Spring 2026 Physics Careers Seminar Series Concludes May 1 with Maddie Stover, Science Communicator and PhD Student in Climate Science

The Spring 2026 Physics Careers Seminar series concludes on Friday, May 1 with a talk by Maddie Stover from the Department of Physics, UIUC, who will talk about "Opportunities in Science Communication and Climate Science (Maddie's Version)" at 12:30 p.m. CT in 204 Loomis (Interaction Room). Details of Maddie's seminar are given below.

Time: 12:30 p.m. CT on Friday, May 1, 2026

Location: 204 Loomis (Interaction Room). A Zoom link will also be forwarded to the Illinois Physics Grad Student email list. For a copy of the link, please contact Lance Cooper (slcooper@illinois.edu).

Title: Opportunities in Science Communication and Climate Science (Maddie's Version)

Speaker: Maddie Stover, PhD Student, Department of Physics, UIUC

Abstract: During my time in undergrad, my research was in gravitational-wave astronomy. However, for my Ph.D. in physics, I transitioned to studying future projections of wildfire risk and prescribed fire behavior. 

Throughout my Ph.D., I also became a science communicator. Science communication is any activity that shares science with a non-expert audience. In this role, I host and produce a radio show on weather and climate for Illinois Public Media and write website content for the Physics Department at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the Illinois Quantum Information Science and Technology Center.

In this talk, I will tell you the story of how I became a science communicator. I will also go over opportunities in this field, so you can get involved now or after Illinois, if science communication is of interest to you. Finally, I will touch on my dissertation in climate science and opportunities for physicists in this field.

Bio: Maddie Stover is a Ph.D. candidate in Physics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, a science writer for Illinois Physics and IQUIST, and a producer and host for Illinois Public Media.  

You can see the rest of the Spring 2026 Physics Careers Seminar series here: https://physics.illinois.edu/calendar/careers-seminar