{"id":2030,"date":"2020-12-22T06:35:31","date_gmt":"2020-12-22T06:35:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magazine.mcs.cmu.edu\/physics\/?page_id=2030"},"modified":"2020-12-23T02:11:09","modified_gmt":"2020-12-23T02:11:09","slug":"alumni-news","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/magazine.mcs.cmu.edu\/physics\/issue-2020\/alumni-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Alumni News"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.7.7″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#e0e0e0″ background_image=”https:\/\/magazine.mcs.cmu.edu\/physics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/12\/phys_stripes_dk_purple.png” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat-y” custom_padding=”4px|||||” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.7.7″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”||0px|||”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.7.7″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/magazine.mcs.cmu.edu\/physics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/12\/cat_alumni-news_right.png” alt=”alumni-news_right” title_text=”cat_alumni-news_right” align=”right” _builder_version=”4.7.7″ _module_preset=”default”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”4.7.7″ _module_preset=”default” background_enable_color=”off” border_width_all=”25px” border_color_all=”rgba(0,0,0,0)”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.7.7″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_gallery gallery_ids=”1752″ fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”4.7.7″ _module_preset=”default” auto=”on” auto_speed=”3000″ hover_enabled=”0″ box_shadow_style=”preset4″ box_shadow_color=”#ffffff” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_gallery][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.7.7″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.7.7″ _module_preset=”default” text_text_color=”#6b6b6b” header_text_color=”#000000″ header_2_font=”|700|||||||” header_2_text_color=”#000000″ hover_enabled=”0″ inline_fonts=”Times New Roman” sticky_enabled=”0″ background_color=”#e0e0e0″]S<\/span>ix years after graduating from Carnegie Mellon University, Steve Snyder was applying for academic positions as he neared the end of his Ph.D. program at the Michigan State University. As he sat stuffing his many applications into envelopes, he came upon his last stamp and CV when he remembered an ad he saw in the Chronicle of Higher Education \u2014 Kansas City wanted to build a science center and was looking for a scientist.<\/p>\n

Snyder, who helped found a science demonstration outreach program during graduate school, figured he would toss his hat into the ring.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought I’ll go and do that for a couple years. How often do you get to build a new science center? And then I’ll come back to academia,\u201d Snyder recalls. \u201cAnd I just never came back.\u201d <\/p>\n

He fell in love with the work, and that was that. <\/p>\n

Within five years, Snyder saw Kansas City\u2019s Union Station, the second largest train station in the country, transform from an abandoned and dilapidated property into a series of museums and other public attractions, including Science City. <\/p>\n

Working with a small team, Snyder got to try his hand at a little bit of everything from construction and exhibit design to branding, marketing and fundraising. After a successful launch, Snyder saw new doors opening. He received an offer from Philadelphia\u2019s Franklin Institute, one of the oldest science centers in the country, to serve as vice president of exhibit and program development. <\/p>\n

Snyder and his team reimagined 80,000 square feet of new exhibitions and programs exhibits. \u201cScience centers are a connection between the scientific enterprise and the public. You\u2019ve got to find the space where they’ll come together,\u201d Snyder said. He notes it takes a mix of creativity, research and marketing to bring to life exhibits that will thrill visitors. At Franklin Institute, they launched new exhibits on augmented reality, climate change and started a popular Science Festival. <\/p>\n

But for Snyder, often the best part is making interactive exhibits that can immerse people into a new world or a place in time. One such experience is the Franklin Institute Air Show. <\/p>\n

The exhibit showcases festival booths set up to celebrate the history of aviation, along with a flight simulator, pilot training, the famous Wright Model B Flyer and a T-33 jet trainer, all set up on a tarmac under a vaulted sky ceiling. \u201cIt really makes you feel like you\u2019re someplace completely different,\u201d said Snyder. <\/p>\n

After 12 years in Philadelphia, Snyder received another offer. He was recruited to be the president and CEO of the Fleet Science Center in San Diego, California. <\/p>\n

Since 2013, the Fleet has flourished in the local community under his leadership. The Fleet has grown from a museum in Balboa Park to a county wide organization launching 52 Weeks of Science, where each week researchers, engineers and scientists bring educational science center experiences to local neighborhoods, and the national movement Two Scientists Walk into a Bar.[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.7.7″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Times New Roman|700|||||||” text_text_color=”#ffffff” text_font_size=”49px” text_line_height=”1em” background_color=”#000000″ hover_enabled=”0″ border_width_all=”20px” border_color_all=”rgba(0,0,0,0)” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

\u201cScience is beautiful that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.7.7″ _module_preset=”default” text_text_color=”#6b6b6b” header_text_color=”#000000″ header_2_font=”|700|||||||” header_2_text_color=”#000000″ hover_enabled=”0″ inline_fonts=”Times New Roman” sticky_enabled=”0″ background_color=”#e0e0e0″]For the past six years, once a quarter, 50 scientists walk into 25 San Diego bars in pairs of two, set up an \u201cI\u2019m a scientist\u201d sign and invite patrons to ask them anything.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have people actually bar hop to talk to scientists at different bars across the city. And we have well over 300 scientists who sign up who want to do this now. It’s kind of competitive if they get a slot,\u201d said Snyder.<\/p>\n

The Fleet has also helped other cities implement the same kinds of programs, Pittsburgh included. They provide free marketing materials and licensing of the name and let cities run with it. (The program has been discontinued during COVID-19.)<\/p>\n

In each of his roles, Snyder says his favorite part has been helping other people do their best work. \u201cIf there’s an accomplishment, it’s being able to create a space where people can excel, be creative and really bring what we do to life.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what makes his work exciting. He\u2019s loved working with not just scientists but engineers, artists, educators and community leaders to share the experience of science with the public. Snyder believes the mission of science and science centers is vital and helping others to discover and find inspiration in science is incredibly powerful.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat moment where a child suddenly sees a new view of their world or a new possibility for themselves, it\u2019s something I believe can make the world a better place.<\/p>\n

\u201cScience is beautiful that way,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The passion that Snyder has now is reminiscent of what he learned at CMU. \u201cThis idea of speaking with passion about what you do is something I still try to channel to this day,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He says that his education also prepared him for something that he couldn’t even conceive of being prepared for. “I certainly had no idea this job existed when I entered college,\u201d Synder said.<\/p>\n

But now that he does know, he can\u2019t picture himself anywhere else.<\/p>\n

\u25a0 Emily Payne
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.22″ background_color=”#e0e0e0″ custom_padding=”30px|0px|30px|0px|false|false” box_shadow_style=”preset6″][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”0|0px|0|0px|false|false”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_button button_url=”\/physics\/issue-2020\/student-awards\/” button_text=”Student Awards” _builder_version=”4.7.7″ custom_button=”on” button_text_color=”#e09900″ button_border_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0)” button_font=”||||||||” button_icon=”%%179%%” button_icon_color=”#e09900″ button_icon_placement=”left” button_on_hover=”off” button_border_color_hover=”#e09900″ button_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_color__hover_enabled=”on” button_border_color__hover=”#e09900″ button_one_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off”][\/et_pb_button][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_button button_url=”\/physics\/issue-2020\/” button_text=”Issue 2020 Table of Contents” button_alignment=”right” _builder_version=”4.7.7″ custom_button=”on” button_text_color=”#e09900″ button_border_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0)” button_font=”||||||||” button_icon=”%%180%%” button_icon_color=”#e09900″ button_on_hover=”off” button_border_color_hover=”#e09900″ button_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_color__hover_enabled=”on” button_border_color__hover=”#e09900″ button_one_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off”][\/et_pb_button][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Six years after graduating from Carnegie Mellon University, Steve Snyder was applying for academic positions as he neared the end of his Ph.D. program at the Michigan State University. As he sat stuffing his many applications into envelopes, he came upon his last stamp and CV when he remembered an ad he saw in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":1492,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2030","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.mcs.cmu.edu\/physics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.mcs.cmu.edu\/physics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.mcs.cmu.edu\/physics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.mcs.cmu.edu\/physics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.mcs.cmu.edu\/physics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2030"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.mcs.cmu.edu\/physics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2030\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2075,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.mcs.cmu.edu\/physics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2030\/revisions\/2075"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.mcs.cmu.edu\/physics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1492"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.mcs.cmu.edu\/physics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}