LIGO @ 2008 SACNAS Conference in SLC

Gerardo & Mini-Interferometer

This past October 9-12 my work, LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory), had the opportunity to exhibit a booth at the 2008 SACNAS (Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science) National Conference---sorry for all the acronyms in just the first sentence here! My co-worker Gerardo and myself were lucky to head down to Salt Lake City for this conference. I had been to a SACNAS conference as an undergrad waaaay back in 1995 in El Paso, TX; this time I would be there as a "professional" on the other side of the table.

The Exhibit Hall

Keynote Presentation

Gerardo At Booth

Gerardo and I were at the conference to help spread the word about LIGO and to also talk up the cool opportunities LIGO has for undergrads (interenships in cutting edge research), and job seekers.

Aztec Dancers

SACNAS is an organization which encourages "Chicano/Latino and Native American students to pursue graduate education and obtain the advanced degrees necessary for science research, leadership, and teaching careers at all levels." Needless to say, we were surrounded by some inspiring professors, professionals, and students. The conference offers many presentations and workshops catered to empowering and supporting students in their endeavors. Hundreds of students also presented posters for research they were conducting as well. There was also an Exhibit Hall filled with exhibits from many universities, research facilities, and professional organizations. This is where Gerardo, myself, and LIGO came in.

SACNAS Student Posters

Gerardo Tweaking The "Mini-Ifo"

The theme for this year's conference was the International Polar Year: Global Changes In Our Communities. Keynote presentations and some of the workshops focused on the subject of global warming, research related to global warming, and how it is affecting communities throughout the world.

Gerardo & LIGO "Goodies"

For Gerardo and I, most of our time was spent at our little booth. It took us a little bit of time to get everything set up and our mini-interferometer online, but the majority of our time was spent being "LIGO Salesmen". Actually, in general we didn't have to sell too hard. Our mini-interferometer demo was a big eye-catcher and brought all kinds of curious "science-folk" to our booth. For many, this was their first opportunity to hear about LIGO, and the astronomical research we are conducting.

Gerardo Laughing With Students

Showing A Mechanical Engineer an Interferometer

As I mentioned before, this was our first time running a booth, and we had ideas of what to expect, but I was so struck by the interest we received, and also by the caliber of students we talked with. I felt so proud and inspired to talk with students of color who are kicking butt in their respective fields. We met so many students during the Exhibit, and the time flew by. I must admit for some periods it was a little overwhelming when we had people sort of queued up to listen to us. Gerardo was an awesome co-exhibitor and I think we both did pretty well with representing LIGO.

Talking With Neetsaii Gwich'in Athabascan Elder Sarah James about LIGO

Now it wasn't all-science 24-7. I had done some researching of salsa clubs in the area (some of you may know I've become a salsa nerd!), and found a club having a Latin Night on Thursday. I ended up walking down to the Sky Bar (club on the top of a Red Lion hotel). It was about 10pm when I got there and, as usual, they were starting out with salsa music. This was a cool club and they had some very good dancers.

Can You Find Gerardo??

SACNAS also had some social activities during two of the nights of the conference. On the Friday night, there was a ¡Pachanga!---this was basically a dance. SACNAS really hooked up the students and brought in a pretty nice band...now for the life of me I can't remember their name, but it was something like-- Orchestra Latina. This band was hot. They played mainly salsa standards, but also a few merengue songs, and even one cumbia song. Now, I've been learning salsa, and was so tempted to get out there on the floor, but I was too much of a chicken. I had fun watching the dancers and the band though. There was a big Puerto Rican contingent of students on the floor and they let everyone know. All in all a fun night.

"Bailador, Bailador..."

Salsa Band


Dancers At SACNAS ¡Pachanga!

On Saturday night there was a Pow Wow, and I participated and danced my style--which is Grass. Now it had been months (more like years) since I'd last danced! I think I did alright though. It's always odd to dance on carpet, and I know there were a few instances where I just about slipped and fell on my butt, but I'm a master at playing off mistakes! :) It was fun to have various people come up to me and ask about my outfit and my style of dance. Everyone was really nice. This was a good way to end the conference. We had such fun, and met so many awesome people. I truly hope we helped out in spreading the word about LIGO and ideally getting some more people of color in the sciences, namely with LIGO!

Grass Dancing Blur

LIGO Operators