Mary James (scientist)
Mary James is a Professor of Physics at Reed College, Portland, Oregon and the Dean for Institutional Diversity. She specialises in particle physics and accelerators.
Mary James | |
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Alma mater | Hampshire College (BA) Stanford University (PhD) |
Scientific career | |
Institutions | Reed College University of Maryland, College Park SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory |
Early life and education
James' father was one of the Tuskegee Airmen.[1] She earned a Bachelor's in physics at Hampshire College in 1976. She completed a PhD in accelerator physics at Stanford University in 1986.[2] She worked at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, designing high current electron injectors for the linear collider.[3] She studied the longitudinal bunching of transrelativistic electron beams in high space charge forces and longitudinal wake fields.[2] At SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory she also contributed to the polarized electron injector (PEGGY).[2]
Research and career
In 1987 James joined University of Maryland, College Park as an Assistant Professor in Electrical Engineering.[2] She teaches electrodynamics, statistical and quantum mechanics.[4]
James has been an advocate for women and minority students throughout her career.[3][5][6][7] In 2013 James was announced as Dean for Institutional Diversity at Reed College.[8][9] She is on the leadership team of the Liberal Arts Diversity Officers consortium.[10] The consortium looks at how faculty can navigate incidents of bias, and develops ways to change the structure and allow them to thrive.[11] She has served as a member and chair for the American Physical Society committee on Minorities in Physics.[12]
She established Reed College's Centre for Teaching and Learning, which looks to attract and retain women, first generation students and people of colour in STEM majors.[13] She is concerned that underrepresented minority students feel isolated on campus, and that faculty of colour invest time in mentoring for minority students which distract from the tenure process.[11] When classes at Reed College were cancelled due to student protests over a curriculum that was "too white, male and Eurocentric", Reed appeared on public radio and national media emphasising the need for inclusive pedagogy.[14][15] As a teacher, she creates an active learning environment which makes students recognise physics does not only need straight A students.[16]
Working with the American Institute of Physics she launched TEAM UP in April 2018, a Task Force to Elevate African American Representation in Undergraduate Physics & Astronomy.[17][18] The program involved a survey, site visits and evidence-based recommendations with pilot schools.[18] The report from the Task Force appeared in Spring 2020 and identifies a number of the factors responsible for the success of African American students in physics and astronomy along with research-based recommendations for faculty and institutions to increase the representation of African Americans in these fields.[19]
References
- "A triumph of hope over despair". OregonLive.com. Retrieved 2018-05-13.
- "Mary James - Physics - Reed College - Portland, OR". www.reed.edu. Retrieved 2018-05-13.
- College of Science - Oregon State University (2016-01-21), What does access really mean?, retrieved 2018-05-13
- "APS CUWiP at UO - Speakers". sites.google.com. Retrieved 2018-05-13.
- "Mary James Visits OSU - Physicists for Inclusion in Science". Physicists for Inclusion in Science. 2017-10-13. Retrieved 2018-05-13.
- "Professor contributes to nationwide university diversity initiatives". FIU News. Retrieved 2018-05-13.
- "WCL Breakfast: Be Part of the Solution–Our Differences Add Up to Greatness". WOMEN'S CENTER FOR LEADERSHIP. Retrieved 2018-05-13.
- "Liberal Arts Diversity Officers: Faculty Recruitment to Enhance Diversity at Liberal Arts Colleges | Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education". vpge.stanford.edu. Retrieved 2018-05-13.
- College, Reed. "Reed Appoints Mary James as Dean for Institutional Diversity". Reed College News Center. Retrieved 2018-05-13.
- "Liberal Arts Diversity Officers [LADO] | A site and community forum for LADO, hosted by Middlebury College". liberalartsdiversity.org. Retrieved 2018-05-13.
- Education, Liberal (2017-05-25). ""Someone Who Looks Like Me": Promoting the Success of Students of Color by Promoting the Success of Faculty of Color". Association of American Colleges & Universities. Retrieved 2018-05-13.
- "TEAM-UP Task Force Members". 2018-02-22. Retrieved 2018-05-13.
- "2016 REU Physics Site Director Workshop Speakers". www.aps.org. Retrieved 2018-05-13.
- "A Courageous Experiment". The Grail at Reed College. Retrieved 2018-05-13.
- "Teaching Diversity At Reed | Think Out Loud | WNYC". WNYC. Retrieved 2018-05-13.
- "Guest: What keeps girls from studying physics and STEM". The Seattle Times. 2014-09-14. Retrieved 2018-05-13.
- "Task Force to Elevate the Representation of African Americans in Undergraduate Physics & Astronomy (TEAM-UP)" (PDF). National Society of Black Physicists. 2018. Retrieved 2018-05-13.
- "TEAM-UP Task Force". 2018-02-02. Retrieved 2018-05-13.
- The Time is Now: Systemic Changes to Increase African Americans with Bachelor’s Degrees in Physics and Astronomy (PDF). American Institute of Physics. 2020. ISBN 978-1-7343469-0-9.