2012 Annual Report - page 14

14
AAPT
2012 Annual Report
July 28–August 3, University of Pennsylvania
Statistics:
There were 1,169 attendees, 26 exhibitors, 73
sessions, 39 workshops, and 211 posters.
Gay Stewart, Program Committee Chair
Paper Sorters:
Kathleen Falconer, Brittney Johnson, Dyan
Jones, and Mary Bridget Kussstusch
Local organizers:
Larry Gladney, University of
Pennsylvania Physics Department Chair, Asante Barr,
Bill Bernr, Bill boulden, Erin Fallon, lauren Gala, Vivian
Hasiuk, Stephanie Heminger, Jane Horowitz, Chris Leary,
millicent minnick, Jim Nixon, and Harriet Slogoff. Darnell
Belford form the Philadelphia convention and Visitors
bureau
Plenaries
Sizing Up the Universe
, J. Richard Gott, Princeton
University
APS Division of Biophysics Session:
Birds, Brains, and
Physics - The Fascinating Field of Biological Physics
, William
Bialek, Princxeton University and Dezhe Jim, Penn State
University
Space-Time, QuantumMechanics and the Large Hadron
Collider
, Nima Arkani-Hamed, Institute for Advanced
Studies, Princeton, NJ,
Awards
Robert A. Millikan Medal, Philip M. Sadler, Harvard-
Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA.
Separating Facts From Fads? How our choices impact
students” performance and persistence in physics.
The David Halliday and Robert Resnick Award for
Excellence in Undergraduate Physics Teaching, Kevin
M. Lee, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Center for
Science, Mathematics, and Computer Education and the
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Lincoln, NE.
Letting Technology do What Technology is Good At
The Paul W. Zitzewitz Award for Excellence in Pre-College
Physics Teaching, Stacy McCormack, Penn High School,
Mishawaka, IN.Mark D. Greenman, Marblehead High
School, Swampscot, MA.
Interactive Laboratory Experiences
(ILE)—A Professional Development Recipe for Success.
AAPT Distinguished Service Citations, Eugenia Ektina,
Jose D. Garcia, and Chandralekha Singh.
Highlights
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, home of the first great American
experimental physicist, Ben Franklin, was the perfect setting
for the 2012 Summer Meeting, Physics: The Experimental
Core. Our meeting venue was one of American’s oldest
college campuses, University of Pennsylvania.
The 5K AAPT Walk/Run, a fundraiser that supported
our meetings and conferences, toured this beautiful campus!
Attendees had a chance to experience the sights and hear
the tales of a city that forged a nation, cheered for Rocky,
invented the first soft pretzel, and is home to the Liberty Bell
and Independence Hall
Like Philadelphia, the 2012 AAPT Summer Meeting had
much to offer. Our celebration featured an opportunity to
watch a live performance and learn more about the life and
times of Benjamin Franklin, one of the leading figures of
early American History. Physics is an experimental science.
Encouraging and empowering the next generation to
embrace the art of experimentation that lies at the core of
physics, will ensure that our field remains vibrant and alive.
Our plenary sessions explored our field across the scales of
size, from the very small to the very large, with a stop at the
human scale.
Participants try to lower the Helium Stick during
Our 18 area committees span interests from Apparatus,
to Women in Physics planned a program full of sessions,
crackerbarrels, workshops, and posters. The meeting was
exciting with every minute full! We heard talks that crossed
time, from “Experience, Experiment, Entertainment:
Electrostatic Apparatus in the Age of Franklin” to looking
to the future of our field with the “Space-Time, Quantum
Mechanics, and the Large Hadron Collider.” Speakers
answered questions such as “Can computational modeling
be accessible to introductory students?” and how to provide
quality laboratory experiences in these days of tight budgets.
We looked outward to “Frontiers in Astronomy and Space
Science” and inward to “Faculty Peer Mentoring.” We
explored ways to innovate our laboratory instruction, and
gain “International Perspectives on Laboratory Instruction.”
We learned more about “Leadership Models in Science”
and “Mentoring Minority Students.” We learned from the
results of the “Two-Year College New Faculty Experience.”
We also relaxed and were amazed by demonstrations from
Third Eye.
Attendees visited with exhibitors in historic University
Summer Meeting—
Physics: The Experimental Core
1...,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13 15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,...36
Powered by FlippingBook