Alumnus Dr. Braden Brinkman Continues Spring 2015 Physics Careers Series on March 12

The Spring 2015 Physics Careers seminar series continues on Thursday, March 12, 2015 with alumnus Dr. Braden Brinkmani:

Time: 11 a.m. on Thursday, March 12, 2015 (refreshments served at 10:30 a.m.)

Location: Rm 204 Loomis Laboratory (Interaction Room)

Title:  Tales From the Postdoctoral Path

Speaker: Dr. Braden Brinkman, Acting Assistant Professor, Dept. of Applied Mathematics, University of Washington

Abstract:   A postdoctoral position is the next step on the path to a tenure-track position. It takes a lot of hard work, dedication... and luck. Is it a path you're thinking of taking? If so, what can you do to increase your odds of postdoctoral success? What should you think about when looking for postdoc positions? Do location, salary, job title, etc, matter? While there is no one correct answer that I can provide to these questions, I will tell you about why I ultimately decided to do a postdoc, my experience on the job hunt, what it is like to switch fields as a postdoc, and advice I have received about trying to optimize my chances of success in the academic job hunt game. I will also tell you about some upcoming opportunities in my current field, computational neuroscience, which has been growing in size lately due to efforts from the BRAIN initiative in the US and the Human Brain Project in Europe.

Bio:  Braden graduated with his Ph.D. from UIUC in June 2013. He worked with Karin Dahmen on a variety of problems in nonequilibrium statistical physics, with the bulk of his research focusing on disordered magnets and earthquake faults. He took up a postdoctoral position (with the fancy-sounding title of 'Acting Assistant Professor') at the University of Washington in Seattle, where he has shifted his research focus to bring the tools of statistical physics to bear on problems in neuroscience. He is currently in the second year of his postdoc.

Note: While he's in Urbana, Braden may have some availability on Thursday afternoon to meet with students.  If you would like to meet with him, please send me an e-mail, slcooper@illinois.edu, so I can try to arrange a meeting.

You can see the rest of the Spring 2015 Physics Careers Seminar series here: http://physics.illinois.edu/events/seminars.asp?cal=4014