M. Katy Rodriguez Wimberly is well into her Ph.D. program in physics at the University of California Irvine, and she gives credit to participation in a bridge program that helps underrepresented minority students earn doctoral degrees in physics and astronomy.
Since 2013, Cal-Bridge has addressed the underrepresentation of women and minorities in those science fields. Although Black, Hispanic and Native Americans are about 30 percent of the U.S. population, they hold less than 4 percent of astronomy and physics Ph.D. degrees and constitute less than 3 percent of astronomy and physics faculty members nationwide.
One recommended strategy to reduce the disparities is partnerships between community colleges, minority serving institutions, research universities and national labs. Cal-Bridge, funded with a five-year grant from the National Science Foundation, is a statewide partnership that includes more than 140 astronomy and physics faculty from nine University of California schools, 15 California State University campuses and more than 30 community colleges.
Wimberly, who was among five participants in Cal-Bridge’s first cohort, said the program’s mentoring and networking opportunities helped her understand the mindset of a researcher and what it would take to get into and succeed in a reputable Ph.D. program.
“I don’t think I would be able to express why I will be a good scientist if it wasn’t for Cal-Bridge,” she said. “Very honestly, I don’t know if I would be in a Ph.D. program right now.”
A California native and Army Reserves veteran, Wimberly has a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in physics from Cal State – Long Beach. She’s the first in her family to attend graduate school and to do research in science, she said, and her specialty is astrophysics.
Cal-Bridge administrators see Wimberly and others as evidence that their pipeline will help diversify the ranks of faculty and researchers. And, much like Dr. Galen T. Pickett, the Cal State Long Beach professor who told Wimberly about the program, it will take intentional effort to find them.
