Berkeley Lab Postdoc Association

The Berkeley Lab Postdoc Association is an organization run by and for about 1000 postdocs and early career scientists working at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. We organize many activities to strengthen our ties to the Lab, to each other and to the (Berkeley) Bay Area. Our goal is to facilitate social interactions, scientific exchanges, seminars and general orientation.
 
Berkeley Lab Postdoc Association

Berkeley Lab Postdoc Association

News and Upcoming Events

Hike: Mission Peak on February 15

Dear Hikers,

BLPA is excited to invite you to a hiking trip to the Mission Peak near Fremont on Saturday, February 15, 2025. The trail is 7.3 miles (11.7 km) long with challenging steep inclines with over 2100 feet (650 m) of elevation gain. The trail offers amazing views of the South Bay and Diablo Range.

For sign up and more details, see our announcement email.

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Join the Action: Shape the Future with BLPA

Are you ready to make an impact? Love career fairsengaging seminars, or fun social events? Help bring them to life and become a leader in our postdoc community!

 Why join?

  • Build leadership skills and gain valuable experience
  • Score free swag and make lasting friendships
  • Be part of the vibrant team shaping postdoc life at LBL

Get involved today!
      👉 Explore: postdoc.lbl.gov/about-us/committees
      👉 Express interest here or Contact us at postdoc@lbl.gov

📣 Stay tuned for BLPA Board elections—your next opportunity to lead!

Read More "Join the Action: Shape the Future with BLPA"

Another event: To be announced

Read More "Another event: To be announced"

Slack Fun Space

We have launched a new Slack “fun space” for all LBNL and affiliated postdocs.
We have dedicated spaces to chat about housing, healthcare, taxes, COVID-19 & vaccination, hobbies & events, food, movies & tv, childcare, sell or buy stuff and even to post photos of your pets! Sign up here and join the conversation.

Read More "Slack Fun Space"

Past events

Carrier Transition Talk: Hafssa Tounsi

BLPA is excited to share the recording of our recent career transition talk featuring Hafssa Tounsi, who has successfully transitioned from postdoc to engineering position...
Read More "Carrier Transition Talk: Hafssa Tounsi"

Hiking: San Bruno Mountain

On Saturday, January 11, 2025, a group of LBNL postdocs and friends hiked to the San Bruno Mountain south of San Francisco. Our first hike...
Read More "Hiking: San Bruno Mountain"

Carrier Transition Talk: Sarah Gleeson

BLPA is excited to share the recording of our recent career transition talk featuring Sarah Gleeson, who successfully moved from postdoc to a researcher role in...
Read More "Carrier Transition Talk: Sarah Gleeson"

Career Transition Talk – Sabari Ghosh

BLPA is excited to share the recording of our recent career transition talk featuring Sabari Ghosh, who successfully moved from postdoc to a scientist role in...
Read More "Career Transition Talk – Sabari Ghosh"

Carrier Transition Talk: Elle Barnes

BLPA hosts a career transition talk series featuring our postdoc alumni's transition from postdoc positions to prestigious roles in industry, academia, national labs, and beyond....
Read More "Carrier Transition Talk: Elle Barnes"

Hiking: Montara Mountain, Black Diamond Mines and Mount Sizer

In May, the BLPA hiking group was extraordinarily active. On May 4, which was one of the last rainy days this spring, we climbed Montara...
Read More "Hiking: Montara Mountain, Black Diamond Mines and Mount Sizer"

Fostering Collaboration between National Labs – Panel discussion

On May 20, BLPA, in conjunction with the Argonne Postdoc Society and Livermore Lab Postdoc Association, hosted a panel discussion with representatives of all three...
Read More "Fostering Collaboration between National Labs – Panel discussion"

Resources

BLPA Board

BLPA is made up of volunteers – and we are always looking to grow! Are you interested? Do you want to know about the inner workings of BLPA and contribute to the postdoc community, building a larger network? Please contact us (postdoc (at) lbl.gov) or sign up to check out one of our many committees!

 

Bernard Field
Co-chair

Molecular Foundry

Ivo Markovic
Co-chair

Earth & Environmental Sciences

Kshitiz Gupta
Coordinator
, Social Committee

The Joint BioEnergy Institute

Soumyadeep Ghosh
CoordinatorOutreach Committee & Treasurer

The Joint BioEnergy Institute

Trisha Kishore Bhagde
Coordinator, Lab-Industry Networking Connection (LINC) Committee

Energy Storage & Distributed Resources

Kas Andrle
Secretary
& Board Member

Material Sciences

Jan Dvorak
Webmaster & Board Member

Chemical Sciences Division


Dennis Noll
Board Member

Physics


Jakub Kierdaszuk
Board Member

Material Sciences

BLPA Committees

We are always on the lookout for new events that could be fun and that we can bring to the postdoc community together as well as enthusiastic individuals interested in serving the postdoc community. If you have any ideas for events, please let us know by email to postdoc@lbl.gov or by dropping a line to a board member you know. If you’d like to volunteer with BLPA, please fill out this form.

Social Committee

Social Committee puts together a wide variety of events to enrich the postdocs’ personal lives and support networking among postdocs in a social context. We organize social events and outdoor activities including movie nights, game nights, hikes, pub nights, meet & greet events as well as a labmate program for new postdocs and we are happy to include new ideas. Join us to support social interactions among postdocs at Berkeley Lab.

Outreach Committee

Outreach Committee focuses on self development and diversity & inclusion activities including brown bag seminars (postdoc-to-postdoc, science café, cultural lunch) as well as coffee with postdocs blogs, outreach events and workshops. We also enhance communication between the BLPA Board and nation-wide postdoc community and foster networking and collaborative communication across divisions. Join us in preparing seminars, workshops, blog posts, newsletters while improving your science communication and public speaking skills.

Lab-Industry Networking Connection (LINC) Committee

LINC committee organizes tech talks, company site visits, networking events and career fairs to educate postdocs about careers beyond academia and facilitate effective networking between postdocs and industry partners. Join us if you are interested in expanding your professional network and exploring opportunities beyond academia while improving your communication, networking, leadership, time and project management skills.