March 2010 Archives

Thirteen institutions have received Chapter Project Awards from the Sigma Pi Sigma national office to fund chapter inductions and events, the most in the program's four-year history.

The winning schools are: Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA; Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID; University of Maryland-College Park, College Park, MD; Mesa State College, Grand Junction, CO; Towson University, Towson, MD; Western Illinois University, Macomb, IL; Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY; William Jewell College, Liberty, MO; University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY; Coe College, Cedar Rapids, IA; Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO; St. John's University, Queens, NY; and the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, Platteville, WI.

The Sigma Pi Sigma physics honor society, housed within the Society of Physics Students (SPS), elects members on the basis of outstanding academic achievement. This unique two-in-one society operates within the American Institute of Physics, an umbrella organization for ten other professional science societies.

The American Astronomical Society's most prestigious award, the Henry Norris Russell Lectureship, will be presented to Dr. Margaret J. Geller (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics) at the 2010 summer meeting in Miami.

Nine Society of Physics Students (SPS) chapters have received 2010 Sigma Pi Sigma Undergraduate Research Awards to fund chapter research projects. The awards provide calendar year grants to support local chapter activities that are deemed imaginative and likely to contribute to the strengthening of the SPS program.

Funds for the program come from the Sigma Pi Sigma physics honor society, which operates within SPS. This unique two-in-one society is housed within the American Institute of Physics.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information, please contact:
Marilyn Gardner, American Association of Physics Teachers
(301) 209-3306 (office)
mgardner@aapt.org

College Park, Maryland, United States, February 25, 2010 -- Great physics educators inspire the best high school minds in the United States and some of the best educators are listed, together with their students, at http://www.aapt.org/physicsteam/2010/info.cfm. The American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) today announced the top students chosen to advance to the Semifinal round of U.S. Physics Team selection. Approximately 3,200 students participated in this first phase of the selection process, the Fnet=ma Exam, in January.

About the International Physics Olympiad: AAPT began the program in 1986 to promote and demonstrate academic excellence. The International Physics Olympiad (IPHO) is a nine-day competition among pre-university students from more than 80 nations. The 2010 Olympiad will be held in Zagreb, Croatia, from July 17-25.

U.S. Physics Team Selection: AAPT is responsible for recruiting, selecting and training the U.S. Physics Team each year to compete in the IPHO Competition. This selection process begins in early January when high schools register their students to participate in the Fnet=ma exam. Approximately 300 top scorers on this first test will advance to the Semifinal round of competition.

A second exam is used as the basis for selection of the 24 members of the U.S. Physics Team. In May these students will travel from schools all over the United States, to the University of Maryland-College Park to the U.S. Physics Team Training Camp. There, they engage in nine days of intense studying, mystery lab, daily exams, and problem solving.

At the end of that training camp, five students and an alternate will be selected as the "Traveling Team" to represent the United States at the IPhO. In July, the Traveling Team and their coaches will attend a three day Mini Camp of intense laboratory work before moving on to the IPhO.

Funding for the U.S. Physics Team is supported through donations from concerned individuals and organizations. Contributions are entirely used to support the selection, training, and travel of the team. Donations to the U.S. Physics Team are accepted at www.aapt.org/physicsteam/donate.cfm.

The US Physics Olympiad Program is a joint initiative of AAPT in partnership with the member societies of the American Institute for Physics (AIP): Acoustical Society of America, American Association of Physicists in Medicine, American Astronomical Society, American Crystallographic Society, American Geophysical Union, American Physical Society, AVS, Optical Society America, and the Society of Rheology.

About AAPT: AAPT (www.aapt.org) is the premier national organization and authority on physics and physical science education --with more than 10,000 members worldwide. Our mission is to advance the greater good through physics teaching. We provide our members with many opportunities for professional development, communication, and student enrichment. We serve the larger community through a variety of programs and publications. AAPT was founded in 1930 and is headquartered in the American Center for Physics in College Park, Maryland.