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The "Humans of JILA" podcast has just launched its latest episode, highlighting the crucial yet often overlooked functions of JILA's Supply Shop. This episode takes listeners behind the scenes to understand the intricate workings of the Supply Office, which plays a pivotal role in JILA's day-to-day operations.

In this episode, you'll hear from Brian Lynch, the head of the Supply Shop, and Jennifer Erikson, JILA's Property Manager. They look inside their responsibilities, from ordering expensive laboratory equipment to ensuring accurate inventory tracking. Their insights reveal the complexity and importance of their work in maintaining the smooth operation of JILA’s research and administrative activities.

Computing is key for physics research, from running simulations to calculating difficult equations. To support JILA's computing needs, the Computing Shop and its six members offer various resources, including onboarding new JILAns and updating older wifi systems. In this new "Humans of JILA" podcast episode, you'll hear from two of the Computing Shop members and discuss the rich history of computing at JILA.

To try to demystify the transition into academia, the JILA postdoc group recently hosted a faculty negotiation panel with a distinguished lineup of speakers: JILA Fellow and NIST Physicist Adam Kaufman, JILA and NIST Fellow Konrad Lehnert, and JILA Fellow Mathias Weber. The discussion was expertly moderated by Rachael Merritt and Jake Higgins, both postdoctoral researchers themselves, who navigated through a comprehensive array of topics with the panelists.

Welcome to the fourth episode of the "Humans of JILA" podcast, where we delve into the captivating world of scientific illustration. Today, we're thrilled to have Steven Burrows, JILA's esteemed Director of Science Communications and a renowned Scientific Illustrator, as our special guest. With a career at JILA that spans almost a decade, Steven has been at the forefront of blending art and science, bringing complex scientific concepts to life through his illustrations. 

The postdoctoral position, or “postdoc” as it is colloquially called, can span between one to three years, as a researcher focuses on their next career steps after their Ph.D. During this time, individuals develop unique research projects while considering where to transition to next. To understand this position better, the “Humans of JILA” podcast interviewed the two Co-Chairs of the JILA Postdoc Group: Rachael Merritt and Jake Higgins.

Every year, the JILA community celebrates the passions and interests of its individuals through the JILA-X talks, a series of three-minute talks given by ten individuals of JILA. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the talks were hosted virtually in 2021 and postponed until 2023 since then. This year, reprising this tradition, the JILA-X speakers faced a full auditorium as staff, Fellows, postdocs, and graduate students shared their interests, ranging from bat ecology to Oreo cookies to pottery making.