Amber Jenkins

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GSA Report
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• Amber Jenkins
• Fermilab Graduate Student Association
• Imperial College, London

Annual Fermilab Users Meeting June 2, 2003
GSA
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What is the Graduate Student Association (GSA)?
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• The voice of the graduate students at Fermilab
• GSA reps elected every year in October
• Amber Jenkins (Imperial College, London)
• Andy Haas (University of
  Washington)
• Martin Hennecke (Karlsruhe University)
• Reid Mumford (Johns Hopkins University)
• Jun Zhang (Columbia University)

D0
CDF
Astro-theory
GSA
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Our Mission
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• To represent the needs of the grad students to
  the Lab
• To act as a liaison between students Lab
  Directorate, experiments UEC
• To continue the education of the graduate student
  population
• To organize social events for the younger physics
  community encourage interactions between
  students from different areas

GSA
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Important Issues
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• Visas
• Medical insurance
• Childcare
• Bike path taxi access at the Lab
• Future of HEP

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Visas
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• Post 9/11 security restrictions make life
  difficult for foreign scientists
• Significant problem Foreigners make up 30 of
  science engineering doctorate-recipients in US
• Requirements for detailed personal info found
  intrusive
• Visa renewal can take many months in the
  meantime research is disrupted
• Visa status in turn affects the Social Security
  Number, drivers licence, car insurance, banking

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Medical Insurance
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• Crucial issue
• Affects those who can least afford to pay i.e.
  grad students foreign visitors
• Would like to see all students with adequate
  medical coverage
• Currently conducting Medical Insurance Survey
  2003
• Working with URA, Benefits insurance brokers
  to try to improve situation

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Washington DC Trip
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• GSA accompanied UEC to Washington DC in March
  2003
• Met with Senators Representatives
• Lobby for increased funding for HEP
• Funding situation is critical over the past 12
  years, funding by 25. Certainly affects
  students making decisions about their future
  career.
• Important to represent perspective of young
  physicists in Washington

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Other Issues
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• Childcare affects small proportion of
  students, but for those affected it is a
  significant problem
• Bike Access at the Lab for many years,
  campaigns to improve bike access at Fermilab
• Taxi Service students who dont have cars are
  dependent on Lab taxis and taxi service hours

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Education
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• Status of the Lab Mike Witherell
• U-Dzero talks
• CDF grad student talks
• UTeV organized by UEC
• Career Night - July 2003
• - very useful for
  students
• - speakers from Lab,
  universities, industry
• - advice info
  about career options
  available

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Social Life
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• Halloween Party 2002 120 people partied in
  the barn, our resident DJ, fantastic costumes,
  pumpkin carving, apple-bobbing
• Bingo Night our very own Fermi bingo!
• LHC Symposium 03 Party
• Pachanga season has begun!
• New Perspectives Party this week

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New Perspectives 2003
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• June 3-5, 2003
• Annual student conference at Fermilab
• A great line-up.
• - 4 guest speakers
• - 6 posters
• - 16 student talks (D0, CDF, MINOS, MiniBooNE,
  Muon Project, Computing Division, Beams
  Division, SDSS..)
• - 1 black-belt karate demonstration!!
• Come and hear about the physics thats really
  being done!

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Conclusions
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• Our job is to represent the grad student
  population at the Lab
• We can do this in big and small ways
• It is important, now more than ever, that younger
  physicists voices are heard
• To help us do a good job we strongly encourage
  people to get involved!
• Weve had a lot of fun and theres a lot more to
  come!!

GSA