Pursue STEM

Pursue STEM, a new outreach program that encourages and supports Black students interested in science, technology, engineering and technology (STEM) launched in March 2021

Pursue STEM is being developed in partnership between Leadership by Design (LBD), U of T’s Office of Student Recruitment, and the Department of Physics. The following departments from the Faculty of Arts and Science are contributing to this initiative as well: Astronomy and Astrophysics, Chemistry, Computer Science, Earth Sciences, Mathematics, School of the Environment, and Statistics.

What is Leadership by Design (LBD)?

LBD is the signature program of the Lifelong Leadership Institute (LLI). The LLI is an educational organization that exists to inspire leadership and develop leaders, and dedicates its resources to advancing leadership competence and personal success among Canadian youth of Jamaican, Caribbean and Black heritage.

LBD recruited 38 high-achieving Black Grade 10 students from the GTA with an expressed interest in STEM for this program. The program will run from March-August with activities roughly twice a month. Each year a new cohort of Grade 10 students will enroll, and the earlier cohorts will continue in the program from grade 11 to first year university.

More information on LBD can be found here:

https://llileaders.com/leadership-by-design/

We asked the Chair of the U of T Physics Outreach Committee about the importance of Pursue STEM

“Everyone who is curious about the world should have equal opportunity to learn about the physical and mathematical universe, but this is not always apparent when you look around our university. For example, we have almost 200 Physics graduate students, but in many recent years none of them have been Black, despite being in a city where 9% of the population (and even more young people) are Black. We have a responsibility to reach out to communities that suffer from the effect from past (and current) injustices, and ask how we can help make change for the better. Pursue STEM is a collaborative effort to help Black youth interested in STEM learn more about physical and mathematical sciences, and to encourage this interest and support these students in high school and beyond.” - Professor David Bailey - Chair of Physics Outreach Committee

Left: Screenshot from the Pursue STEM Launch Event that took place on March 18, 2021. The event included a keynote talk by Professor Dylan Jones and a hands-on Arduino activity for the students.

Follow Pursue STEM on Instagram: pursue_stem

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Girls SySTEM

Girls SySTEM is a mentorship program for girls in grades 7-12 and that aims to increase diversity in STEM through mentoring, workshops, and other activities..

The Department of Physics, in partnership with the Department Earth Sciences, is supporting Girls SySTEM by coordinating virtual workshops for girls in the program.

In Fall 2020 and in Winter 2021, the following workshops were provided by the Departments of Physics and Earth Sciences:

Clouds in a Jar (Physics) – Professor Kaley Walker’s group

Computational Physics (Physics) – Graduate student Garett Brown

Up, Up and Away (Physics) - Professor Kaley Walker’s group

Oceans in Motion (Physics) – Professor Nicolas Grisouard and graduate student Jesse Velay-Vitow

Application of the Physics of Light (Earth Sciences) – Professor Daniel Gregory

Brief History of the Earth (Earth Sciences) – Undergraduate student Zoe Evans

The Founder and President of Girls SySTEM (GSM) commented on U of T's contribution:

“At GSM, we believe that elementary and high school years are critical for confidence building as students embark on their journeys towards post-secondary studies. Alongside mentorship, we aim to provide workshops, speaker events, and early workplace exposure to show girls that a career in STEM can align with their interests, values, and desire to make a positive impact. During these uncertain times, U of T Physics has enabled our girls to navigate through the difficulties of online learning by providing an exciting and interactive way to learn virtually. From understanding our oceans to solving equations and building pendulums, U of T Physics’ virtual workshops challenged our mentees to think critically, adapt new skills, and explore new avenues within STEM.” -

Kathryn L. Hong – Founder & President, Girls SySTEM Mentorship Program

More information on Girls SySTEM can be found here:

https://www.girlsystemmentorship.com/

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Youth Enrichment Academy

The Youth Enrichment Academy (YEA!) is an after school initiative designed to address the gap in programming for youth (ages 11-14) in the Regent Park and surrounding communities. The program will prepare students for success in high school and beyond. Their mission is to enhance social and emotional strengths and to develop promising young people.

The Department of Physics coordinated the delivery of online workshops to these youth starting in January 2021. Workshops included Computational Physics from graduate student Garett Brown, Ocean Physics from Professor Nicolas Grisouard and graduate student Jesse Velay-Vitow, Atmospheric Physics from Professor Kaley Walker’s group, and Dark Matter by graduate student Mohamed Shaaban.

From Outreach Worker Michelle Pham at Regent Park Community Health Centre:

“As YEA! heavily focuses on enhancing the social and emotional strengths of our young people, UofT's involvement has instilled confidence in our youth. UofT volunteers work hard to curate workshops based on the needs and interests of our youth. The science-based workshops not only fuel curiosity, but also expose our young people to concepts that may not be emphasized enough in one's environment."

Michelle Pham - Youth Enrichment Academy (YEA!) Youth Outreach Worker, Regent Park Community Health Centre

More information on YEA can be found here:
https://joinyea.ca/

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Fall Campus Week

Fall Campus Week took place in October 2020. Normally, Fall Campus Day is a one-day, in-person event that takes place at the Medical Sciences Building and Hart House, with programs from across the University. High school students and their parents come to U of T for the day to explore the many programs offered at the University. This year, due to COVID-19, the event was virtual, with activities taking place all week from October 17-25, 2020.

The Department of Physics participated by providing recorded testimonials from current undergraduate students, providing virtual talks, and allowing students to drop in to real first year physics lectures.

Professor David Curtin delivered a Gee Whiz Talk called “Peeling back the next layer of the physics onion: from warehouses full of detectors to alien mirror stars” that was attended by 69 people online.

96 students dropped in on Professor Jason Harlow’s first-year physics class “PHY 131 – Introduction to Physics I”.

More information on Fall Campus Week can be found here:
https://future.utoronto.ca/visit/events/st-george/