Dr. Jessica Esquivel

Bio: Dr. Jessica Esquivel is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory working on the Muon g-2 Experiment which is tasked with observing physics beyond the standard model. She is one of ~100 Black women with a PhD in physics in the country and the 2nd Black woman to graduate with a PhD in physics from Syracuse University and has experience navigating spaces where she is “the first” or “the only”. Her graduate research focused on studying ghostly particles called neutrinos interacting in the MicroBooNE Experiment using innovative machine learning techniques like those used in facial recognition software. She received her bachelors in Electrical Engineering and Applied Physics from St. Mary's University in San Antonio, TX.

She identifies as a Black, afrolatinX, Woman. Dr. Esquivel is an advocate for increasing diversity in physics and focuses on the intersections of race, gender and sexuality in her outreach efforts. She has been recognized by The Fermilab Friends for Science Education Organization for the exceptional contributions she’s made to Fermilab’s K-12 education and outreach programs, was featured in Adler Planetarium’s Chicago Black Women in STEAM series (www.adlerplanetarium.org/chicagos-black-women- in-steam-series-meet-jessica/), interviewed by Lean In: Women of Color for Black Women's Equal Pay Day discussing the gender wage gap for black women (www.blackwomensequalpay.org/) , and interviewed by Casual Space’s Beth Mund discussing neutrinos, what makes a scientist, and finding inspiration in weird places (http://bethmund.com/40-jessica-esquivel/).

Her most recent accomplishments include organizing the participation and sponsorship of Fermilab at Wakandacon, a 3-day afro-futuristic convention that strives to create a safe space for the black community to explore their interests from comic culture to STEM (https://news.fnal.gov/2019/08/fermilab-promotes-science-and- diversity-at-wakandacon-in-chicago/, https://www.symmetrymagazine.org/article/channeling-shuri-as-a-physicist-at-wakandacon), and being named The American Association for the Advancement of the Sciences IF/THEN Ambassador (http://ifthenshecan.org), a program that looks to inspire middle school girls to become the next generation of STEM pioneers.

Dr. Esquivel is a Texas transplant living in Illinois with her wife and two furry rescue animals (Treadaway and Daisy Dukes Esquivel). In her downtime, you can find her cosplaying, DIYing, or watching HGTV for project inspirations. To learn more about Dr. Esquivel, please visit her website at https://JessicaEsquivelPhD.com or connect with her on social media @DrEsquivelPHD on LinkedIn/Twitter/Instagram.