eNNOUNCER May 2014
AAPT 2014 Summer Meeting - Early Bird Deadline May 26th
Register today to take advantage of the Early Bird rate, a savings of over $300. The deadline is Monday, May 26th.
The 2014 AAPT Summer Meeting.
This meeting will be held at the University of Minnesota from July 26-30, 2014. Join over 1,000 of your colleagues for five days of interactive workshops and sessions, exciting activities, and opportunities to network with peers from around the world. Learn more about the meeting and reserve your hotel room today!
Post deadline abstracts can be submitted until May 16th. Submit yours today!
Refer-A-Friend, Get $25
Once you've registered for the Summer Meeting, make sure to urge all of your physics friends and colleagues to join you. For every referral who designates you as the one who referred them, you will receive a $25 American Express gift card. For complete rules, please visit here.
Win $100 in AAPT's T-Shirt Contest!!
The Second Annual AAPT Summer Meeting T-shirt Design contest is underway and we're looking for some creative designs. Designs can be submitted by anyone. The prize is a $100 American Express gift card, plus a t-shirt featuring the winning design. Learn more about the contest and view the complete rules here.
Social Media at the Summer Meeting
We are looking for a few good men and women to serve on AAPT's Social Media Team this summer. You must be registered, or planning to register, for the 2014 Summer Meeting to participate. If you're active on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Instagram, blogging, etc, we need you. For more information about how to participate, please send an email to marketing@aapt.org.
      
The Frederick and Florence Bauder Endowment
The Frederick and Florence Bauder Endowment provides grants to support special activities in the area of physics teaching. The deadline for applications to request funds is July 1, 2014.
Deadline Quickly Approaching for the 2014 HS Physics Photo Contest
 It's not too late to register for the 2014 AAPT High School Physics Photo Contest! This is the perfect opportunity for your students to combine what they've learned in physics with their artistic side. Photographs can be entered in one of three categories: natural, contrived, or multiple images -- for a chance to win a $100 cash prize. View the 2013 winners. The deadline for submission is May 15. Learn more!
Women in Physics Book Now Available
Women in Physics: A collection of reprints in honor of Melba Newell Phillips, is now available. The collection includes eighteen articles on women in physics, presented in four parts:
- Gender Issues in Physics and Physics Education
- Gender-related Physics Education Research
- Biographical Articles
- Analysis of the Role of Women in Science
Articles are reprinted from the American Journal of Physics, The Physics Teacher, Physics Today, and Physical Review Special Topics. Proceeds from the sales will support the endowment of the Melba Newell Phillips Medal.
Order your copy at The Physics Store
Roger Stuewer to Receive Distinguished Alumni Award
Roger Stuewer will be awarded the Distinquished Alumni Award of the Department of Physics of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The award will be conferred at the department's annual awards banquet on the evening of May 2.
The Mary Beth Monroe Memorial Scholarship
This scholarship will memorialize and honor Mary Beth Monroe’s inspiring lifelong commitment to the support and encouragement of physics students and her dedication to service at all levels in the Society of Physics Students and the American Association of Physics Teachers. Friends and colleagues are encouraged to assist in the endowment of the scholarship by donating through either SPS or AAPT, with the designation "Mary Beth Monroe SPS Student Scholarship."
SPS and AAPT members are now invited to contribute to the Mary Beth Monroe Memorial Scholarship.
For an article about Mary Beth, please see the fall SPS Observer, http://www.spsobserver.org/2013/fall-singularities.pdf.
2014 AAPT/PTRA Trainer Institute
The Physics Teaching Resource Agents Trainer Institute will be held July 23-26, 2014 in Minneapolis, Minnesota just prior to the national AAPT summer meeting. The meeting will begin at 6 PM on Wednesday, July 23 at the Courtyard Marriott (room TBD). The agenda is being finalized, but will include the following: updates on STEM probes and technology from Vernier, PASCO, and TI, recently developed Perimeter modules, and revision/development of PTRA topics to modules integrating technology, engineering, and math, as well as adaptations for elementary and middle school. Read more »
AAPT and GIREP Agreement
The American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) and the Groupe International de Recherche sur l'Enseignement de la Physique (GIREP) have reached a cooperative agreement that will allow each group's members to attend the other organization’s conferences at the member registration rate. Thus, GIREP members will be able to attend AAPT conferences at AAPT member rates and vice versa.
Save the Date
Physics Department Chairs Conference
The annual AAPT/APS Physics Department Chairs Conference will be held June 6-8, 2014 in College Park, MD. Please register for the Workshop before Friday, May 2.
Experienced Faculty Workshop
AAPT, APS and AAS are hosting the second Physics and Astronomy Experienced Faculty Workshop July 24-26, 2014 in Minneapolis just before the AAPT Summer meeting. The workshop is open to tenured faculty members who did not attend any of the Physics and Astronomy New Faculty Workshops. More information about the workshop will be available on the AAPT website by the end of April.
Building Leadership
The 2014 Physics Teacher Education Coalition Conference, Building Leadership will be held May 19-20, 2014 in Austin, TX in conjunction with the UTeach Institute Annual Conference.
NGSS for Physics and Physical Sciences: Forces and Interactions
Prepare yourself for the Next Generation Science Standards with the help of AAPT's Physics Teaching Resource Agents, June 16-27, 2014 at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. Take "Forces and Interactions," the first of three courses focused on content and activities that meet the new NGSS criteria. The course may be taken for Continuing Education or 3 graduate credits. Read more »
The 2014 Gordon Research Conference on Physics Research and Education: The Complex Intersection of Biology and Physics will be held June 8-13, 2014 at Mt. Holyoke College. The full program is available here. This conference is an opportunity to (1) discuss discoveries, technologies, and experiments that excite students and emphasize physics content; (2) bring together teachers of physics and biology to discuss the development of new laboratories and curricula by infusing them with biologically and medically related topics; and (3) allow physics education researchers and biology education researchers and teachers of these subjects to reflect on the type of content that is appropriate and motivational for biology and health-science majors. Information on available funding can be found on the conference link. The application deadline is May 11, 2014. For more information please email Mel Sabella or Matthew Lang.
Reinventing the Physicist: Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education for the 21st Century
APS is hosting a conference which will focus on strategies for implementing physics innovation and entrepreneurship (PIE) education into undergraduate classrooms. The event will be targeted at physics department leaders, and will be held adjacent to the 2014 Physics Department Chairs' conference on June 5-6, 2014. The conference is co-sponsored by Carthage College and the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA). For more details »
Announcing the AAPT-ALPhA Award
AAPT and ALPhA (Advanced Laboratory Physics Association) announce the AAPT/ALPhA Award for undergraduate physics students who have executed, mastered, and left as a legacy for future students an advance laboratory experiment. Do you have a student (or team of students) who might be interested in taking up the challenge to build an experiment new to their own department and possibly receive national recognition, attend a national AAPT meeting, present an invited talk, and receive a check for $4,000? Nominations for this award must be submitted, with extensive documentation, by September 1, 2015. If qualified candidates are proposed, we anticipate presenting the first award at the 2016 AAPT Winter Meeting in New Orleans. Read more. Funding for this award, for the first five years, is provided by TeachSpin, Inc.
Consider Submitting an Entry to the Apparatus Competition
The AAPT Apparatus Competition recognizes, rewards, and publicizes worthwhile contributions to physics teaching through lecture demonstrations, instructional laboratory equipment, and interactive exhibits. The Competition is held annually during AAPT's summer meeting and is open to all members with entries targeting all levels of physics education from K-12 to undergraduates to the general public. See the entry selection criteria. Entrants must notify the Apparatus Competition Director in June 2014 of their intention to enter the 2014 Apparatus Competition. An official application packet is available on the AAPT website.
2015-2016 Fulbright Scholar Competition
The Fulbright Scholar competition for academic year 2015-2016 launched last month, and Spain is offering an award in Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics. More information about the Fulbright Scholar Program can be found at www.cies.org and the complete catalog of awards can be accessed online at http://catalog.cies.org/. The current competition will close on August 1, 2014.
Kavli Teacher-in-Residence Program
The Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics (KITP) in Santa Barbara is now accepting applications for our 2014 Teacher-in-Residence program. The application deadline is May 10. In this program the KITP is inviting a small number of high-school teachers, each of whom will participate for three weeks in their choice of either one of two programs:
- Dynamics of Planetary interiors (July 7 - July 25), or
- Microbial Strategies/Evolution of Drug Resistance (July 14 - August 1)
More information about the program can be found at the website.
Let Them Play the Game
In an essay published by Insided Higher Ed, Sarah Demers, Assistant Professor of Physics at Yale University, discusses Active Learning from the perspective of a physics professor. For more details »
Record-breaking Physics Lesson
It was Weather and Science Day at the field, and physics professor Brian Jones, CSU staffers and volunteers, 9 News meteorologists and others joined Rockies mascot Dinger in using a host of props to make the lesson anything but dry. For more details »
Outstanding High School Physics Teacher
Maine-East High School teacher David Schultz has been named Outstanding High School Physics Teacher of the Year from the Illinois section of the American Association of Physics Teachers, Maine Township High School District 207 announced recently.
Schultz was nominated by other teachers at Maine East, citing his work with students that led to solar panels being installed at the Park Ridge school. This project was an outgrowth of Schultz's involvement with a Renewable Energy Club, which began focusing on the use of solar and wind energy.
A teacher for eight years at Maine East, Schultz was also recognized for inspiring students to learn more about physics by incorporating interesting activities and topics into classroom instruction, including lectures, demonstrations, labs and student projects.For more details »
Workshop on the Status of the Upper-Division Physics Curriculum
Oregon State University will host a workshop on the status of the upper-division physics curriculum from June 5-7, 2014, in Corvallis, OR. The workshop will also involve sharing lessons learned and the evaluation of the potential for growth in this emerging field.
Participation is primarily by invitation, but applications are being accepted for 5 at-large participants. The workshop is funded by NSF, and both local expenses and reasonable travel expenses will be fully covered.
For further information, and to apply for an at-large spot, please visit the conference website and/or contact the organizers: Tevian Dray (and Corinne Manogue)
Middle and High School Physical Science Opportunity
We are looking for science assessment writers who have knowledge of the Next Generation Science Standards. Ideally, item writers will have familiarity in the middle school and high school grades, some teaching/classroom experience, and understand the new science standards. If you have expertise in creating assessment items and would like an opportunity to work as a freelancer, please contact Michael Comer, Editorial Director Math and Science, Victory Productions or call 508-798-6223.
ScienceCinema
ScienceCinema highlights leading-edge research from the U.S. Department of Energy as well as the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). Using inovative, state-of-the-art audio indexing and speech recognition technology from Microsoft Research, ScienceCinema allows users to search for specific words and phrases spoken with video files. Simply enter a term in the box and start exploring! Read more »
New Associate Editor for PRST-PER
Paula Heron of University of Washington is the new Associate Editor of Physical Review Special Topics - Physics Education Research. She will be filling the position currently held by Sanjay Rebello.
Calling All Science Educators!
A long-time supplier and AAPT member in the science education market is conducting a brief survey to understand how middle school, high school and university educators evaluate science teaching tools. The survey takes under ten minutes to complete. Please take a moment to complete it now! Go here »
3rd Annual Learning Science Workshop
This workshop entitled: "Research and Innovation for Enhancing Achievement and Equity" will be held June 14-15 at Carnegie Mellon University. Applications are due May 15, 2014. No cost to attend.
Chautaugua Short Course
Research-Based Active Learning in Introductory Physics
Chautauqua Short Course, June 15-17, 2014, Portland, OR -- Designed for those who teach introductory physics at universities, colleges and high schools. Up to two hours of graduate credit will be available from the University of Oregon.
This hands-on course is designed for those interested in making learning in their introductory course more active either within a traditional course structure (lectures, labs, and recitation hours), or by re-structuring their course (e.g., into a workshop or studio course).
For more information and to register go here or contact David Sokoloff, Department of Physics, 1274 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403-1274, E-mail: sokoloff@uoregon.edu, Phone: (541) 221-6543, Fax: (541) 346-5861.
Ride the Future Tour
Last summer AAPT member; Ben Rich; took an epic journey across the USA on his electric motorcycle as part of the Ride the Future Tour. They made a movie following the crew of 8 travelers on a mission to break some Guinness World Records and spread the word about electric vehicles. The movie follows their attempt to break records for longest distance traveled in an electric; motorcycle, scooter and bicycle. Traveling about 100 miles each day with no rest days, it was a grueling schedule, but they met fascinating people in every town along the way. You can order the movie at http://www.KickGas.tv.
2014 International Year of Crystallography
The International Year of Crystallography 2014 (IYCr2014) commemorates not only the centennial of X-ray diffraction, which allowed the detailed study of crystalline material, but also the 400th anniversary of Kepler’s observation in 1611 of the symmetrical form of ice crystals, which began the wider study of the role of symmetry in matter. Links to posters and other promotional materials and resources are available on the IYCR website. Read more »
Modeling Workshops nationwide
Modeling Workshops in high school physics, chemistry, physical science, and biology will be offered this summer. Modeling Workshops are peer-led. Modeling Instruction is designated by the U.S. Department of Education as an Exemplary K-12 science program.
More Information »
Workshop descriptions »
ASU Modeling Workshops in Physics and Chemistry
Four Modeling Workshops (June 9-27, July 7-25) for high school physics, chemistry, and physical science teachers nationwide are offered by Arizona State University in Tempe. The program can lead to a Master of Natural Science degree. Low-cost family housing is available.
More Information »
More from your Membership!
Did you know that you can connect with your collegues by joining an AAPT Email Discussion List? There are more than 20 different lists/communities available. Find the list that matches your career interests at http://www.aapt.org/Resources/lists.cfm. Contact your Member Services Department at 301-209-3333, or by e-mail at membership@aapt.org if you need assistance, or have further questions.
Career Learning Center
Professional development is a work in progress, and constantly gaining new skills and knowledge is essential to the success of any career. The latest enhancement to the AAPT Career Center - the Career Learning Center - is a career-guidance companion to searching the latest science teaching jobs. Equipped with four career-centric seminars, the AAPT Career Learning Center is a user-friendly virtual platform that satisfies the professional needs of AAPT members at all points on the career spectrum.
This helpful content is ONLY available to registered users with the AAPT Career Center, a free job seeker service provided by AAPT. Quickly login or create your job seeker account, and take control of your future by building a stronger presence among our industry's top employers.
Free Internship Job Posting on AAPT Career Center
AAPT has an online jobsite that offers free 60-day internship job postings. To post internships online at AAPT visit http://jobs.aapt.org/. Locate the best fit for your organization by reaching the future of the science community – AAPT members. Valid intern-level opportunities are defined as limited-term (up to 12 weeks) employment for current undergraduates or recent bachelor degree recipients with financial compensation (if any) in the form of a modest salary or stipend. "Internship" Job Level must be selected when posting to access this offer.
Social Media @ AAPT
AAPT wants to connect with you on social media! Stay abreast of the latest AAPT and physics-related news. We invite you to like us, follow us, connect with us, and pin us. You can find us here:
SPS and ComPADRE Undergraduate Research Database
The SPS and ComPADRE partner each year to make availiable a list of research opportunities and internships for undergraduate students. This year there are more than 150 research sites from across the country and around the world. We encourage you to direct your students to the database. Deadlines for applications are approaching.
ComPADRE Digital Library
The ComPADRE Digital Library is a network of free online resource collections supporting faculty, students, and teachers in Physics and Astronomy Education.
Each ComPADRE collection contains a catalog of materials for teaching and learning that are selected by the editors for the target user community. The collections also provide information resources and community collaboration tools to support the needs of our users, usually in collaboration with partner physics and astronomy education projects.
Physlet Quantum Physics 2E on ComPADRE
 Physlet Quantum Physics contains a collection of exercises covering modern physicsand quantum mechanics topics at the sophomore to senior levels. These interactive exercises use computer animations generated with Physlets (Physics content simulated with Java applets). This is a companion site to Physlet Physics 2E, a collection of over 800 exercises spanning the introductory physics sequence.
The second edition of Physlet Quantum Physics represents a major change in how these 200 Physlet-based interactive materials are delivered to teachers and students alike. Instead of accessing materials from the CD that came with the printed first edition, now users simply access the Physlet Quantum Physics 2E ComPADRE site at http://compadre.org/PQP. This new edition is compatible with Java 6 and 7 and offers improved speed and security. The materials will be updated as needed to provide the best learning experiences.
Section News
May 2014
- Southern California Section
May 3, 2014
Spring Meeting
Irvine Valley College
Irvine, CA
Email: Alec Sim or Peanut McCoy or James Lincoln
British Columbia Section
May 10, 2014
Spring Meeting
Simon Fraser University, Surrey
Surrey, BC
Email: Sarah Johnson
Ohio Section
May 10, 2014
Spring Conference
The University of Akron, Dept of Engineering and Science Technology
Akron, OH
Email: Myra West
To list your section meeting in the AAPT Calendar of Events, e-mail the information to mgardner@aapt.org.
About eNNOUNCER
AAPT's eNNOUNCER is a service to members of the American Association of Physics Teachers and is produced by the AAPT Executive Office. Tell us what you think of this month's issue. Take this survey.
Other stories of significance appear in our Announcements Archive and our archive of Press Releases. E-mail suggestions, news items, comments, and unsubscribe requests to: aapt-news@aapt.org.
Deliverability of this publication depends on your e-mail address being current. If you have recently changed providers, jobs, or schools, please update your profile online at aapt.org as soon as possible. Adding AAPT-News@aapt.org to your address book will also help ensure that your copy is delivered to your mailbox.
Advertising and Archiving
See our Media Kit for advertising information or email rfinnegan@aip.org. All eNNOUNCER issues are archived and information about AAPT publications is online.
Note on External Links
Links to non-AAPT sites are intended as a service to readers interested in AAPT, physics, and education. These links do not reflect an endorsement of any content or product. Also, due to the evolving nature of websites, some external links referenced in the eNNOUNCER may expire over time.
Thanks for your readership and your support of AAPT.
© 2014, American Association of Physics Teachers
|
Open Menu
Close Menu
Search