Mary B. James is an American physicist and educator. She is the Dean for Institutional Diversity and the A. A. Knowlton Professor of Physics at Reed College. James specializes in particle physics and accelerators.
Mary James | |
|---|---|
| Alma mater | Hampshire College (BA) Stanford University (PhD) |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | Reed College University of Maryland, College Park SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory |
| Thesis | Production of high intensity electron bunches for the SLAC Linear Collider (1987) |
Early life and education
editJames' father was one of the Tuskegee Airmen.[1] She earned a bachelor's in physics at Hampshire College in 1976. She completed a PhD in accelerator physics at Stanford University in 1986.[2] She worked at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, designing high current electron injectors for the linear collider.[3] She studied the longitudinal bunching of transrelativistic electron beams in high space charge forces and longitudinal wake fields.[2] At SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory she also contributed to the polarized electron injector (PEGGY).[2]
Research and career
editIn 1987 James joined University of Maryland, College Park as an assistant professor in electrical engineering.[2] Soon thereafter she moved to Portland, Oregon, to join the faculty of the department of physics at Reed College, where she has been a faculty member since in 1988. At Reed, James has taught broadly across the physics curriculum.[4]
James has been an advocate for women and minority students throughout her career.[3][5][6][7] In 2013 James was announced as Dean for Institutional Diversity at Reed College.[8][9] She is on the leadership team of the Liberal Arts Diversity Officers consortium.[10] The consortium looks at how faculty can navigate incidents of bias, and develops ways to change the structure and allow them to thrive.[11] She has served as a member and chair for the American Physical Society committee on Minorities in Physics.[12]
She established Reed College's Center for Teaching and Learning, which looks to attract and retain women, first generation students and people of colour in STEM majors.[13] She is concerned that underrepresented minority students feel isolated on campus, and that faculty of colour invest time in mentoring for minority students which distract from the tenure process.[11] When classes at Reed College were cancelled due to student protests over a curriculum that was "too white, male and Eurocentric", Reed appeared on public radio and national media emphasising the need for inclusive pedagogy.[14][15] As a teacher, she creates an active learning environment which makes students recognise physics does not only need straight A students.[16]
Working with the American Institute of Physics she launched TEAM UP in April 2018, a Task Force to Elevate African American Representation in Undergraduate Physics & Astronomy.[17][18] The program involved a survey, site visits and evidence-based recommendations with pilot schools.[18] The report from the Task Force appeared in spring 2020 and identifies a number of the factors responsible for the success of African American students in physics and astronomy along with research-based recommendations for faculty and institutions to increase the representation of African Americans in these fields.[19]
Recognition
editJames was named a Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS) in 2021, after a nomination from the APS Forum on Physics and Society, "for outstanding contributions to improving access, inclusion, equity, and mentorship in physics, including as co-chair of the TEAM-UP Task Force, speaking at CUWiP conferences, and as Dean for Institutional Diversity at Reed College".[20]
References
edit- ^ "A triumph of hope over despair". OregonLive.com. Retrieved 2018-05-13.
- ^ a b c d "Mary James - Physics - Reed College - Portland, OR". www.reed.edu. Retrieved 2018-05-13.
- ^ a b College of Science - Oregon State University (2016-01-21), What does access really mean?, retrieved 2018-05-13
- ^ "Mary James CV". www.reed.edu. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
- ^ "Mary James Visits OSU - Physicists for Inclusion in Science". Physicists for Inclusion in Science. 2017-10-13. Retrieved 2018-05-13.
- ^ "Professor contributes to nationwide university diversity initiatives". FIU News. Retrieved 2018-05-13.
- ^ "WCL Breakfast: Be Part of the Solution–Our Differences Add Up to Greatness". WOMEN'S CENTER FOR LEADERSHIP. Retrieved 2018-05-13.
- ^ "Liberal Arts Diversity Officers: Faculty Recruitment to Enhance Diversity at Liberal Arts Colleges | Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education". vpge.stanford.edu. Retrieved 2018-05-13.
- ^ College, Reed. "Reed Appoints Mary James as Dean for Institutional Diversity". Reed College News Center. Retrieved 2018-05-13.
- ^ "Liberal Arts Diversity Officers [LADO] | A site and community forum for LADO, hosted by Middlebury College". liberalartsdiversity.org. Retrieved 2018-05-13.
- ^ a b Education, Liberal (2017-05-25). ""Someone Who Looks Like Me": Promoting the Success of Students of Color by Promoting the Success of Faculty of Color". Association of American Colleges & Universities. Retrieved 2018-05-13.
- ^ "TEAM-UP Task Force Members". 2018-02-22. Retrieved 2018-05-13.
- ^ "2016 REU Physics Site Director Workshop Speakers". www.aps.org. Retrieved 2018-05-13.
- ^ "A Courageous Experiment". The Grail at Reed College. Retrieved 2018-05-13.
- ^ "Teaching Diversity At Reed | Think Out Loud | WNYC". WNYC. Retrieved 2018-05-13.
- ^ "Guest: What keeps girls from studying physics and STEM". The Seattle Times. 2014-09-14. Retrieved 2018-05-13.
- ^ "Task Force to Elevate the Representation of African Americans in Undergraduate Physics & Astronomy (TEAM-UP)" (PDF). National Society of Black Physicists. 2018. Retrieved 2018-05-13.
- ^ a b "TEAM-UP Task Force". 2018-02-02. Retrieved 2018-05-13.
- ^ The Time is Now: Systemic Changes to Increase African Americans with Bachelor's Degrees in Physics and Astronomy (PDF). American Institute of Physics. 2020. ISBN 978-1-7343469-0-9.
- ^ "Fellows nominated in 2021 by the Forum on Physics and Society". APS Fellows archive. American Physical Society. Retrieved 2021-10-22.