Transferring knowledge without building networks: A comparison of virtual vs. in-person CUWiP outcomes

The 2020 APS March Meeting was the first major international conference to be canceled due to COVID-19. Subsequently, conferences transitioned to virtual spaces. The merits of virtual conferences are undeniable: increased accessibility, reduced costs, and minimized environmental impacts of travel and hotels. Yet, conferences have been essential components of professional learning for academics, particularly doctoral students. The APS Conferences for Undergraduate Women in Physics (CUWiP) conference series developed to help undergraduate women continue in physics by providing settings for women to learn about graduate school, professions in physics, network, and research in physics. From 2014-2020, CUWiP Conferences have been held in-person as a distributed conference. In 2021 and 2022, these conferences were held remotely. Rigorous external evaluation surveys were sent to participants both before the conference and after. These surveys asked about participants' knowledge of different careers in physics, their interest in physics, physics identity, self efficacy, sense of belonging, and participation in these conferences. By analyzing these data, we have a unique opportunity to better understand differences between in-person and remote conferences. We find little difference between the two in regard to transmission of knowledge, but participants in remote conferences did not build social networks as effectively as those in in-person conferences.