Quanta magazine
“Quanta Magazine is an editorially independent online publication launched by the Simons Foundation in 2012 to enhance public understanding of science. Our[sic] reporters focus on developments in mathematics, theoretical physics, theoretical computer science and the basic life sciences.”
YouTube channels of Veritasium and PBS
Both Veritasium and PBS Space Time release YouTube videos about (among other things) science. While PBS focuses particularly on various topics of physics and is slightly more technical, Veritasium on the other hand covers more general questions of science and interesting aspects of nature.
To get a taste for their content, check out these two videos of theirs which we found particularly enlightening. The first one is a video by Veritasium that explains exactly how the image of Sagittarius A* (the supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy) was captured. The second one is a video by PBS that describes the liquid-gas coexistence phase beyond the critical point of water.
PhD Comics: a humorous webcomic strip
”Piled Higher and Deeper (PhD) is the comic strip about life (or the lack thereof) in academia’. Written and drawn by Jorge Cham, the comic follows the lives of graduate students and their professors. The title of the comic comes from an old joke about becoming a Ph.D., which explains that “B.S.” stands for “bullshit”, “M.S.” stands for “More of the Same” (or “More Shit”), and “Ph.D.” stands for “Piled Higher and Deeper”. Reviewer Sara Coelho said “the comic deals with everyday frustrations of life in the lab - procrastination, dealing with advisers, serving on committees, lack of inspiration”.
Projectyl: Data repository of summer projects
Projectyl is a website co-created by one of the members of EPQM that intends to help undergraduate students ease into doctoral work by providing information that can help them get some previous exposure to research. Physics education in undergraduate institutes is often inadequate in preparing students for research, mostly due to the lack of exposure to actual methods and cutting-edge topics. Summer projects, summer schools, workshops, and online courses can, we believe, bridge this gap to some extent, and this website intends to make this process easier by providing exhaustive information regarding these avenues.
What can you hope to find on the website?
- Information regarding physics internships at various institutes in India and abroad, at various times throughout the year
- Notifications of summer/winter schools and pedagogical workshops that provide exposure to frontier topics in research
- Guidance to help interested students in applying for internship positions
- Database of Indian physicists classified according to their research topics, so that even if you cannot find a suitable internship via institute-based channels, you can get in touch with a particular professor and work something out with them