Pathways to Improved Representation in Advanced Nuclear Science

We present the first-year results of a new traineeship program that our team has implemented at Skyline College, a minority-serving institution (MSI). The principal objective of this innovative program is to help diversify the field of nuclear physics by fostering community college student involvement in the ongoing R&D for nEXO. A secondary goal is to help infuse a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion into all aspects of nuclear science research by actively engaging our student trainees with the nEXO DEI committee. Skyline College is the first and only community college to join the nEXO collaboration. As our program concludes its inaugural year, we have seen our student trainees make helpful contributions to the following aspects of nEXO R&D: liquid xenon chemical purity monitoring, Rn mitigation, data acquisition, and crafting a survey of the diversity, equity, and inclusion climate within nEXO. In addition, each of our students have given poster presentations at the 2021 SACNAS Diversity in STEM Conference, at which one of our student presentations was awarded a 2021 SACNAS Student Presentation Award for "exemplary communication and command of the research topic". Another aspect of our work is to help disseminate nEXO's research findings to the public, and to this end, our student trainees have become active members of the community, contributing to student clubs, speaking at public events, and preparing a workshop for public outreach.