In January 2025, the Charles F. Kettering Foundation announced that Edwin C. Moses, an Olympian and physicist, would be joining its board.
Moses (posing with a rising physics star at an educational conference in 2024) earned a degree in physics with a minor in engineering from Morehouse College and an MBA from Pepperdine University.
Last year, a documentary about his life titled "MOSES-13 Steps" premiered, highlighting how he applied his physics knowledge and athletic talent to improve his performance in track and field, leading to an extraordinary winning streak of 122 races.
Five months ago, Julian Jackson, an undergraduate at the University of California, San Diego, and a TEAM-UP Together Scholar had the opportunity to meet Moses at the annual Team-Up Together Student Experience Conference, held from October 4-6, 2024, in Washington, D.C.
In a LinkedIn post, Jackson shared that he was honored to be selected as a Team-Up Together Scholar by the American Institute of Physics, which awarded him a scholarship and access to the conference.
Jackson noted that meeting Moses was one of the highlights of the conference, stating that Moses's story inspired him and provided perspective on what physics could offer.
Jackson also received an award for his research conducted at Los Alamos National Laboratory, where he presented his work, titled "The Ultimate Glow Up: Gamma Ray Bursts."
He congratulated Ayanna Mann, who received 1st place, and Jacob Schimp, who came in 2nd place, for their impressive contributions.
Ayanna Mann, a three-time recipient of the Team-Up Together Scholarship, shared on LinkedIn that it was an honor to be part of the planning committee for the Team-Up Together Student Experience Conference, where she won 1st place in the poster presentation competition for her work at the Simons Foundation, titled "How to Stellar Engineer a Yellow Supergiant."
She expressed her gratitude to the National Society of Black Physicists for their support in pursuing her research.
As a senior preparing to apply to graduate school, Ayanna mentioned her excitement about fostering relationships and demonstrating her capabilities in the field.
Jacob Schimp, a physics student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, recently announced that he was selected to join an intern cohort at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for the MIT Summer Research Program.
More recently, the American Physical Society reported that Italian Johnson utilized the National Mentoring Community to find a mentor who shares her interest in physics and her experiences as a Black woman in the field, particularly someone who attended a historically Black university.
Michael Moloney, Chief Executive Officer of the American Institute of Physics (AIP), shared his thoughts on LinkedIn regarding how AIP empowers future professionals in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
He expressed pride in AIP's work with the TEAM-UP Together initiative, in collaboration with lead partners such as the American Association of Physics Teachers, the American Astronomical Society, and the American Physical Society, as well as AIP's Society of Physics Students.
Moloney also expressed gratitude to supporters, including the Simons Foundation, Heising-Simons Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, and others. Additionally, he reposted Julian Jackson's affirmation.