The PAM Talks

2.0.7 Mayte Li - Learning to climb: mountains and research

Mayte Li is a PhD student with Quantum City at the University of Calgary. Originally from Mexico City, she has found both challenge and inspiration in Calgary: from building quantum microscopes that harness entangled photons, to climbing in the Canadian Rockies. For Mayte, climbing and research share the same lessons: resilience, balance, and persistence in the face of setbacks. Along the way, she has built community and friendship, showing that science is not only about discovery but also about the people that make the climb possible. * Mentor: Mayte Li, PhD student at the University of Calgary * Host: Stefan Sura, Undergraduate student in physics at the University of Calgary * Edited and produced by: Josué Ibarra Molinas, physics PhD student, University of Calgary The PAM Talks gratefully acknowledges support from the University of Calgary Graduate Student Association Quality Money grant program. [https://gsa.ucalgary.ca/financial-support/quality-money-program/]

2.0.6 How to survive grad school with Dr. Pamela Freeman and Dr. Pooja Woosaree

Dr. Pooja Woosaree and Dr. Pamela Freeman recorded this episode in December 2024, shortly after both of their PhD defences. They recap the highs and the lows, the trials and the joys of graduate school. They chat about their thesis research, the opportunities for international collaboration, their personal journeys through university, and the community they had at the University of Calgary (Pamela: maybe the real research was the friends we made along the way).  With a bonus topic: why this podcast is named the PAM Talks! * Pooja’s PhD:  ‘First Measurement of Antihydrogen Free Fall Using a Radial Time Projection Chamber [https://ucalgary.scholaris.ca/items/68099333-13bf-40c5-aae9-3e03e22f69a5]’, is explored in PAM Talks episode 1.5.1 [https://thepamtalks.podbean.com/e/151-pooja-woosaree-does-antimatter-fall-down/]. * Pamela’s PhD: ‘Chemical Diversity in High-Mass Star-Forming Regions [https://ucalgary.scholaris.ca/items/4477eec0-ccb5-4193-b827-2f054ee3b0ec]', will be explored in a future episode; for more radio astronomy, see Dr. Anna Ordog’s PAM Talks episode 1.0.1 [https://thepamtalks.podbean.com/e/s1e1drannaordog/]. * Edited and produced by: Dr. Pamela Freeman The PAM Talks gratefully acknowledges support from the University of Calgary Graduate Student Association Quality Money grant program. [https://gsa.ucalgary.ca/financial-support/quality-money-program/]

2.0.5 Calgary to Space: empowering students to explore the aerospace industry

Introducing CalgaryToSpace [https://www.calgarytospace.ca/], a group of students from the University of Calgary with the dream of launching Calgary's first student-built satellite! In this epsiode of the PAM Talks, mathematics PhD student, E, interviews Kaleigh Beer, President of CalgaryToSpace, and Aarti Chandiramani, Orbit Lead. The first CalgaryToSpace CubeSat, FrontierSat [https://www.calgarytospace.ca/cts-sat-1], is scheduled for launch in Fall 2025, in partnership with Exolaunch [https://www.exolaunch.com/]. Listen to learn about this exciting initiative and how students can become involved in Canada's aerospace industry.  * Mentor: Kaleigh Beer, President, and Aarti Chandiramani, Orbit Lead, from CalgaryToSpace * Host: E, Mathematics PhD student * Edited by: Becky Booth, physics PhD student, University of Calgary * Produced by: Laiba Nayeem, undergraduate student, University of Calgary The PAM Talks gratefully acknowledges support from the University of Calgary Graduate Student Association Quality Money grant program. [https://gsa.ucalgary.ca/financial-support/quality-money-program/]

2.0.4 Jennifer Howse - Our Connection to the Sky

Located in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, just southwest of Calgary, the University of Calgary’s Rothney Astrophysical Observatory [https://science.ucalgary.ca/rothney-observatory] supports research, teaching, and public outreach in astronomy and science. Jennifer Howse, the Observatory’s Education Specialist, oversees its outreach and school programs, helping connect people of all ages to the night sky. In this interview, PhD student Solveig Thompson speaks with Jennifer about the importance of science communication, our connection to the sky across the generations through storytelling, and the growing need to protect our dark skies. The Rothney Astrophysical Observatory is located under the starry skies of the traditional territories [https://science.ucalgary.ca/rothney-observatory/community/Indigenous%20Skies] of the peoples of Treaty 7, which include the Blackfoot Confederacy (comprised of the Siksika, the Piikani, and the Kainai First Nations), the Tsuut’ina First Nation, and the Stoney Nakoda (including Chiniki, Bearspaw, and Goodstoney First Nations). The City of Calgary is also home to the Métis Nation of Alberta (Districts 5 and 6). Information about upcoming public nights at the Rothney Observatory can be found at https://science.ucalgary.ca/rothney-observatory/public-events [https://science.ucalgary.ca/rothney-observatory/public-events]. * Mentor: Jennifer Howse, Education Specialist, Rothney Astrophysical Observatory, University of Calgary * Host: Solveig Thompson, astrophysics PhD student, University of Calgary * Edited by: Josué Ibarra Molinas, physics PhD student, University of Calgary * Produced by: Becky Booth, astrophysics PhD student, University of Calgary The PAM Talks gratefully acknowledges support from the University of Calgary Graduate Student Association Quality Money grant program. [https://gsa.ucalgary.ca/financial-support/quality-money-program/]

1.5.4 Dr. Maria Masoliver - Complex systems, more than a sum of their parts

Often, systems cannot easily be described by their parts or the sum of their parts — an everyday example is the brain. How do we study these systems? And how do physicists contribute to this work? Dr. Maria Masoliver is a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Calgary, specializing in complexity science and computational neuroscience. In this video Maria chats with Ea, an undergraduate student in math and physics, about her path into neuroscience research via physics and the wonders of interdisciplinary work. * Mentor: Dr. Maria Masoliver, post-doctoral researcher in complexity science and computational neuroscience. * Host: Ea, University of Calgary Math and Physics Alumnus. * Produced and edited by: Dr. Davor Curic, University of Calgary The PAM Talks gratefully acknowledges support from the University of Calgary Graduate Student Association Quality Money grant program. [https://gsa.ucalgary.ca/financial-support/quality-money-program/] Click here for the episode transcript [https://thepamtalks.podbean.com/p/transcript-dr-maria-masoliver-complex-systems-more-than-a-sum-of-their-parts/]