The US Belle II Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee strives to enhance the representation of underrepresented groups (URG) within the Belle II collaboration, aligning with broader initiatives in the field of physics in the United States. This pursuit stems from social considerations, such as addressing issues related to limited accessibility, exclusionary practices, and financial constraints. The URG encompass women, gender minorities, U.S. citizens who identify as Black, LatinX, or indigenous, as well as individuals with disabilities.
A large part of the US Belle II effort focuses on increasing the number of students from US underrepresented groups earning a physics Ph.D.. We are currently actively pursues two programs:
- USB2BPC: a US Belle II-centered community project to increase participation from URG in particle physics through PI participation/leadership in departmental Bridge programs and in the Bridge Program of the American Physical Society (APSBP);
- Provide training and research opportunities in support of particle physics for individuals from underserved communities. We are particularly interested in collaborating with faculty and students from minority-serving institutions (MSI) to explore various possibilities within the Belle II experiments. These possibilities include analyzing big data, applications of AI/MI techniques, conducting detector research and development, contributing to operation efforts, engaging in electronics design, and more. Our goal is to foster a broader and more diverse high-energy physics community while simultaneously assisting in the establishment of research infrastructure and federal funding opportunities at institutions that have traditionally not received support for high-energy physics research. We aim to achieve this through federal programs such as the DOE RENEW HEP or events such as the Belle II Explorer event.
US Belle II DEI Committee members:
- Kay Kinoshita (chair), Professor of Physics, University of Cincinnati
- Renu, Postdoc, Carnegie Mellon University
- Peter Lewis, Assistant, Professor of Physics, University of Hawaii
- Tommy Lam, Graduate Student in Physics, Virginia Tech