In observance of National Postdoc Appreciation Day, the SUPD has
organized a BBQ, sponsored by the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs,
the Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education, and the
School of Medicine Career Center. Representatives from the SoM
Career Center, the Bechtel Center, the Work-Life Office, the
Career Development Center, and other offices will be on hand to
educate postdocs about the wide variety of campus resources
available to them. Families/significant others are welcome to
attend!

Click here for the event's flyer, here for driving directions, and here
for walking directions. See you there!

All Stanford University post-doctoral scholars are invited to participate
in the 2009 SUPD Poster Session and Networking symposium, to be held
in the Grant Courtyard on Friday, August 14th, 2009, from
4 to 7 pm. This symposium is an opportunity for Stanford postdocs to
present their research to postdocs and scientists in a university-wide
event.
 
We have space for 30 posters, which will be accepted on a first come,
first serve basis (via the submission form here). Even if you are not able
to present a poster, please come to the symposium to network with
fellow Stanford postdocs and enjoy snacks and beverages!
 
Please see the networking event web page for more details, and to
submit your abstract now!
 
Please contact Crystal Botham with any questions about the event.

The Stanford University Postdoctoral Association is proud to announce
the two winners of the second Stanford Postdoctoral Mentoring Award:
Dr. Kang Shen (Biology), and Dr. Michaela Kiernan (Stanford Prevention
Center).

 

2009 Winners
Kang Shen	Michaela Kiernan

The award is the first to recognize excellence in postdoctoral mentoring
across Stanford University, and carries a cash prize of $2500 for each
winner. Over fifty nominations were received and in addition to the two
winners, two other mentors were recognized with honorable mentions.
 
Read the full press release on the awards page.

Thanks to everyone who nominated their mentor for the award!
We had a great response this year, over 50 submissions. Stay
tuned to the awards submission page for further info.

The SUPD is pleased to announce the second annual SUPD
Postdoctoral Mentor Award. If you have a great postdoctoral
mentor, we invite you to nominate them for this award, which
carries a cash prize of $2500, by April 24th, 2009. The mentor
nominated need not be your own adviser, and need not be a
professor. Two awards will be given, formally presented at the
SUPD town-hall meeting at the end of the academic year. To learn
more about the award and submit your nomination, please go to:

2009 SUPD Mentoring Award Nomination Form

In addition to nominations, we also request your help in
advertising this event; if you could print out several copies of
the award flyer and post them near your workspace it will help
to increase awareness of this award. We will be posting flyers
around campus, but cannot capture every nook and cranny.

The latest edition of The Voice, the quarterly SUPD publication,
is available for download here. We want to
include information that is relevant to you--so let us know what
you want in the next edition. Better yet, submit your own short
article!

You can check this and previous editions on the SUPD website, just
Google "SUPD".

Please contact Kevin McIntire (kevin.mcintire@stanford.edu) for
more information about helping produce or contributing to The Voice.

There will be a meeting of the SUPD on Thursday March 5 at 12:00pm
in CCSR 4105.
(Update) Get the meeting minutes.

Continuing our effort to promote social interactions
postdocs, we have now created a Google Group. Sign
up today!

There will be a meeting of the SUPD on Thursday February 12 at 12:00pm
in the Medical School Office Building, Room X303 (MSOBX303). The
meeting agenda is attached, and we hope you can attend.

From first-timers to old hands, all are welcome! See you Thursday!
Here is a link to a map; the building is on the left side.

The agenda for this meeting is:

• Introductions
  • Welcome/SUPD Background
  • Self Introductions
• Standing Agenda Items
  • Election of new council members
  • Report from the Co-Chairs
• Old Business
  • The Voice
  • SUPD e-mail list (public postings)
• New Business
  • Mentoring Awards
    • Faculty Advisor
    • Payment to Previous Winners
    • Advertisement
    • Submission Site
  • Survey
    • First Draft Presentation/Feedback
    • Implementation
    • Postdoc Feelins on Mandatory Career Planning
  • Council for Research
  • Postdoc e-mail list (string emails & new moderation policy)
  • Social Committee: How to continue social and intellectual interactions without funding?
• Summary of Action Items

Get the meeting minutes.

It's easy for postdocs to feel isolated as we toil away in lab. But don't
fear: two brave postdocs have created SUPD groups on popular networking
sites. Navaline Quach in Neurology set up a group on the professional
networking site LinkedIn, and Elie Bursztein in Computer Science set up
a group on the social networking site FaceBook.

LinkedIn: Type "SUPD" in the "Search group" box.
Facebook: Search for the "Stanford postdoc" group.

This month's SUPD meeting will be this Thursday, Jan 15th from noon
to 1:30. We will meet in the Medical School Office Building, Room X303.
Here is a link to a map; the building is on the left side.
We'll update you when we find out if we will be able to provide food.
This month we have some important topics to discuss. First, we have
significant leadership changes. But I hope to address those changes
quickly because we have some fairly unprecedented issues to address.
The most pressing of which is the way that the economic crisis is
complicating life for postdocs. The University is (understandably)
overwhelmed by the financial aspects of the crisis, but we haven't seen
much emphasis on the way that postdocs can improve our career prospects
in this environment. We personally have a growing sense that postdocs
should encourage a more robust training emphasis from the University,
and we think that the SUPD is the avenue to encourage and coordinate a
University-wide response.

For 20 years, there has been a growing crisis in career training for
postdocs. This was exacerbated recently by severe budget shortfalls
and a contraction of available new faculty positions. Yet there are
still jobs available. The problem is the growing gap between those
positions that we train for and those positions that are available. And
this isn't a new problem. Luckily, many of the solutions that would have
worked 20 years ago would still be helpful today. This may be a receptive
environment to implement those long-overdue ideas.

But those are just our opinions. We want to hear from you! Bring your
ideas as we brainstorm solutions to address career training in an
unprecedented economic environment.

We hope to see you Thursday,
Brandon & Will

The agenda for this meeting is:

• Welcome
• Old Business
  • Confirmation of New Officers:
    • Co-Chair (Will Grissom)
    • CPS Officer (Alesha Castillo)
    • Veterans Affairs (Kevin McIntire)
  • Unfilled Officer Positions:
    • Treasurer
    • Secretary
  • Other unfinished business
• New Business
  • Career Counseling
    • Integrating career training into postdoc experience
    • How will postdoc career plans change in the current financial crisis?
  • Budgeting for no budget: revising yearly SUPD priorities
  • The Voice (SUPD Newsletter): February edition
  • Postdoc e-mail list:
    • Response to General Counsel's Office request for enforceable general use policy
    • Coordinate with Alumni Association to stop public postings
  • Mentoring Award Planning
  • Planning SUPD Annual Survey
• Committee Reports
  • UC CPS LA Meeting Report: Sloan Grant/Regional Postdoc Meeting Progress
  • Upcoming NPA Meeting
  • School of Medicine Faculty Senate Report
  • Social Committee: How to operate without funding?
  • Committee Report: Stanford Postdocs in the Veteran Affairs Hospital
• Recap Action Items

Get the meeting minutes.

The next SUPD council meeting will be this Thursday Oct 9th from 1-2pm
in room CCSR 4205. (Note the slightly later time than usual.) We've
heard a lot of concerns that it's difficult for postdocs to stay
informed and socialize with other postdocs. So, this month we'll work
on a newsletter for postdocs, plan social events (pub night? movie
night? presidential debate party?), and discuss important problems that
affect postdocs. Here is your chance to get involved, join the council,
voice your concerns, or just see what the SUPD is all about. Lunch
(pizza) will be served!

The agenda for this meeting is:

• Welcome
• Old Business
  • BBQ Recap/Feedback
  • Unfilled Council Positions
  • Childcare link
  • VA e-mail list
• New Business/Council Reports
  • Upcoming BBQ
  • Social Events (movie nights, pub nights, etc)
  • Budget/new PDO position
  • Postdoc commute
  • Women & Science Grant
    • Survey consultant
    • Nanny Share
  • Drink Storage for Council Meetings
• Recap Action Items

Get the meeting minutes.

Thanks to everybody who came to the BBQ, it was a great success!
Pictures are up on the Social page. We are planning
another BBQ for the near future, as well as international movie
nights. Stay tuned to SUPD e-mails and this website for further
info as it becomes available!

Association for Women in Science Mentoring