"Is there a map to the stars: how do we navigate careers and build community in academic science?" by 2022-23 MIT MLK Visiting Scholar 2022-2023 Brian Nord

The structures and policies of academic science reflect the well-worn paths to career advancement in STEM. These paths contain unnecessary barriers, especially for people who don’t know the tips and tricks of navigation. However, the adoption of new computational techniques, like artificial intelligence (AI), has begun to influence the organization of our research communities by opening up new paths. This disruption presents another chance to ask, “How can we design our practices and communities to remove these barriers?” 

On the flip side, the rampant use of AI in society (e.g., facial recognition, advanced weaponry) is leading to another coalescence power in the hands of few. How might our swift adoption of AI in science – especially without reflection on the ethical implications – jeopardize our values and our communities?

Partially through the lens of my navigation, I will lead a discussion of these topics to help us develop a vision of the community that we want to experience.

Brian Nord is Associate Scientist at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. Visiting Research Assistant Professor, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago; Senior Member, Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics (KICP), University of Chicago; and hosted by professor Jesse Thaler, MIT Laboratory for Nuclear Science/MIT Department of Physics.

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