Eric W. graduated from Peking University in 2022. He was involved in the development of machine-learning force fields and their application in the MD simulation of biological systems.

Eric Y. graduated from National Taiwan University in 2022, where he specialized in NMR theories and experiments, especially in the solid state.

Oliver graduated from UC San Diego in 2022. He did research on polaritonic systems and drug discovery as an undergrad.

All three of them are interested in machine learning problems and will keep extending their expertise here at THG lab!

 

THG interviewed by Physics Today with others.

https://physicstoday.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/PT.3.4519

Congratulations to Nancy on passing her Qualifying Exam and proceed as a PhD candidate!

We are a group of scientific workers with diverse background, and Asian background is a big and important part of it. We are sad about what some Asians in America have gone through and how they are affected. As a group, we would like to express our strongest support to them and whoever is not respectively treated.

Here we provide some links about Asian Americans. Let’s get educated.

1. The five-part PBS documentary Asian Americans. https://www.pbs.org/weta/asian-americans/episode-guide/
2. The history of anti-Asian racism in America before COVID-19. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/asian-american-racism-covid
3. The Chinese in America. https://www.amazon.com/Chinese-America-Narrative-History/dp/0142004170?ots=1&ascsubtag=[]c2[p]ckmdoj09000001qn50uwthgny[t]w[d]D[z]m&tag=thecutonsite-20

After all the difficulties in this unusual year we finally have our new postdocs Dr. Pavithra Naullage and Dr. Kaixuan Chen joining our group! Welcome!

Dr. Pavithra Naullage obtained her Ph.D. in computational physical chemistry from University of Utah, focusing on development of advanced sampling methods and its application to ice-binding molecules.

Dr. Kaixuan Chen obtained his PhD of material physics and chemistry from Sun Yat-sen University and was working as a postdoctoral researcher in Prof. Richard Dronskowski’s group in the Institute of Inorganic Chemistry at RWTH Aachen University. His former research topics include: first-principles study on the thermal and thermoelectric properties of two-dimensional materials and conversion reaction mechanism in lithium ion batteries under the first-principles point of view.

Great news and big relief!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/judge-to-hear-arguments-in-challenge-to-foreign-student-rule/2020/07/14/cbe2f03c-c5f9-11ea-a825-8722004e4150_story.html

Four Berkeley engineers receive awards for COVID-19 research

Live webcast: Friday, June 26 12–1 P.M. (Pacific)

Structural Racism and COVID19: The Political Divide, Re-Opening the Society and Health Impacts on People of Color

Recent California data show that citizen perspectives on rolling back shelter in place and other public health provisions related to COVID19 are highly politicized and racialized. This Conversation features experts, john powell, Director of the Othering and Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley, Cristina Mora, Co-Director of the Institute of Governmental Studies, and Mahasin Mujahid, Epidemiologist, School of Public Health who will explore the impact of a polarized society on COVID19, especially for vulnerable populations. Panelists will also discuss public health and social equity measures needed to safely re-open the society to address COVID19 as well as the underlying pandemic of structural racism. In addition, they will examine bridging policies that can help overcome societal divisions and pr omote health justice for all.

The event will be broadcast live on this page: https://news.berkeley.edu/2020/06/18/structural-racism-and-covid19-the-political-divide-re-opening-the-society-and-health-impacts-on-people-of-color/. You can also watch it live on the UC Berkeley Facebook page.

The THG Lab would like to pass on lots of reading on BLM and inherent institutional racism (and sexism) that has been allowed to go on too long. Thanks to CBE, Farnaz, and many others (including Genevieve and Nadine HG) for this curated list. Let’s get educated!

Anti-Racist Actions, Learning, and Engagement Resources

Reading:

• Articles:
  • Allyship (& Accomplice): The What, Why, and How by Michelle Kim | Medium (November 10, 2019)
  • Why You Need to Stop Saying “All Lives Matter” by Rachel Elizabeth Cargle | Harper’s Bazaar (April 16, 2019)
  • “Who Gets to Be Afraid in America?” by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi | Atlantic (May 12, 2020)
  • Black Trans Men Face a Constant Threat of Police Violence by Ash Stevens | The Advocate (May 28, 2020)
  • On George Floyd and the struggle to belong by Denise Herd | Othering & Belonging Institute (May 29, 2020)
  • We’re in a moment of collective trauma. But there are glimmers of hope by john a. powell | Othering & Belonging Institute (June 2, 2020)
  • The clash over shelter-in-place rooted in slavery by john a. powell | San Francisco Chronicle (May 1, 2020)
  • The Case for Reparations by Ta-Nehisi Coates | The Atlantic (June 2014)
  • Statement on George Floyd by Gary May, UC Davis’ Chancellor (May 28, 2020)
  • How Higher Ed Can Fight Racism: ‘Speak Up When It’s Hard’ by Francie Diep | The Chronicle of Higher Education (June 1, 2020)
  • Roots, Race, & Place. A History of Racially Exclusionary Housing in the San Francisco Bay Area by Othering & Belonging Institute (October 1, 2019)
  • Hiring a Chief Diversity Officer Won’t Fix Your Racist Company Culture by Nadia Owusu | Catapult (January 28, 2020)
  • How to Fight Racism Through Inner Work by Jill Suttie | Greater Good Science Center (September 25, 2019)
  • 5 Ways White People Can Take Action in Response to White and State-Sanctioned Violence by Showing Up for Racial Justice (May 27, 2020)
  • 75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice by Corinne Shutack | Medium (August 13, 2017)
  • 5 Things Allies Can Do to Sponsor Coworkers from Underrepresented Groups by Better Allies (May 22, 2020)
• Books:
  • How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
  • So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
  • Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson
  • Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
  • The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
  • White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism by Robin DiAngelo
  • Black Feminist Thought by Patricia Hill Collins
• Curated lists:
  • UC Berkeley Equity and Inclusion resources
  • The 1619 Project (all the articles) | The New York Times Magazine
  • Letters for Black Lives – Open letters in 20+ languages to talk to family about Black Lives Matter
  • An Antiracist Reading List by Ibram X. Kendi | New York Times
  • Resources on talking to young kids about race and racism by Katrina Michie
  • A Detailed List of Anti-Racism Resources by Katie Couric (June 1, 2020)
  • Anti-Racism Resources for White People compiled by Sarah Sophie Flicker and Alyssa Klein (May 2020)
  • Things to Do to Support Black Lives & Protestors by Tayo Rockson
  • Dismantling Anti-black Bias In Democratic Workplaces: A Toolkit from the Anti-Oppression Resource and Training Alliance (AORTA)
  • Anti-Racism Resources compiled by Sarafina Nance in the Department of Astronomy
  • Reading list for children
  • Anti-Racism Resources from Crooked Media
  • Resources to Support Anti-Racist Learning by Greater Good Science Center

Videos, Films, and Podcasts:

• Ibram X. Kendi on How to be an Antiracist at UC Berkeley on September 12, 2019
• Video Message to Staff, May 31, 2020 from Sunny Lee, Assistant Vice Chancellor & Dean of Students and Samuel Santos, Assistant Vice Chancellor, Student Engagement
• 1619 from New York Times | An audio series on how slavery has transformed America
• Code Switch from NPR | A podcast hosted by a multi-racial, multi-generational team of journalists
• Seeing White from Scene On Radio | 14 part documentary series from 2017
• Now, More Than Ever, We Need The ARTS! from Cal Performances | A series of performing arts videos for a time of physical distancing
• 13th Film | 2 hours | Netflix | In this documentary, scholars, activists and politicians analyze the criminalization of African Americans and the U.S. prison boom.
• When They See Us | 4 episodes | Netflix | Based on a true story, five teens from Harlem become trapped in a nightmare when they’re falsely accused of a brutal attack in Central Park.
• Bryan Stevenson  Confronting Injustice from SXSW Conference, 2015
• Building Belonging in a Time of Othering keynote from john a. powell at 2019 Othering & Belonging Conference
• Cracking the Codes: The System of Racial Inequity from World Trust | A film that supports institutions and communities to deepen and shift the framing of racial disparities
• Be a co-conspirator for racial justice
• Pod Save the People DeRay Mckesson explores news, culture, social justice, and politics with fellow activists Brittany Packnett Cunningham and Sam Sinyangwe, and writer Dr. Clint Smith.
• United States of Anxiety from WNYC. Connects the present with the past and explores racial politics in the US.

Follow:

• Anima Leadership on “Challenging anti-Black Racism in Organizations”: https://animaleadership.com/cafe/
• Groups and people doing anti-racist work, such as @colorofchange @weinspirejustice @showingupforracialjustice
• Research on Race in American Public Policy series from the Brookings Institution
• Othering and Belonging Institute
• Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ)
• Better Allies. Everyday actions to create inclusive, engaging workplaces
• Stay engaged by subscribing to (and reading!) newsletters from organizations doing anti-racist work

Places to donate if you have the means:

• Help Fund The Fannie Lou Hamer Black Resource Center at UC Berkeley
• Anti-Police Terror Project
• Black Visions Collective
• Campaign Zero
• Use of Force Project
• Reclaim the Block (Reclaim the Block has put together a list of more places to donate in Reclaim the Block: fund our broader movement)
• Ella Baker Center for Human Rights
• Color of Change
• Southern Poverty Law Center
• Equal Justice Initiative
• Black Futures Lab

Other ways to support:

• Support Black-Owned restaurants in the Bay Area
• Black-Owned Bookstores You Should Know

Congratulations to Jerry for being the first student to take his QE remotely on March 17- setting the standard for doing it well during covid-19!