Communication Lab
In March of 2020, I was selected as a fellow of the MIT Chemical Engineering Communication Lab, a selective group of trained postdocs and graduate students that help students, postdocs, and members of the department improve their science communication strategies through targeted workshops and individualized 1-on-1 coaching. As a fellow, I have received training on effective visual, oral, and written science communication, inclusive teaching strategies, and best practices for providing constructive feedback. Through this program, I worked with a team to develop and deliver a workshop series on faculty application preparation, develop workshops on scientific visual design strategies, and organize the annual postdoc grant competition. I have coached students and postdocs on scientific presentations, fellowship applications, and proposals, and advised faculty in visual design strategies for proposal figures.
I have led Communication Lab workshops both in-person and over zoom, developing new methods to promote engagement using both platforms.
Workshops Prepared and Led as MIT ChemE Comm. Lab Fellow:
[1] “Scientific Visual Peer Review,” Thursday, Sept. 9th, 2021.
[2] “Communicating Research Through Creative Visual Summaries,” Mar. 31st, 2021.
[3] "Faculty Application Series: General Application Strategy, Vision Mission and Branding, and the Research Statement," Aug. 25th, 2020.
[4] "Faculty Application Series: Teaching and Diversity Statement," Sept. 16th, 2020 and Oct. 5th, 2021.
[5] "General Application Strategy," MIT Rising Stars in Chemical Engineering, Oct. 8th, 2020.
[6] "Navigating AIChE's Meet the Faculty Candidate Poster Session," MIT Rising Stars, Oct. 9th, 2020.
Here are a few of the initiatives I have supported and developed through the MIT Chemical Engineering Communication Lab:
Post It Note PhD/Postdoc Competition
In April 2021, I led the initiation of the the ChemE Communication Lab’s first Post-it research competition. Inspired by the viral trend, we asked postdocs and students to create a creative visual summary of their research that is accessible to a general audience, all squeezed onto a 3-inch square.
Visual Design Workshop Series
In the Fall of 2021, I led the development of a workshop series centered on visual science communication. Our first workshop included best practices for visual design of figures, graphical abstracts, and included interactive activities. Our second workshop involved a guided peer-review and constructive critique session to evaluate and improve each other's figures in progress for effective visual communication.
Faculty Application Workshop Series
Over Fall of 2020 and 2021, I helped develop and deliver a series of workshops centered on preparing chemical engineers for applying to faculty positions. I delivered workshops on the Research Statement, Teaching and Diversity Statements, and led the development of a workshop centered on nativating and preparing for the AIChE meet the faculty poster session.
MIT Rising Stars in Chemical Engineering
The ChemE Rising Stars Program at MIT invites top early career women interested in faculty careers to a two day workshop that covers research presentations, panel discussions with MIT faculty, communications workshops, and a networking events with faculty, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers currently at MIT. My role as a communication fellow in 2020 was to deliver 3 workshops centered on the faculty application process, including how to prepare for the the research statement, diversity statement, and the AIChE meet the faculty candidate poster session.
Postdoc Grant Program
During the Fall of 2021, I helped organize the chemical engineering postdoc grant program, which provides postdocs in the department with the opportunity to submit a written proposal and present an oral presentation with the chance to win one of $10,000 research grants. My roles included developing the call for proposals, coaching participants on their written proposals, developing evaluation criteria, and providing feedback on the written and oral presentations. This program provides postdocs at MIT with experience in the grant-writing process while offering real funds to pursue exciting side projects.