AAPT NEWS, September 2007

AAPT NEWS

September 2007

From the Editors
Updated October 11, 2007
Among the highlights in this issue: the AAPT Winter Meeting in Baltimore, a new President's Commentary, important details on the Executive Board candidates, and new electronic balloting options. We hope you find AAPT NEWS useful and we welcome your feedback: Please write and tell us.

Contents

  • Action Items and Notable Dates
  • News for Members
  • News from the National Office
  • Upcoming Conferences, Meetings, Symposiums, and Events
  • Physics and Education News
  • Recommended Reading
  • Career Center
  • About AAPT NEWS

Action Items and Notable Dates

News for Members

President's Commentary
"The Advanced Physics Laboratory, from A-Z"
by Harvey Leff

Electronic Balloting Coming This Fall
The Executive Board has approved electronic balloting as an option for this year's election. Read more here.

Executive Board Candidates
Candidates' bios are now available. View them here.

Baltimore Meeting
Hotel registration is now open for the AAPT Winter Meeting. Deadline to secure the special group rate of $139 per night is December 19. After the 19th, the rates will be higher based on availability. For more information, visit the Winter Meeting page.

Abstracts for Baltimore Meeting
Abstracts are being accepted for the Winter Meeting until Thursday, September 20. To contribute an abstract, fill out an online abstract submission form. For more information, email meetings@aapt.org.

Update or Renew Your Membership
Is your AAPT membership up to date or about to expire? Login to your member account page toverify your current information or renew your membership and ensurethat your benefits, services and peer-reviewed academic journalscontinue uninterrupted. For further information, contact AAPTMembership & Stewardship at (301) 209-3333 or by e-mail at membership@aapt.org.

Legislative Action Center
Fall is here and Congress is back in session. Help advance physics and education by urging your representatives to support funding for science education. Visit the Legislative Action Center and make your voice heard.

Publish Your News Here
Have a news item you'd like to share with the AAPT membership in the October issue? Be sure to include a brief overview and a URL (website
address) where readers can go for more information and send it by October 8 to news@aapt.org.


News from the Central Office

Interactions: September/October issue
The Careers Beyond Physics issue of Interactions will mail at the end of September. Read more about Interactions and the transition of the Announcer here.

AAPT Job Fair in Baltimore
Whether you're looking for the ideal candidate or ready to take the next step in your career, the AAPT Job Fair is the place to be. This event takes place January 21-22, at the 2008 AAPT Winter Meeting. For more information, contact Alix Brice at aapt-jobs@aapt.org or call (301) 209-3187.

Job Opening: Chief Academic Officer
Review the position description here.

Coach the U.S. Physics Team
AAPT and AIP are seeking two coaches to join the coaching staff for the 2008 U.S. Physics Team. High School and college physics faculty are encouraged to apply. Applicants must be able to attend the training camp at the University of Maryland from May 17–28, 2008. Coaches will be expected to assist in the grading of the qualifying exams in February and March 2008. If you have questions or require additional information please visit http://www.aapt.org/olympiad2008/ or contact either of the co-academic directors, Bob Shurtz or Paul Stanley.

Fermi DVD
AAPT is offering a new Enrico Fermi DVD with rare footage of the Nobel Prize winner and his colleagues. Read more about this exciting new offering here.

NOVA scienceNOW Episodes with Host Neil deGrasse Tyson
In an interview with The Philadelphia Inquirer, AAPT Klopsteg Awardee Neil deGrasse Tyson notes that the goal of NOVA's scienceNOW is "to show science as life, as a fundamental part of what it is to live in the 21st century." Check your local listings for broadcast times: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/schedule-local.html.

Send Us Your Ideas and Feedback
Have a suggestion or criticism that you'd like AAPT leadership to hear? Send an email to Future@aapt.org.


Upcoming Conferences, Meetings, Symposiums, and Events


AAPT National Meetings: Save the Dates

    * Winter 2008, Jan 19-23 (Baltimore, MD)
    * Summer 2008, July 19-23 (Edmonton, Alberta)
    * Winter 2009 w/AAAS, Feb 12-16 (Chicago, IL)
    * Summer 2009, Dates TBD (Ann Arbor, MI)
    * Winter 2010 w/APS, Feb 11-18 (Washington, DC)

Call for Papers-Western PA Section
The section will meet September 29. To submit paper, e-mail the title and a short abstract (100 words max.) as a MS Word file to David Groh before September 24. For more information, visit the Western PA section page.

TARC Registration Now Open
Registration is now open for the Team American Rocketry Challenge on May 17, 2008. U.S. students in grades 7-12 are welcome to take part. Registration closes on November 30, 2007. For more information, visit the TARC web page.

Summer Physics Teaching Program
Teaching Opportunities in Physical Science (TOPS) is now accepting applications for its six-week summer course at MIT, June 22-August 4, 2007. The program is sponsored by the MIT-Harvard Center for Ultracold Atoms and is intended for physics and engineering majors who are currently in their sophomore or junior years and are considering careers in teaching at the secondary level. Applications will be accepted until February 1, 2008. For information: http://www.rle.mit.edu/cua/tops.htm.

Northrop Grumman Foundation's Weightless Flights of Discovery
Practicing classroom middle school teachers and future middle school teachers have the opportunity to participate in hands-on science workshops and perform and experiment in a parabolic or "zero-gravity" aircraft flight that creates temporary weightlessness comparable to what humans would experience during space travel to the Moon or Mars. For upcoming flight dates and application information, visit: http://www.northropgrumman.com/community/weightless.html.

National Engineering Design Challenge
In the NEDC, high school students apply problem solving, math, science, research, writing, presentation, and drafting/design skills by creating an engineered assistive technology device for persons with disabilities. Registration for the 2007-2008 competition opens September 5. More information is available at: http://www.jets.org/programs/nedc.cfm.

The Task Force on the Future of American Innovation
The Task Force is sponsoring a contest to create a short video that presents an inspiring story about scientific innovation in America. Videos, due September 18, should illustrate how scientific discoveries resulting from federally funded research in the physical sciences have changed our lives. For more information, visit: http://www.futureofinnovation.org.

2007 Chautauqua Program, University of Dayton
This series of courses includes:
    * October 1-3 Changing Science Courses to Promote Critical Thinking, Dayton, OH
    * October 4-6 The Birthplace and Early History of the Atomic Bomb, Albuquerque, NM
    * October 8-10 Increasing the Retention of Under-Represented Groups in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Courses, Dayton, OH
Visit the website for more information: http://campus.udayton.edu/~physics/gkm/chau/.

NSTA Online Short Course
The NSTA is offering Force and Motion, an online short course for science teachers. The self-paced course meets online five times, beginning October 3. For more information, visit the NSTA website.

NSTA Midwestern Regional Conference Featuring AAPT Physics Day
AAPT will offer a full day of physics content at the NSTA Midwestern Regional Conference in Detroit, MI, on October 18.  For more information visit AAPT's Physics Day page.

2008 Gordon Research Conference
Join fellow AAPT and APS members on June 8-13, 2008, at Bryant University, in Smithfield, RI, as physics faculty, physics researchers, and physics education researchers explore the expanding and deepening role of computers in physics research and undergraduate physics instruction. Application deadline for registration is May 18, 2008. For more information, visit: http://www.aapt.org/Events/grc.cfm.

Activity Based Physics Faculty Institutes
College/university faculty are invited to attend an NSF-sponsored Activity Based Physics Faculty Institute. The one-week program is offered at Dickinson University (June 16-20 or 23-29) and the University of Oregon (June 18-22 or 25-29). The Institute promotes use of active learning strategies based on physics education research For more information, visit http://www.uoregon.edu/~sokoloff/abpi.htm.


Physics and Education News

What Is Dark Energy? "Beyond Einstein" Program Aims to Investigate
Source: ScienceDaily

Physics of Big Hits
Source: ESPN.com (sidebar)

Physics Acceleration Heats Up: Intel to Purchase Havok
Source: DailyTech

Physicists Have Found the Formula for a Spiderman Suit
Source: ScienceDaily

Of Physics and Finance
Source: Business TN

Rocket Images Celebrate an Era of Discovery
Source: Telegraph (UK)

How to Test for an 11-Dimension Universe? Stay Tuned
Source: Wired

UK Scientists Create Free Energy, Apparently
Source: Wired

Kenya: Science Teaching is a Chalk and Talking Affair
Source: allAfrica.com

Physics Is Making Big Bucks in the Scottish Economy
Source: Innovations Report (Germany)

Make Science Easier, Examiners Are Told
Source: Times (UK)

Insultingly Stupid Movie Physics
Source: Intuitor.com

Physics Discovers the Secrets of St. Francis
Source: Science Centric (Bulgaria)


Recommended Reading

American Journal of Physics
Article of the Month
"How Do Two Moving Clocks Fall Out of Sync? A Tale of Trucks, Threads, and Twins" by Daniel F. Styer
(AJP online subscribers only, PDF)


The Physics Teacher
"Aerodynamics of a Party Balloon" by Rod Cross
(Free)


Career Center

Looking for the best physics job candidates and job opportunities? The AAPT Career Center is part of the Physics Today Career Network focused on the physics industry and its related disciplines. The network reaches more than 120,000 physicists and other scientists in a broad range of sectors from academia to industry to government and nonprofit organizations. It offers advertisers unmatched exposure and the best buy for their advertising dollar. Visit the online Career Center.


About AAPT NEWS

AAPT NEWS is a service to members of the American Association of Physics Teachers and is produced by the AAPT National Office. It is published monthly on or about the 15th. All issues are archived here. Other stories of significance appear in our Announcements Archive. We also have an archive of Press Releases.

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