Mission Statement
The Medical Physics Graduate Student Outreach program aims to increase the visibility of medical physics by teaching community members about the role of physics in medicine as well as the educational and career opportunities in physics-based careers. Our focus is directed to the next generation of curious thinkers, especially under-represented groups in medical physics, by engaging them in conversation and hands-on medical physics activities. It is led by medical physics graduate students with the support of faculty and staff.
Spring 2023 Review
This semester saw several changes in the Outreach Committee. Leadership was passed to co-chairs Alex Christensen and Lucky Volety. We welcomed several new members from the incoming class of 2022: Grace Minesinger, Liliana Berube, and Molly DeLuca. We also congratulated Joseph Whitehead on his dissertation defense, although his contributions to outreach will be missed!
In March, we hosted several students from Wright Middle School for a morning exploring careers in medical physics, from research to the clinic. Dr. Tim Stick taught a brief interactive Medical Physics 101 lecture followed by tours of our facilities and demonstrations covering radiation therapy, ultrasound histotripsy, and medical imaging. Activities included scanning fruits with CT, performing a “star-shot” Linac QA test, ultrasound scanning of gelatin phantoms, and an ultrasound histotripsy demo!
We also participated in UW’s “Science Expeditions” event in April, where our booth with demonstrations was open to the public during the Physics Fair and HSLC Expo. We brought our portable ultrasound to probe gelatin phantoms, a Geiger counter and radioactive fiesta ware, and some radiographic films. Nicholas Summerfield 3D printed a model Linac with moving parts, which was a very popular addition to our usual demonstrations!
In May, we collaborated with Stellar Tech Girls, a local business that offers STEM programs for 9-14 year old girls. We created a 2-hour workshop including an introduction to careers in medical physics, a radiation therapy planning activity, using ultrasound to scan phantoms and perform a guided “biopsy,” and a Geiger counter scavenger hunt. The girls were quite amazed at the detectable radiation from bananas!
After an active semester, we are using the summer as an opportunity to learn from these events and develop newer and better demonstrations for bringing medical physics to our community!
Contact
Committee
- Liliana Berube
- Alexandra Christensen (co-chair)
- Molly DeLuca
- Lisette LeMerise
- Grace Minesinger
- Aeli Olson
- Nicholas Summerfield
- Lucky Volety (co-chair)