Physics department reaches new heights with grant

SACHA WEDNER STAFF WRITER

OnMarch 2, a $950,000 grant from the Department of Energy’s RENEW (Reaching a New Engine Sciences Workforce) program was awarded to Sonoma State Professor Alexandra Miller in partnership with Stanislaus State Associate Professor Wing To in order to teach high energy physics and keep students engaged with research and internship opportunities.

The upcoming program, titled GROWTH-MSI (Growth and Research Opportunities With Traineeships in High Energy Physics at Minority Serving Institutions), will support ten students annually starting January 2024.

The grant supporting this program will be split into three parts. First is the traineeship itself. Second is the funds for Miller to write a series of primer articles about quantum gravity for graduate students, and help create resources for undergraduate students interested in learning more about quantum gravity. These resources, which will also be available online, will make it easy for Miller, To, and other professors to help more students in the future.

Finally, the grant will help create a consortium and community of different scientific institutions and schools in California. Miller says that “It will help us to create a community with the aforementioned research institutions, as well as with several other CSUs: Stanislaus State, CSU East Bay, SFSU, and Fresno State. This consortium will promote future collaborations among scientists at the various institutions.”

On top of resume-building, each student will receive $19,000 in scholarship and stipend support for the junior and senior years. As a part of the consortium, students will also have the opportunity to collaborate with professors and scientists from Lawrence Berkeley Lab and Lawrence Livermore Lab, the SLAC National Accelerator Lab, plus UC Berkeley and UC Santa Barbara.

In addition to helping students reach new heights and helping them work on new research on high energy physics, these collaborations will also grow research at MSIs, and increase the visibility of MSIs in the scientific community.

As explained by Professor To, “The GROWTH-MSI will create a pathway for students from underserved minority serving institutions (MSI) to learn, engage and pursue a career in particle and high energy physics. They will receive an introductory course in particle/high energy physics and learn about research opportunities from Department of Energy funded scientists and professors.”

Third year physics major Somi Zingkhai says that the MSI scholarship is a much needed aid to underserved communities and groups of people. “The introduction of a new focus on careers in the field will enable these students to make more informed decisions on their future career,” said Zingkhai, “The introduction of a new focus on careers in the field will enable these students to make more informed decisions on their future career, and give them vital on-the-job training which will help them learn through application of their coursework.”

Considering the field of high energy physics is overall lacking in diversity and representation, these partnerships with MSI’s can bring in new perspectives in the field that were previously absent.

long-term strategies for safety.”

Thousands of Sonoma County students protested on Wednesday, March 8 calling for change through organized walkouts and marches across town. These were some of the largest student protests Sonoma County has seen since 2013. Credo and Technology High students met in La Plaza Park in Cotati before marching down to Oliver’s Market as part of the county wide walkout.

Santa Rosa middle and high schools joined together at the courthouse square before walking to City Hall where Santa Rosa City Schools held their board meeting.

Students and parents were expressing frustration over this violence and the lack of safety precautions on campus. To address these issues a listening session was held last Tuesday, March 7 in the Friedman Center of Santa Rosa

Members of Gamma Phi Beta sitting in on one of the many title IX trainings required for SSU sororities and fraternities.

Greeks weigh new drug and alcohol trainings

MARIAH FORSTER STAFF WRITER

Greek organizations are required to complete multiple trainings, one of which is on drugs and alcohol education. However this semester, many organizations are veering from their usual training and opting for an alternative option.

Drug and alcohol training is nothing new on college campuses. Sonoma State is just one of many schools that have implemented prevention programs to educate students on the dangers of abusing drugs and alcohol. An example is the Drug and Alcohol Prevention Program, the DAAPP. This alternative option has been perceived as additional training which has raised concerns for some students.

According to the Division of Student Affairs, DAAPP is “intended to support student and employee health, safety and security by increasing awareness, preventing abuse, and decreasing potential drug and alcohol related crime.”

“With Greek life being associated with partying across the country, it’s good to learn these things though the [view that] Greek life is not [just about] partying,” said