To celebrate the work of its postdoctoral scholars, Caltech will mark National Postdoc Appreciation Week from September 16–20 with events including workshops on public speaking and Title IX issues, a hike, and a picnic.
Caltech Postdoc Association (CPA) chair Carolyn Ladd, a postdoctoral scholar in chemistry, says the week of events aims to recognize Caltech postdocs and educate the Caltech community about what they do.
"This week is all about valuing the hard work and contributions that postdocs provide," she says, "and also highlighting the important roles postdocs play on campus as highly skilled researchers, instructors, and mentors. They contribute vastly to the great research being done at Caltech and to the training of high-caliber scientists."
Vice Provost Kaushik Bhattacharya notes that Caltech has significantly more postdoctoral scholars in proportion to its size compared to any of its peer institutions.
"This reflects the unique mission of our Institute and also the critical role that postdoctoral scholars play in fulfilling this mission. While they are here, they are leaders in the laboratory, mentors for students, and an important external face for science and engineering overall as they share their work and educate the public about advancements across many fields," he says.
Postdoctoral alumni from Caltech have gone on to become leaders in academia, industry, and national laboratories, he says, adding that former Caltech postdoctoral scholars have won 15 Nobel Prizes and 14 national medals of science and technology.
Initiated by the National Postdoctoral Association in 2009, the annual event recognizes the contributions that postdocs make to research and discovery worldwide. CPA, which advocates on behalf of the postdoc community and seeks to boost professional and personal development opportunities, has hosted events marking the occasion previously, but this year the organization is boosting the size, number, and coordination of events campus-wide to underscore the contributions postdocs make.
More information on the week's schedule of events can be found here.
Written by Jon Nalick