TODAY! PDA Elections (Monday 9/18/17 @ 1:30pm in 76-156) & Candidate Statements

[Meghan Huber]

*On behalf of the MIT PDA Election Committee...*


Dear MIT Postdocs,


On Monday you will be electing the next group of officers for the MIT PDA
that will represent you for the next academic year. We have a lot of great
candidates running. Please take a look at their statements below.

*Election details*

   - Elections will take place Monday from 1:30-3:30 pm in 76-156.
   - Candidates will be allowed to give a short statement and will be
   requested to answer questions from the audience.
   - All MIT Postdocs (Associates and Fellows) are eligible to vote. *Please
   bring MIT ID. *
   - Paper ballots  will handed out upon registration and collected after
   all candidates have given their statements. Voting will be done by
   ranked-choice voting and candidates will need to secure a majority of top
   votes to be elected.
   - Results will be announced by email later that evening.

Please send any questions or comments about the election to
pda-elections at mit.edu


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Sabrina Huber

Running for: President, Vice President, Recording Secretary

My name is Sabrina Huber and I am a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department
of Biological Engineering. I have been centrally involved in the MIT PDA
since my first day at MIT through volunteering at various PDA activities,
organizing career panels, initiating a mentoring program with the
Professional Development Committee, and most recently, serving as the
Interim Vice President. These experiences have been extremely valuable for
me and I would like to continue to serve on the PDA Executive Board and be
involved in enhancing our Postdoc experience. I thus nominate myself for
(Vice)-President and Recording Secretary.

My previous positions allowed me to get a deep understanding of the PDA and
build a valuable network of people for future collaboration and resource
sharing. Furthermore, due to my international background and recent
transition from Associate to Fellow, I can directly connect to the majority
of you and ensure that your voices and interests are being heard and
understood. I am an efficient, organized and approachable person with
strong communication, organizational and problem-solving skills. With these
qualifications, I will work hard with the other Board members and officers
to assure that the MIT PDA continues to succeed in providing guidance and
support as well as excellent networking and professional development
opportunities for MIT postdocs.

If elected, I want to focus on initiatives that grow and diversify our PDA
through promoting participation of the majority of postdocs. I look forward
to the possibility of (co)-leading this year's’ PDA Executive Board and the
opportunity to continue working on improving the lives of postdocs here at
MIT. I hope you will vote for me.


Ahmed Fazly

Running for: President

I am Ahmed Fazly, a 3rd year postdoc in the biological engineering
department. I was the alumni relations chair of the PDA during the past
year. In that capacity, I worked towards increasing networking
opportunities with alumni groups such as the MIT Club of Boston. Also, in
close collaboration with the PDA professional development committee, I
organized numerous professional development opportunities which included
the industry mentorship program, "Innovation networking evening with
alumni" and the "beyond the bench" career panel. As PDA president, I will
continue to work towards maximizing your postdoctoral experience by making
more professional development opportunities available to you. In addition,
I will be a strong advocate for affordable housing and childcare. One of my
signature initiatives will be to provide affordable childcare resources for
postdocs.


Lai Sze Tso

Running for: Vice President, Community Building Committee Chair

I am running for VP and for the chair of the Community Building Committee.
As one of a handful of postdocs from the social sciences, my perspective,
research background, and interactions with faculty and administration helps
me see other facets of postdoc-PI-faculty interactions. As VP or Chair of
Community Building, I would use my skills and insights to develop
opportunities for postdocs to better understand how the situation in their
home department compares to the conditions in other units of the institute.
My primary training is in in-depth interviews, note-taking, ethnographic
analysis, intervention design, and program evaluation. These tools are
essential in developing the close relationships necessary for working with
the MIT PDA President, PDA board members and committee chairs, the larger
corps of postdocs and our families to continue moving our agenda forward
within MIT. In my research and advocacy work, I study how disadvantaged
groups pursue their aspirations and how they use technology to organize for
community well-being.

In my enthusiasm for joining the efforts of the MIT Postdoc Association,
I’ve personally participated in numerous activities and met with many
members in our community, US and international scholars, to learn from
their experiences. I’ve spoken to postdocs at MIT, in Boston, and at other
schools nationally. My preparation includes talking to Dana, as well as
other MIT administration to learn about options for PDA initiatives and
directions, attending monthly PDA meetings, meeting postdocs and their
families in diverse community-building events on campus, across Boston, and
out-of-state. I also score-keep and play volleyball at MIT (in PDA Sports).
At each venue, I’ve taken time to learn the logistics for how events were
organized, which entities and units collaborated as co-sponsors, the
involvement of MIT vis-à-vis peer organizations, the cost and timeline for
creating these activities, and what our constituents felt was done well or
may need modification for future planning.

My goal for VP or Community Building is to actively contribute to the
well-being of our postdoc members and families. I aim to use my research,
teaching, community-outreach and management skills to assist in the
facilitating regular meetings with committees, our constituents, and
stakeholders who can contribute resources for PDA activities, and to
continue growing the amazing array of events that our outgoing community
building committee developed this year.


Behzad Nazari

Running for: Vice President

My name is Behzad Nazari and I am trying to gain the trust and votes of MIT
postdocs to be elected as the vice president of the MIT PDA. Besides a
professional engineer and polymer scientist, I think those who know me
would attest I am a liberal-minded, caring, and optimistic person. Outside
the lab, in the past, I have been involved in activities within graduate
students and postdoc communities: 1- At the frontline of Iran’s liberal
student movements (at Tehran Polytechnic in my graduate school days during
2008-2011), I was involved in peaceful gatherings to protest the
government’s decisions in regards with human rights, electoral system, …
for which I proudly paid my fair share of price. 2- At UMaine Grad School,
I organized graduate students’ social events. This included mostly bar
nights over the course of 2012-2015. 3- At Penn State, I helped with
organizing postdoc hikes during 2016. This turned out to be challenging as
the ticks and Lyme disease issue broke out later on in 2016.

I would say someone with experience in pushing for liberal causes in the
streets of Tehran, taking care of ethanol-driven cheerful grad students of
UMaine, and shielding postdocs of Penn State against blood- thirsty ticks,
could for sure take on the responsibility of being the vice president of
the MIT PDA. (This was my best at adding humor to my statement) If elected,
as vice president of MIT PDA, I will be a voice for those who want the PDA
to fulfill its mission in supporting all MIT postdocs, acting as a bridge
between postdocs and the rest of MIT community/system, improving a sense of
community, helping the incoming members get plugged in, and keeping
networks with the outgoing postdocs. I will also advocate for having more
relevant socio-cultural events to improve bonds within our community and
with those outside our circle that can be considered as professional
connections and beneficial to our blossom. Moreover, I will also be vocal
at the PDA meetings to support those who are underrepresented in
science/engineering environments.


Mohammad Azad

Running for: Vice President, Alumni Committee Chair

Mohammad Azad is a postdoctoral associate in prof. Allan Myerson’s research
group in Chemical Engineering at MIT. He is working on the development of
solid dosage in an innovative miniaturized, automated, and self-contained
pharmaceutical drug manufacturing unit as part of the Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Pharmacy on Demand (PoD) project. He
received PhD in Chemical Engineering from New Jersey Institute of
Technology (NJIT) focused on nanotechnology for pharmaceutical drug’s
bioavailability enhancement. Before joining at MIT, he worked as
postdoctoral researcher in New Jersey Center for Engineered Particulates
(NJCEP) and NSF-Engineering Research Center (ERC).

Currently Azad is serving as orientation committee chair in MIT PDA. He
closely works with director of Postdoctoral Services, HR, different
committee chairs, and Atlas Service Center for smooth operation of new
postdocs’ orientation session. He also served as a member of ChemE postdoc
advisory board in MIT. Azad and other board members organized several
events to benefit ChemE postdocs. At NJIT, Azad worked as Graduate Students
Association (GSA) department representative, treasurer of the International
Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE) student chapter. Outside of
the research, he enjoys traveling, driving, swimming and cooking.


Muhammad Abir

Running for: Vice President, Treasurer, Information Flow & IT Support
Committee Chair

My name is Muhammad Abir. I obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in
Mechanical Engineering in 2009 from Bangladesh University of Engineering
and Technology. I earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Nuclear
Engineering in 2015 from Missouri University of Science and Technology
(Missouri S&T), formerly known as University of Missouri, Rolla, MO, USA. I
am currently employed as a postdoctoral associate at the nuclear reactor
laboratory at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). My job
description includes designing cutting-edge focusing mirror for radiation
imaging applications which will be installed at Oak Ridge National
Laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory, and National Institute of Standard
of Technology. Moreover, I am developing non-destructive quality control
methods for fabricated nuclear fuels. I am also working at the neutron
beamline at MIT and developing neutron diffraction and imaging experiments
at MIT reactor. Previously, I worked at Idaho National Laboratory as a
postdoctoral research associate from July 2015 until July 2017. As a
postdoc, I was awarded DOE’s laboratory director research and development
grant (LDRD) as principal investigator (PI) to develop high resolution
neutron microscope for neutron computed tomography of nuclear fuels in
collaboration with MIT. I also awarded two other LDRD grant as co-PI to
evaluate advanced digital neutron imaging system for the post irradiation
examination of nuclear fuels and to characterize the neutron beamlines at
the neutron radiography reactor at INL. I’ve awarded

DOE’s very competitive nuclear engineering university program (NEUP) grant
as co-PI to develop gamma- ray computed and emission tomography for
pool-side fuel characterization of irradiated nuclear materials and fuels.
I am an active member of the National Postdoctoral Association. Considering
my technical expertise, leadership skills and project management skills, I
would like to apply for the vice-president position of the upcoming MIT-PDA
election. I joined as a postdoc at MIT on July 25, 2017. After joining to
MIT, I attended the MIT-PDA BBQ on August 4th, POWER summer BBQ party on
August 11th, MIT-PDA monthly meeting held on August 14th, and the postdoc
orientation on September 13th. I’d like to actively serve as the
vice-president of the MIT-PDA, assist the president whenever needed, assist
the management of committees, effectively communicate with institute
representatives, carrying out PDA plans, and eventually represent MIT-PDA
to the next national postdoctoral association meeting in Cleveland, OH in
2018.


Kiel Ormerod

Running for: Vice President

I am currently a postdoctoral research fellow at the Picower Institute for
Learning and Memory here at MIT. I have been involved in the MIT PDA for
the previous calendar year as the Recording Secretary, and a member of the
Postdoc Initiative Grant committee. Previously I served 5 plus years in
student governance during graduate school, serving in the roles of
President, Vice-president, and departmental representative. I was a member
of over 20 university committees during that time. Consequently, I have a
lot of experience in university administration, and interacting with
faculty, staff, and most importantly, I have years of experience advocating
for students/fellows. Over the past year I gained an intimate understanding
of: those issues affecting MIT postdocs, the dynamics and inner workings of
the MIT PDA, and how MIT postdocs interact within our community. The needs
of postdoctoral researchers are incredibly diverse and mercurial. As such,
we require a wide variety of resources and services in order to best
prepare us not only to execute the objectives of our current day-to-day
research and professional needs, but also to best prepare us for our
desired future vocations. I will work with the exceptional team members of
the upcoming MIT PDA in order to identify and address as many of issues
affecting MIT researchers as we can. In addition, I will work with and
coordinate the efforts of the MIT PDA in conjunction with the multitude of
offices and other services at MIT and ensure that postdocs make the most of
their time here.


Ali Beyzavi

Running for: Vice President, Postdoc Initiative Grants Committee Chair

I am one of the postdocs at MIT Koch institute and would like to nominate
as the Vice President of PDA. Prior to applying for this position I was
active in chemE postdoc association. Besides that I have studied and did
research in Middle East, Asia and USA. I would like to use my experience
from all around the world to help postdocs have a better time at MIT.


Taeyoon Kyung

Running for: Treasurer

My interest in running for the Treasurer position is motivated by two
factors, 1) willingness to serve grateful MIT postdoc community as a return
for helping my rapid adjustment to MIT society and 2) my past one-year
experience as a treasurer during an undergraduate study. For past 8 months
since I started my postdoc training at MIT, MIT PDA granted me delightful
opportunities for me to rapidly adapt to Boston/MIT life including those
from powerful orientation to diverse sports, networking, and career-related
events. I decided to take a part in this association as a committee member
to voluntarily serve diverse occasions MIT PDA organizes, and perhaps offer
future new and current postdocs to acquire comfort and pleasure that I have
been attaining. Given a personal trait of myself in which I tend to be more
active and focused in an organization when certain pressure and
responsibility are put on my shoulders, I decided to might well as run for
an officer position. Treasurer was an exciting position I had a chance to
enjoy in my undergraduate year. I spent a year as a planning team
leader/treasurer in an organization called ISO (international student
organization) from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
(KAIST) where we basically assisted foreign exchange students to fully
adapt to Korean society through varied social events, and my role was to
allocate total budget of approximately $3,000/year to different teams and
each distinct event. Although the budget size that I managed only accounts
for about 10% of what treasurer of MIT PDA might be handling, my past
experience as a treasurer gives me strong confidence that I will be able to
successfully serve treasurer position for all postdocs here at MIT.



Soroush Vosoughi

Running for: Recording Secretary, Human Affairs Committee Chair,
Orientation Committee Chair


Mirna Daye

Running for: Advocacy Committee Chair, Information Flow & IT Support
Committee Chair

I am Mirna Daye, postdoc at the earth, atmosphere and planetary sciences
department (EAPS). I have been at MIT for about three years and acquired
such great experience. I spent most of my time at campus, one of the
obvious reasons is the work load and most importantly is feeling like home
at MIT. It is such a vibrant and diverse place that I feel attached to and
want to contribute and serve MIT community.   For these reasons, I want to
contribute as a chair for the advocacy committee. I am interested because I
want to advocate for the rights of MIT postdocs. One of the different
rights and benefits that I think it is important and should advocate for
include: higher salaries for MIT postdocs, life style (working hours,
vacation days), intellectual property, the right to pursue a degree at MIT
or other institution while being a postdoc and so many on my list.  Thank
you and let us hope for better future for postdocs. For these reasons, I
want to contribute and serve as a chair IT/information flow committee.
Thank you and I hope to be a good candidate for the position and serve the
community.


Thomas Matarazzo

Running for: Advocacy Committee Chair


Zhen Cao

Running for: Advocacy Committee Chair, Professional Development Committee
Chair

My name is Zhen Cao. I am a Postdoctoral Associate from Alfredo
Alexander-Katz’s group in the Department of Materials Science and
Engineering. My research focuses on the transport mechanism of lithium ions
on polyelectrolytes for batteries. I received my PhD in polymer science
from the University of Akron, Master in polymer science from the University
of Connecticut, and Bachelor’s degree from Zhejiang University in China. I
am interested in running for the Professional Development Committee Chair.
Securing a tenure-tracked position in academia is more difficult than ever
and sometimes even takes over a decade of postdoctoral training. Searching
for alternatives outside academia becomes urgent and necessary for many of
us. I often jump out of my comfort zones to explore career opportunities in
industry, the financial sector, and consulting. Although I have only been
at MIT for two months, I have attended several career-building related
events which have been very informative and helpful.

My qualifications for running for this position include the following:
Leadership Experience: I initialized and chaired a student seminar series
for two years in graduate school, during which I invited speakers with
diverse backgrounds and hosted 30 presentations on both research and career
development. I have organized various events for Zhejiang University (ZJU)
alumni association. Recently, I am co-chairing the Annual Conference of ZJU
Alumni in North America. With these experiences, I am capable of planning
and organizing activities efficiently. Interdisciplinary Background: I have
a chemistry and materials engineering focused Bachelor’s degree, while my
PhD research lays within physics, mechanics, and computer modeling. As my
major is polymer science, I understand soft matter including bio-related
fields. Additionally, I have developed a strong interest in economics and
finance as well. My interdisciplinary background allows me to have a
macroscopic and balanced view, which enables me to serve this community
with varied professional development goals. While there are numerous
information sessions and symposiums that take place here, what I have
identified as the key to success for professional development is
long-standing mentorship. We need individuals who can effectively guide us
in pursuing our goals based on their experiences. If I were to chair this
committee, I hope to expand this mentoring program. This would be done by
identifying the needs of this community, increasing the number of senior
mentors (MIT alumni and industry experts), and connecting postdocs with
these mentors who have pursued similar paths that you wish to follow.


Jake Martin

Running for: Fundraising Committee Chair, Postdoc Initiative Grants
Committee Chair

I have been involved in the PDA for two years now, first as the Orientation
chair and then as the Treasurer, so I am very familiar with the roles of
each chair, the progress that has been made, and the next steps for further
improvement. I would next like to contribute to either the PInG or
Fundraising committees because I think these committees are currently a
little underappreciated in the roles they play as part of the PDA. In the
past, the Postdoc Initiative Grants have kickstarted some great postdoc-led
projects, several of which have become self-sustaining, and I would like to
help bring additional ideas online. Fundraising has been acknowledged as
needing improvement for a couple of years now, and I think that my
organizational and networking skills can help in that effort. Please
consider voting for me.


Andreas Steinbacher

Running for: Fundraising Committee Chair

My name is Andreas Steinbacher and I have just started my second year as a
PostDoc at MIT in the Chemistry department. I served as a co-chair (and
took over the position as chair in the summer this year) of the fundraising
committee last year already. We organized a successful vendor fair in the
Stata Center and I already took the first steps to organize another one in
spring next year. Additionally, I worked together with the sports committee
to get more funds for free food after their sports events. Moreover, I am
in the process of getting continuous funding for the weekly PDA newsletter,
for which we already have approval from MIT officials. Thus, to be able to
continue the above mentioned work I want to be re-elected as fundraising
committee chair. If I get elected I would be happy to work together with
other committees to improve their funding situation.


Neetesh Singh

Running for: Sports Committee Chair

I would like to nominate myself for the sports committee chair for the
upcoming election. I have been in this position for last 2 months and have
been enjoying, and I believe, bringing positive changes to the structure of
the PDA sports. My objectives are: Exciting interest in social sports
amongst postdocs, Collaboration with other groups (i.e. GSC, BPDA etc),
Increasing funds (through ads, collaboration etc.), Starting new games,
Taking part in intramural games. Previous experience: Activities planned:
Indoor and outdoor volleyball (lead by me) and soccer (which is lead by
Amir). Pizza in Muddy’s pub after volleyball.  Attendance and new
collaboration : Attendance up to 20 people with mixed skill level in
volleyball, Joined forces with GSC, Trying to work with Boston postdoc
association (BPDA) for joint events. Things to be improved: Probably need
to find a better (looked after to certain extent) court. For example,
Harvard has better courts with nets on all the time. Or somehow influence
the facility to improve the standard of court at MIT. Contacting east
campus authority didn’t make any changes.
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