has temporarily paused graduate student admissions. Current graduate students and faculty raised alarm about research funding, doctoral stipends, visas and career opportunities vanderbilthustler.com/2025/02/15/g...

Graduate student admissions temporarily paused as university monitors federal funding

In the wake of fears about significant reductions in federal funding, Vanderbilt has temporarily paused graduate student admissions. Current graduate students and faculty also raised alarm about resea...

vanderbilthustler.com

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Reposted by Ceci Vollbrecht

Dr. Robin Bond, biogeochemist at a PUI 🧪 @diygeochemist.bsky.social · Feb 13

Hey folks--
If you're a recent (or soon-to-be) analytical chem PhD, or if you know of one...

We're hiring a 1-year VAP as sabbatical replacement. We don't do a national search for 1-year positions; it's completely word of mouth. DM me if you want details.

#ChemSky

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Reposted by Ceci Vollbrecht

Heather Thomas @heatherthomasaf.bsky.social · Feb 9

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Cooper Battle @chbattle.com · Feb 5

Extremely disappointed to see HHMI decide to kill their Inclusive Excellence program, including terminating the current IE3 awards to over a hundred institutions effective this year in the middle of a 6-year grant. I was hoping HHMI (and other private funders) would continue to lead the way.

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