On April 11, 2023, HPCAT hosted a group of Chicago-area high school girls for the Science Careers in Search of Women Conference (SCSW) at Argonne National Laboratory. This annual conference provides female high school students with an extraordinary opportunity to discover the possible careers in science and engineering through interacting with Argonne’s world-class women scientists and engineers. The students were given a presentation by Beamline Scientist Yue Meng on the basics of high-pressure science, and the high pressure research conducted at HPCAT. They were then given a tour of HPCAT’s facilities by Yue Meng and Freda Humble with a unique opportunity to see the inside the 16-BM-D experimental station with Beamline Scientist Changyong Park. The students met visiting experimenter and UIC graduate student, Roma Ripani, who shared a bit about her background and her current work. The students asked thoughtful questions and left with a better understanding of what it’s like to be an experimental physicist.

HPCAT enjoys the opportunity to participate in S.T.E.M. outreach activities each year. For more information on this annual event, and other outreach programs, see: https://www.anl.gov/science-careers-in-search-of-women