USPA events

Postdoc Hike: Fern Grotto at Wilder State Park

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When: March 25, 2023 at 10AM for about 3 hours

Where: Meet at the picnic benches in front of the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center (2885 Mission St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060)  which is Bus accessible OR at Wilder State Park around 10:30 ($10 vehicle day-use fee to park in the actual park). There is free parking outside the park, but it fills up fast on the weekends.

Distance: Fern Grotto loop only ~2.5 miles loop.  If you are starting at the USGS, we will walk the 1.5 miles (there and back) to Wilder park to start the hike (total ~6 miles).

Difficulty level is Easy (https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/old-landing-cove-trail). Epic views of the coastline and a visit to one of the few fern grottos out of the tropics!

Please bring at least a liter of water and any snacks you would like during the hike.

Contact Brian if you have any questions: email: brmullen@ucsc.edu or cell: (916)212-5640

Late Postdoc Holiday Party

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Happy late Holidays!

Due to various circumstances, strikes, and storms, the UCSC Postdoc Association (USPA) will be throwing a very late holiday party Thursday 26th of January from 3-5 pm at the Graduate Student Commons Fireside Lounge near Iveta Cafe.

This is the first of many USPA events for the year for Postdocs (“postdoctoral students” according to the New York Times).

There will be drinks, snacks, and games.

Come and meet your fellow postdocs!

Update: Thanks for coming everyone, it was nice seeing you all! Congrats to the three winners of the games, hope you’re enjoying your pomegranates!

USPA Friendsgiving 2022

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USPA (UCSC Postdocs Association) is inviting you to a Friendsgiving feast. Specially crafted for those who can’t make it home this Thanksgiving, this is a potluck so we can all enjoy a variety of tasty food items.
  • When: Thursday the 24th at 4pm
  • Where: Graduate Student Commons (2nd floor, above Iveta cafe)
  • Who: all postdocs and family
  • What: potluck (bring some food or drinks)
Note: Due to the ongoing strike, the Graduate Student Commons might be closed. If that happens, we will inform you about the alternate off-campus location via email.

Postdoctoberfest Party 2022

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Thursday, October 27, 2022 | 5:00–9:00 p.m.
Venus Spirits Distillery, Westside | 200 High Road | Santa Cruz
You’re invited! Let’s celebrate us – postdocs – and the research we do at UCSC! 
Program:

We’d like to keep this event informal and thus encourage everyone to participate in and co-create the program. Everyone will get up to 5 minutes of stage time, and you can use this time any way you like. Options include:

  • Talk: Give a brief presentation about your research project or diversity-minded mentoring experience. Think what would be useful for other postdocs to learn.
  • Slam: Choose a member of the audience to give an improvised presentation from your slides. Ideally, somebody from a completely different field to maximize the surprise factor 🙂
  • Jam: Do you have a knack for poetry? Singing? Dance? Share it with us!

If you prepare slides, please bring them in a platform-independent format, such as PDF or Google slides.

Depending on the mood and time, we’ll close the evening with a panel discussion between several senior postdocs to touch on any questions that especially new postdocs might have.

It’s been a long since we met each other. Looking forward to see y’all!

Goodies:

Food and non-alcoholic drinks will be provided. We’ll have regular, vegetarian, and vegan options. If you have any special dietary concerns beyond that, please let us know in the above RSVP form.

Science Communication Matters

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Have you ever wondered how to effectively explain science to the public? Why is communicating science in understandable words important? Come learn more in a remote conversation with award-winning storyteller, consultant, and trainer, Dr. Virginia Schutte!

Audience: Graduate students and postdocs in science disciplines
What: Science Communication Matters
When: Wednesday, July 13th from 12-1 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time (PDT)
Where: Join Zoom Meeting Meeting ID: 931 0136 4419

Please share with any graduate students and postdocs in science disciplines who might be interested!

Please send questions to Karen Arcos.

Postdoc workshop Data visualization using R and ggplot2

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When: July 14th, 10am-noon
Where:

We are hosting an interactive workshop on data visualization using ggplot2 (an R package), Thursday July 14th, 10am-noon, hybrid zoom / in person on main campus

ggplot2 works especially well to plot your data in a fast and organized way, and makes it a lot easier when working with large datasets. It also has many options for visualization (plot types, colors, annotations, highlights, etc.). It’s a free package that can be loaded into RStudio (free too), is widely used in the scientific community, and has a huge amount of online resources to learn from.
Feel free to bring your own data to play with!

image credit: @allison_horst

Intellectual Property workshop for Postdocs

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The USPA is inviting you to a workshop on Intellectual Property, led by Jeff Jackson from UCSC, Friday Feb 25th, 3-4pm via zoom: https://ucsc.zoom.us/j/91898114331?pwd=QlhDU0JvZVMwL2hpakV2cEZ1U1lEQT09

Jeff is the Director of Intellectual Property Management at UC Santa Cruz and will answer any questions the group has about anything surrounding intellectual property: patents, copyrights, startups, the UC Santa Cruz IP process, licensing from the University, IP policy, careers in patents and intellectual property or anything else that’s of interest.

First Beach Party of 2022

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Join us for the first postdoc party in 2022! Saturday February 12th, 3pm-sunset, at Seabright Beach East (see pinned map).

We’ll gather at the volleyball courts around a slackline. In case of rain, look for a blue portable canopy.

No registration necessary. Come with your partners/kids/friends/pets, plenty of space on the beach.

What to bring with you: comfy clothes, usual beach stuff, ligt food & drinks to share. Volleyball net and a ball would be great too!

 

Postdoc Halloween Party 2021

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USPA would like to invite you to this year’s Halloween party on Friday, 10/29, starting at 6pm at Black Beach.

Costumes are non-negotiable (even a funny hat counts as a costume!). Bring drinks and food of your preference. Bring friends and loved ones. We’ll make sure there’s fire to warm us all up and provide the perfect backdrop for scary Halloween stories 👻

If you have any questions please contact Oskar and Tufa, preferably on the postdoc Slack or alternatively email (oelek@ucsc.edu, tassafa@ucsc.edu).

Postdoc Appreciation Week Social Hours

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It’s Postdoc Appreciation Week! Join the USPA’s celebration the evening of September 24 5pm for a casual social gathering of camaraderie and food at Natural Bridges.

Edit: Thanks for coming everyone, it was fun! And thank you for bringing spikeball!

Other events this week:

  • Cake! Organized by the IBSC at 2pm “Bring your favorite beverage (and plate and fork if you have) to the red plaza tables between Sinsheimer and Biomed Buildings!”
  • Virtual events organized by the National Postdoc Association. For example:
    • “Centering your identity and interests while preparing for your next career step” Sept 22, 10am, Zoom
    • “Transitioning from a Postdoc to an Early-Career Professional at a Federal Agency” Sept 23, 9am, Zoom
    • “Maximizing the Postdoc Experience through Mentoring” Sept 23, 10am, Zoom
    • “Becoming Visible in STEM While Finding Your Niche” Sept 24, 8:30am, Register
    • “Preparing for Life After Postdoc: Setting Yourself Up for Success”, 10am, Zoom