Academia has a problem. Underrepresented minorities fall off at every step along the path to becoming a STEM professor. What we are left with is a professoriate that does not reflect the diversity of the general population. In this episode, we dive into what is known about this issue and how we can make the environment of STEM education more equitable.

Episode Music:

Rad Scientist Theme Motif - Grant Fisher

And So Then - Blue Dot Sessions

Bivly - Blue Dot Sessions

Bauxite - Blue Dot Sessions

Hedgeliner - Blue Dot Sessions

Illway - Blue Dot Sessions

Setting Pace - Blue Dot Sessions

Building the Sled - Blue Dot Sessions

The Yards - Blue Dot Sessions

Rambling - Blue Dot Sessions

Lamprey - Blue Dot Sessions

Lean - Blue Dot Sessions

Gentry Patrick was born in South Central Los Angeles to a 16-year-old single mother. Through grit, serendipity, mentorship, and wits, he went on to study science at some of the most reputable institutions and ultimately earned his doctoral degree and landed a job as a professor of biology at UC San Diego. There he studies how proteins in the brain get recycled while also paving the way for underserved students to follow in his footsteps.

Gentry’s Convocation Speech [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeboCHowDFM]

PATHways to STEM homepage [https://paths.ucsd.edu/]

Message from Gentry as Director of Mentorship and Diversity for Biological Sciences [https://biology.ucsd.edu/diversity/directors-message.html]

Episode Music:

Rad Scientist Theme Motif - Grant Fisher

Jazz Chords Piano Loop 120 bpm - Orange Free Sounds

Buzzy Minuet - Chad Crouch

Hip Hop Bass Instrumental - Titibles

Greylock - Blue Dot Sessions

Near and Within - Zifhang

Air Hockey Saloon - Chris Zabriskie

Lamprey - Blue Dot Sessions

Platformer - Chad Crouch

Parallel Universe - Andrew KN

Mr Mole and Son - Blue Dot Sessions

Sunday Morning Sun - Ryan Andersen

When you listen to the ocean, you realize that there is a whole world of sound that our ears aren't made to hear. Goldie Phillips tells us what we can hear off the waters of San Diego, and what is threatening the rich soundscape of the Pacific Ocean.

This episode first aired in January 2019.

From KPBS and PRX, "Port of Entry" tells cross-border stories that connect us.

Subscribe to the podcast wherever you listen, or here: www.portofentrypod.org.

Austin Coley was told he was not “PhD worthy” while getting his masters. That didn’t stop him from getting his doctorate and continuing to research a mental illness that affected his uncle.

Follow "Rad Scientist" on Facebook: www.facebook.com/radscientistpod

Episode Music:

Rad Scientist Theme Motif - Grant Fisher

Golden Bunny - Daniel Birch

crystal life - Ketsa

Dontletthemin - Ketsa

Kitty In The Window - Podington Bear

Splash In The Ocean - Daniel Birch

Bossa Nova - Podington Bear

Gentle Sea Swell - Daniel Birch

On A Wing - Podington Bear

Keith in 1987 - Ketsa

When you ask Chandler Puritty who she is, she’ll give you many answers: Ecologist, social justice advocate, plant lover, cat mother, artist, psychic medium.

She cares deeply about the environment and climate change. Her thesis charted the resilience of exotic versus native plants of Southern California after drought. But she also cares about the environment, or culture, within STEM that makes Black scientists feel uncomfortable. Chandler takes many steps as a writer, professor, and healer to make the experiences of early career Black scientists better.

Chandler sells artwork and Tarot sessions at https://www.housepuritty.com/

Episode Music:

Rad Scientist Theme Motif - Grant Fisher

Nocturnal - Podington Bear

Entwined Oddity - Blue Dot Sessions

Sad Marimba Planet - Podington Bear

Shines Through Trees - Podington Bear

Tollhouse - Podington Bear

Gruyere - Podington Bear

The Secret to Growing Up

Dimmy - Podington Bear

Purple Butter - Breakmaster Cylinder

Sunset - Podington Bear

Flowing Bells - Daniel Birch

Closet Interlude- Blue Dot Sessions

De Facto - Chad Crouch

Coming Round - Modus

The Speed of Life - Podington Bear

Kaylee Arnold grew up in Oceanside, but moved to Georgia to pursue a PhD in ecology. Despite her fear of heights, Kaylee climbs high up in the palm trees of Panama to collect her research subjects, kissing bugs. She studies the gut bacteria of these parasite-carrying insects to broaden our understanding of how microbiome diversity is affected by environmental factors like deforestation. After the video was released of a white woman threatening to call the police on birder Chris Cooper, Kaylee and other Black scientists, part of the online group “BlackAFinSTEM”, started a social media campaign called Black Birders Week to celebrate Black excellence and reclaim the outdoors for Black scientists and outdoorsmen.

Twitter handle: @Black_Ecologist

To view the work that Kaylee does with EcoReach, the organization she paired with to fundraise for binoculars, visit https://ecoreach.ecology.uga.edu/

Episode Music:

Rad Scientist Theme Motif - Grant Fisher

Out of the Skies, Under the Earth - Chris Zabriskie

Sometimes - Frequency Decree

Harmonium and Saz Beat Jam - Podington Bear

Drama Queen - Podington Bear

Movement Libre - Trypheme

Rambling - Ketsa

Dirty Wallpaper - Blue Dot Sessions

Hip Hop Instrumental 2 - Ketsa

Tu connais Barbar - Mocke

Grasping - Ketsa

Daril Brown wants to build vocal neuroprostheses, or devices that use brain signals to recreate speech. He tests his methods using zebra finches, who learn their songs through childhood. As a Black researcher in a field lacking diversity, he describes adjusting his own speech patterns to avoid being perceived as a threat in white academic spaces, an irony that does not escape him.

Twitter handle: @darilbrown

Episode Music:

Rad Scientist Theme Motif - Grant Fisher

Tender and Curious - Podington Bear

Old Dancehouse - Lobo Loco

Hedgeliner -Blue Dot Sessions

The Secret to Growing Up - Lee Rosevere

Oriel - Blue Dot Sessions

Um Pepino - Blue Dot Sessions

Moonrise -Chad Crouch

I’m Going For a Coffee - Lee Rosevere

Melonie Vaughn’s desire to study neurodevelopmental disorders stemmed from watching her autistic brother struggle with navigating school and social relationships. Now she is a rising second year neuroscience Ph.D. student at UC San Diego. Melonie, an Afro-Panamanian, is the only black woman in her program.

Twitter handle: @melonievaughn_

Episode Music:

Rad Scientist Theme Motif - Grant Fisher

At Our Best Alone - Blue Dot Sessions

Not Alone - Lee Rosevere

The Yards - Blue Dot Sessions

How I Used To See The Stars - Lee Rosevere

Blammo - Podington Bear

Melonie Vaughn’s desire to study neurodevelopmental disorders stemmed from watching her autistic brother struggle with navigating school and social relationships. Now she is a rising second year neuroscience Ph.D. student at UC San Diego. Melonie, an Afro-Panamanian, is the only black woman in her program.

Twitter handle: @melonievaughn_

Episode Music:

Rad Scientist Theme Motif - Grant Fisher

At Our Best Alone - Blue Dot Sessions

Not Alone - Lee Rosevere

The Yards - Blue Dot Sessions

How I Used To See The Stars - Lee Rosevere

Blammo - Podington Bear