GradFUTURES Forum 2026: March 23rd-March 27th Save the Date! Join our mailing list to receive news about the 2026 GradFUTURES Forum! Warning message No more submissions are permitted. Leave this field blank Looking Back at the 2025 Sessions Monday, March 24 Tuesday, March 25 Wednesday, March 26 Thursday, March 27 Friday, March 28 10:30 am – 11:30 am From Dissertation to Dream Job: Leveraging AI & LinkedIn for Career Clarity Location Online Event So you’ve spent years mastering your research, diving deep into your field, and pushing the boundaries of knowledge. But when it comes to exploring careers, where do you even start? The good news? You don’t have to figure it out alone. AI + LinkedIn are game-changers for PhD students looking to: - Discover career paths… 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm Science Communication Day: Creative Communications for (Non-Technical) Public Engagement: Panel Location Robertson 016 This panel will discuss diverse forms of expression to communicate complex scientific concepts with non-technical audiences. Lunch will be served. Panelists: - Erin Barker, Story Collider - 1:45 pm – 3:00 pm Science Communication Day: The Art of Storytelling in Science Location Robertson 016 Transform your scientific research into a captivating story! Join CST Assistant Directors, Dr. Erin Flowers and Dr. Craig Marshall, for a workshop designed to help graduate students enhance their communication skills by… 3:15 pm – 4:30 pm Science Communication Day: Show me the Carp (And the art of the multimedia hook) Location Robertson 016 In this interactive workshop, you will learn about principles of good video storytelling. You will also learn and practice how to transform research stories into visual narratives with a 5-frame storyboard challenge. Workshop Led By: - Rose Rai, Office of the Dean for… 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm Science Communication Day: Keynote Location Robertson Auditorium, Robertson Hall Keynote Speaker: Shane Campbell-Staton Shane Campbell-Staton is an Associate Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Princeton University. His research focuses on how humans drive rapid evolutionary change in other species… 9:30 am – 10:30 am Public Humanities: Connection, Community, Impact Location Online Event How can the humanities inform and enrich public discourse, foster cultural understanding, and address contemporary challenges? Join us for an engaging panel discussion exploring the vital role of the public humanities in connecting academic research with broader societal issues. Our panelists bring diverse perspectives and expertise to this… 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm The Expertise Upheaval: How Generative AI’s Impact on Learning Curves Will Reshape Careers Location Online Event The biggest AI impacts won’t be borne out in a calculus of jobs but rather in seismic shifts in the level of expertise required to do them. Based on his forthcoming report featured in a recent Harvard Business Review article, Princeton alumnus Matt Sigelman ‘95,… 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm Sparks of Inspiration: Lightning Talks by GradFUTURES Fellows & Interns Location Princeton University Press Hear authentic stories of discovery, challenge, and growth from graduate students and recent alumni who will deliver dynamic lightning talks about how GradFUTURES internships and fellowships transformed their career trajectories and expanded their professional horizons. Each speaker will reveal how engaging in GradFUTURES experiential programs… 4:00 pm – 5:15 pm Does AI Help or Harm Creativity in Research? Location Friend Center Convocation Room As artificial intelligence rapidly emerges as a potential research tool, this forward-looking session examines how AI might reshape creative thinking and innovation in doctoral research. Professor Arvind Narayanan, the co-author of… 5:15 pm – 7:00 pm Clio Hall and GRADitude Awards Reception Location Friend Center Convocation Room Join us to fete this year's GRADitude Award and Clio Hall Award recipients! About the GRADitude Award: The GradFUTURES GRADitude Award for Advancing Graduate Professional Development recognizes national leaders —either individuals or organizations—who have influenced the field of graduate professional… 10:00 am – 11:00 am How We Talk about Our Work: An Interactive Workshop Location Wallace 300 Join us for a lively, joyful focus on what makes research and scholarship come alive! You will leave this workshop with strategies for articulating your values and your passions, as well as practical steps for how to connect with a range of audiences within and beyond the academy. The workshop will be facilitated by 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Community-Engaged Scholarship and the Futures of the Ph.D. Location Online Event Connecting graduate training, academic research and teaching with community knowledge and practice has perhaps never been more important than it is today. Join us for a panel focused on the why and the how of community-engaged scholarship, and how graduate students can learn strategies for collaborative knowledge creation and application. … 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm Science to Inform Policy: Net Zero America Study Talk by Jesse Jenkins Location Friend Center Convocation Room Professor Jesse Jenkins and his ZERO Lab (Zero-carbon Energy systems Research and Optimization Laboratory) conduct research to improve and apply optimization-based macro-energy systems models to evaluate low-carbon energy technologies, guide investment and research in innovative decarbonization solutions, and generate insights to improve energy… 9:30 am – 10:30 am How to Write Well and Why We Must: A Workshop on Academic Writing Location Online Event Why is so much academic writing such a chore to read? Because it doesn’t take care of the reader. Leonard Cassuto, the author of the witty new book, Academic Writing as if Readers Matter (Princeton, 2024) will offer you a direct, practical prescription for writing that will be read and understood. Together we’ll explore examples… 11:00 am – 12:30 pm Applying an Entrepreneurial Mindset for Scholarly and Career Success Location Online Event Join us for a lively conversation led by Ilana Horwitz and Erica Machulak on how entrepreneurial principles are transforming the PhD experience. As authors of two upcoming books—The Entrepreneurial Scholar and… 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Designing Your Future for PhDs: A Primer Location Online Event Most professional development programs encourage exploration of your interests and career options. But career and life decisions are inextricably connected. In this workshop, we adapt the strategies in the best-selling book Designing Your Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans to your experience as a PhD student, whatever your stage or… 4:30 pm – 6:30 pm Green Chemistry: Missing Elements, Talk by John C. Warner *88 Location Frick Taylor Auditorium Imagine a world where all segments of society demanded environmentally benign climate neutral products! Imagine if all consumers, all retailers and all manufacturers insisted on buying and selling only non-toxic truly sustainable materials! The unfortunate reality is that, even if this situation were to occur, our knowledge of materials science… 10:00 am – 11:00 am I Just Started as a TT Professor. This is What I Wish I Knew in Grad School Location 219 Aaron Burr Hall Come hear from panelists who will share their thoughts about topics like: Job talks/dissertation defenses - showing your range and also your depth Mentorship and your doctoral training (and it doesn’t have to be just your advisor) Choosing between academia and careers beyond the academy and how/why they eventually ended up in academia … 11:30 am – 12:30 pm Tactics & Takeaways: Hands-On Professional Development Workshop & Lunch Location Aaron Burr Hall 219 Join Assistant Dean James Van Wyck and guests including Peter Kurie *15 for a hands-on professional development workshop. You’ll leave with a plan for making the… 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Research Funding support and administration: Princeton and Beyond Location Online Event The current moment has made it even more important that researchers know about the life cycle of a grant from funding discovery to post-award management, and the networks of people who can support them through each stage. This session will review the extensive resources available to early-career researchers at the University to help… 2:30 pm – 3:30 pm Beyond Borders: Designing Your Future as an International PhD Scholar Location Online Event Navigating doctoral studies as an international student often means confronting unique challenges that can limit your vision of what's possible. This innovative online seminar empowers you to transform restrictive thinking into expansive opportunity. Join GradFUTURES Assistant Dean Sonali Majumdar… 7:00 pm – 9:30 pm Film Festival - US Premiere of "Monsieur Aznavour" (2024) followed by Q&A and reception Location View location on My PrincetonU As part of the of opening night of the Princeton French Film Festival, you're invited to the exclusive US Premiere screening of "Monsieur Aznavour", a touching biopic on the legend singer Charles Aznavour (1924-2018), whose 100th anniversary we will celebrate through cinema and music. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with American-Armenian… Take a Look Back at the 2024 GradFUTURES Forum: Building Clarity, Confidence, and Connections With more than a dozen engaging speakers, skill-building workshops, alumni panels, and networking sessions, the GradFUTURES Forum offers sessions with real-time relevance to success in graduate school and provides a glimpse into a world of possibilities beyond. Visit the GradFUTURES YouTube Channel to view recordings from this year's forum. Thank you to our 2025 Sponsors! 5Days of engaging workshops, panels, and networking events! 20+ Events with virtual and in-person attendance options! 30+ Speakers, presenters, and facilitators! 3600+ Registrants from all over the globe! 2025 Virtual Events 2025 Media Kit Forum 2025 Speakers, Presenters, and Panelists Include: Elizabeth Adams Executive Director, Office of Research and Project Administration Future Faculty Workshop Speaker Jonathan Aguirre, GS, SPO Vice President, User Experience Research Lead, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Participant, American Higher Ed & Ethics of AI Learning Cohorts & Professional Development Working Group Member Clio Hall Award Recipient Yassine Ait Ali, GS, FIT Professional Development Associate 24-25 Kimberly Akano, GS, REL University Administrative Fellow Genevieve Allotey-Pappoe, *24, MUS Assistant Professor of Music at Brown University Anna Arabindan-Kesson Associate Professor and Director, Art Hx 2024-2025 Faculty Fellow in Professional Development Innovation Erin Barker Executive Director and Co-Founder, Story Collider Margarita Belova, GS, ECE Professional Development Associate 24-25 Tania Boster Director, Program for Community-Engaged Scholarship Brendan Byrne StudioLab Manager, Council on Science and Technology Shane Campbell-Staton Associate Professor, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University Science Communication keynote speaker, 2025 GradFUTURES Forum Leonard Cassuto American Higher Education Learning Cohort Convener Inaugural GRADitude Award for Advancing Graduate Professional Development Recipient Yunseo Choi, GS, CEE Professional Development Associate: 24-25 John Paul Christy Executive Director, Princeton Humanities Initiative Maya Chung, GS, AOS Professional Development Associate 24-25 Sarah Churchwell Professor of American Literature and Public Humanities, School of Advanced Study, University of London Bumper DeJesus Visual Communications Specialist, Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment Ipsita Dey, *24, ANT GradFUTURES Professional Development Associate 2023-24 Faculty Affiliate, South Asia Center and Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology Assistant Professor in the Comparative History of Ideas Department, University of Washington Seattle Serene Dhawan, GS, PNI Professional Development Associate 24-25 Emilio Feijoo, GS, COM Kelly Finke, GS, EEB University Administrative Fellow Organizer, Science Policy and Sustainability Learning Cohorts Erin Flowers *23, AST UAF Mentor Assistant Director, STEM Education, Council on Science and Technology Sophie Gee Vice Chancellor's Fellow, University of Sydney 2024-2025 Faculty Fellow in Professional Development Innovation Associate Professor, Department of English, Princeton University Skyler Gordon, *24, HIS Project Manager, The History of Structural Racism in New Jersey Rose Guingrich, GS, PSY Professional Development Associate 2022-23 Social Impact Fellow GradFUTURES Learning Cohort Participant Rebekah Haigh, *25, REL Community College Teaching Fellow University Administrative Fellow Social Impact Fellow Louis Hoffenberg, GS, CBE Ilana Horwitz Fields-Rayant Chair of Contemporary Jewish Life, Tulane University Assistant Professor of Jewish Studies and Sociology, Tulane University Heather N. Jahrling, GS, HIS Jesse D. Jenkins Assistant Professor, MAE and Andlinger Center for Energy and Environment 2024-2025 Faculty Fellow in Professional Development Innovation Courtney Kohut Training, Grants Management and Communications Manager, ORPA Future Faculty Workshop Speaker Evangeline "Eva" Kubu Senior Associate Dean of Professional Development Peter Kurie, *15, ANT Social Scientist, Author, and Musician Shelby Lohr, GS, HIS Professional Development Associate 2020-21 Social Impact Fellow University Administrative Fellow Erica Machulak Founder and Lead Facilitator of Hikma Sonali Majumdar Assistant Dean for Professional Development Craig Marshall Assistant Director & Lecturer, Council on Science and Technology University Administrative Fellowship Mentor Michelle May Curry Faculty, Engaged and Public Humanities, Georgetown University Curator, DC’s Commission on the Arts and Humanities Laura Murray Educational Developer & Entrepreneur Former University Administrative Fellowship Mentor Clio Hall Award Recipient Arvind Narayanan Professor, COS; Director, CITP and co-author of AI Snake Oil Speaker, Responsible AI learning cohort Rodney D. Priestley Dean of the Graduate School Pomeroy and Betty Perry Smith Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering Clio Hall Award Recipient Rose Rai Communications Specialist, Office of the Dean for Research, Princeton University Clifford Robinson Public Humanities Specialist, Princeton Public Library Matt Rohal Associate Editor of Skills for Scholars, Princeton University Press Jeremy Schifeling Author, Career Coach, and Key Note Speaker Molly Sharlach Content Strategist, Princeton Engineering Matt Sigelman '95 President, Burning Glass Institute D. Vance Smith Professor, Department of English, Princeton University Edward Tenner Maureen Thompson-Siegel Research Development Specialist, Princeton Research Development Office Kate Thorpe, *21, ENG Educational Developer & Entrepreneur Former GradFutures Administrative Fellow Co-Founder, GradTLC Pasquale Toscano, *24, ENG Assistant Professor of English, Vassar College Baris Eser Ugur, GS, CBE James M. Van Wyck Assistant Dean for Professional Development Jessica Varela Manager of Educational Operations, Outreach and Events, Omenn Darling Bioengineering Institute John C. Warner, *88, CHM Chemistry Inventor, Cofounder of green chemistry field Sustainability cohort speaker Elena Watts, *24, GEO Data analyst, Munich Re Past GradFUTURES Forums Resources, Recordings, and Information from the 2024 GradFUTURES ForumResources, Recordings, and Information from the 2023 GradFUTURES ForumResources, Recordings, and Information from the 2022 GradFUTURES ForumResources, Recordings, and Information from the 2021 GradFUTURES ForumResources, Recordings, and Information from the 2020 GradFUTURES Forum “I want to thank GradFUTURES for pulling together this event because there are so many issues right now in public policy that have a nexus with science and technology. We really need more students, postdocs, and faculty members to bring their advice to policymakers on these issues. Not only that, but this event is helpful for students to pursue a career path from academia to public policy. GradFUTURES has done a terrific job of building that ecosystem and community here at Princeton in order to help support those efforts.” ––Ali Nouri, *06 (MOL), Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of the Office of Legislative Affairs, The White House
