eNNOUNCER August 2018


AAPT News

2018 AAPT Board of Directors Election

The election of officers for the AAPT Board of Directors will begin in September. Members will receive instructions through email or, if no email is on file, through the mail to help you vote electronically. Be sure your email address and membership are current so you can participate. Learn more about the candidates. Read more

Abstracts for the 2019 AAPT Winter Meeting

AAPT will be accepting abstracts for the 2019 AAPT Winter Meeting in Houston, Texas from August 7 to September 18. This is a great opportunity to present your innovative research and share creative teaching methods with your peers. Please click here to submit your abstract.

2018 U.S. Physics Team Three Gold and Two Silver Medals

The United States Physics Team ranked seventh place out of 88 countries in the overal medal count and sixth in the aggregate point count at the 48th International Physics Olympiad that was held July 21–29, 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal. Read more

AAPT Privacy Statement Update

Privacy laws in the European Union changed on May 25, 2018. In an effort to strengthen your privacy rights, AAPT has updated its Privacy Statement. The update is part of AAPT’s ongoing commitment to provide transparency and safeguard your privacy. Changes include new information about how we process personal data. We encourage you to review the new privacy statement to familiarize yourself with the changes that have been made. These updates went into effect for all existing AAPT members and users of AAPT websites on May 25, 2018. Your continued use of AAPT’s Membership Services from that day on are subject to the updated privacy statement. Please review your member account preferences.

eAlliances: Uniting Isolated Women Physicists and Astronomers

Everyone needs mentors, but how do you find other women physicists who understand your experience-- as the only Hispanic in the department, the only PER researcher, the only full-time physicist at your TYC, the only one who brings a newborn in a sling to department meetings? Join eAlliances, an NSF-sponsored faculty development project for women physics faculty, and become part of a peer-mentoring alliance with other women who share many of your same experiences.

Why me?

• Connect with other women physicists and astronomers
• Get and give advice and affirmation
• Gather a variety of insights to help you address professional issues
• Address work-life balance issues
• Receive encouragement and support in achieving your goals

This is professional development for your career stage: whether you are teaching your first or hundredth section of intro physics; mentoring your first or hundredth research associate, or leading your first or hundredth committee meeting. Someone else has a similar experience and can share insights, frustrations, and successes.

To join: Register at eAlliances.aapt.org


AAPT Programs

Support the U.S Physics Team - Donate Now

Each year AAPT sponsors a competition for high school students to represent the United States at the International Physics Olympiad Competition. The mission of the U.S. Physics Team Program is to promote and demonstrate academic excellence through preparation for and participation in the International Physics Olympiad. AAPT is responsible for recruiting, selecting and training teams each year to compete in the International Physics Olympiad Competition. Your contribution is needed to support these high school students as they prepare to represent the US internationally. Donate now!

New Faculty Workshop

The next Physics and Astronomy New Faculty Workshop will be held October 25-28, 2018 in College Park, MD. The workshop is intended for tenure-track and other long-term college and university physics and astronomy faculty. Nominations by department chairs (required) will open later in August. The workshops now reach 40-50% of the new tenure-track hires in physics and astronomy in the U.S. and are sponsored by AAPT, APS, and AAS, with funding from the National Science Foundation.

Experienced Faculty Workshop

The next Physics and Astronomy Experienced Faculty Workshop will be held December 7-9, 2018 in Arlington, VA. The workshop is intended for tenured and other long-term college and university physics and astronomy faculty members who are now or who may soon be in leadership positions involving education matters in their departments. Registration will open in early September. The workshops are sponsored by AAPT, APS, and AAS, with funding from the National Science Foundation.

Greater Chicagoland PICUP Computational Physics Workshop

Saturday September 29, 2018

The Partnership for Integration of Computation into Undergraduate Physics (PICUP), an informal group of physics faculty from around the country, is committed to building a community of STEM educators dedicated to integrating computation into the physics curriculum. Towards this end, PICUP invites high school and college physics faculty to attend the Greater Chicagoland PICUP Workshop to be held on the campus of Lewis University in Romeoville, IL, on Saturday, September 29, 2018. The purpose of this one day workshop is to introduce participants to PICUP's resources and to guide participants in formulating a plan for integrating computational educational materials into their courses or curricula. The workshop agenda includes guided computational activities, plenary talks, small group discussions/activities, and a working lunch, all for a registration fee of $12 ($10 until August 31).

Go to https://www.compadre.org/PICUP/events/ for more details on this workshop and other PICUP events.


AAPT Membership

AAPT Member Spotlight

Paul Stanley
Beloit College
Beloit, WI
Read More.

Membership Renewal

We appreciate our community of members, and we are here to serve you. If you have any difficulties renewing your membership or have any membership-related questions, please do not hesitate to contact us in the Membership Department at 301.209.3333 or membership@aapt.org.

Applications Now Being Accepted for Jossem Fund Grants

Applications are currently being accepted for the E. Leonard Jossem Fund. The E. Leonard (Len) Jossem International Education Fund provides grants to individuals in support of international programs dealing with teaching and learning of physics. The fund will be available for two different categories:

• Collaborations between U.S. and developing countries. Funding should facilitate interactions and exchanges of ideas between U.S. physics educators and/or students and those in developing countries.
• International meetings and conferences focused on physics education. Meetings and conferences should involve direct contact between physics educators and furnish the interactions that stimulate new ideas and lasting collaborations. Students and faculty with limited resources can apply for funding to attend international meetings and conferences.

The Jossem Fund invites applications from physics educators who are AAPT members at any academic stage or rank. Only AAPT members may apply. Awards will range from $200 to $2,000. Applications must be received by late spring or early summer (deadline is the same as the Special Projects Fund) for consideration during the 2018 fiscal year. Applications will be reviewed by the Special Projects and Philanthropy Committee. Click here for more information.

AAPT Member Named PhysTEC Teacher of the Year

Tiffany Taylor of Heritage High School in Rogers, AR, was named the 2018 National PhysTEC Teacher of the Year. The PhysTEC selection committee noted her recruitment efforts and the increase in enrollment of students in AP Physics 1 and 2, from only 26 students in her first year of teaching, to over 80 students in recent years. https://www.phystec.org/toty/Awardees.cfm

Call for Award Nominations

The AAPT Awards Committee invites nominations for all of AAPT awards, citations, and medals. We are particularly interested in nominations for AAPT Fellows and for the Homer L. Dodge Citation for Distinguished Service to AAPT.


In the News

Longtime Professor Publishes Helpful Intro to Physics Tool

AAPT member, Jerome Licini has taught introductory physics at Lehigh for 31 years, perfecting his craft and continually finding ways to help his students in any way he can.

Now Licini is expanding his reach beyond the Lehigh campus by developing a full-fledged program in physics education research. Licini intends to publish teaching techniques he has developed throughout his career in hopes of making physics easier to understand for students everywhere.

The first–a tilted-axes tool–will be published in a fall issue of The Physics Teacher, a peer-reviewed academic journal that is geared toward teachers of introductory physics at the high school or first-year college level.

Go to Read more.

Career Toolbox for Undergraduates

The Careers Toolbox for Undergraduate Physics Students is a set of tools and exercises designed to help undergraduate physics students prepare to enter the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics workforce. Tools range from exploring the common job titles of physics bachelor's to preparing for interviews, and are all geared specifically for physics students. This resource is brought to you by the American Institute of Physics and the Society of Physics Students. The 4th Edition is now ready for use.

Help students find the right grad program. Tell them about GradSchoolShopper.com

Advise your students in the new year to check out GradSchoolShopper.com, the most complete directory of graduate programs in the physical sciences.Students headed for graduate school can use this FREE service to search by degree programs, admission deadlines, research specialties, faculty profiles, GRE requirements, and more! If your program isn’t listed, contact us to find out how to have it included.

Highly Trained STEM Teachers Needed to Boost America's Global Competitiveness, According to New Study

The United States' global competitiveness is at risk as the nation confronts persistent shortages of STEM teachers. More than half of all high school physics teachers lacked certification in the discipline in 2012, for example. As a result, students who are interested in STEM careers find themselves ill prepared to compete in an increasingly highly technical workforce.

A new study by the American Physical Society, in collaboration with the American Chemical Society, Computing Research Association, and Mathematics Teacher Education Partnership, addresses the reasons why STEM students shy away from teaching as a career and offers ways to counter the trend. Download the full report at www.aps.org/policy/reports.

The International Conference on Physics Education (ICPE)

Johannesburg, South Africa. October 1-5, 2018

The International Conference on Physics Education (ICPE) will be held October 1-5, 2018 in Johannesburg, South Africa. The theme of the conference is: “Physics Education for Development: a focus on context”. The main objective is to create a platform to facilitate the interaction of various stakeholders that includes physics educators, postgraduate students, teachers, researchers and policy makers working in physics education research and in physics education, from schools, colleges, universities and governments from all parts of the world.

The program will include a wide spectrum of presentations including keynote speakers, single and symposium oral presentations, posters and workshops. The conference will be held at the Misty Hills Hotel and Conference Centre, close to the Cradle of Humankind, a World Heritage Site and the famous Pilanesberg National Park. Click here for more information.

American Modeling Teachers Association

While several of the Modeling Workshops™ have already started last week, we have many more Modeling Workshops™ scheduled for the upcoming weeks and selected workshops still have openings. Please share the information in your community:

• Alabama: Mechanics; July 9-20
• Arizona: Thermodynamics; July 9-20
• California: Mechanics and Chemistry ; July 9-20
• Indiana: Chemistry I and II (pre-conference workshops) ; July 18-29
• Massachusetts: Chemistry I and II, biology: July 9-20
• Massachusetts: Mechanical Waves; July 16-26 – Mechanics; July 30-Aug 9
• Maine: Mechanics, Chemistry, E&M; July 23-Aug 3 (0ne week options available)
• Michigan: Middle school at CMU; July 16-Aug 3
• Michigan: Middle school (2), Physical Science (2),Biology (2), Chemistry I and II, June till August
• Minnesota: Mechanics and Chemistry: July 9-20
• North Carolina; Biology, Chemistry (June 18-29), E&M and Middle School; July 9-29
• New York City: Biology (2), Computational Modeling, Intro to Modeling; July and August
• New York: Siena College: Intro to Mechanics (July 9-12),
• New York: Buffalo: Mechanics; July 9-29


For details please click here.


Physics Careers

Jobs Announcements from the Career Center

High School Physics/Honors Physics Teacher(s) (1.0 FTE & .4 FTE)
Piedmont Unified School District
Click here for job description.

Instructional Assistant/Teaching Support
University of Chicago
Click here for job description.


More Physics Resources


Social Media @ AAPT

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Section News

Please submit your Section Report for the AAPT Section News. To list your section meeting in the AAPT Calendar of Events, e-mail the information to mhall@aapt.org. See the December 2017 Section News.


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© 2018, American Association of Physics Teachers

In this issue

 

Featured Journal Articles

The Physics Teacher

 

A Bullet-Block Experiment that Explains the Chain Fountain

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American Journal of Physics

 

Using a shoebox spectrograph to investigate the differences between reflection and emission

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