The Society of Physics Students (SPS) has awarded 20 Leadership Scholarships to undergraduate physics majors for the 2009-10 academic year. The five top awardees receiving $3,000 SPS Outstanding Leadership Scholarships are Maria Drout, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA; Logan Hancock, Angelo State University, San Angelo, TX; Michael Jokubaitis, Drew University, Madison, NJ; Tyler McCleery, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS; and Jenna Smith, Rhodes College, Memphis, TN. Fifteen $2,000 awards were also given in a variety of categories. The purpose of the SPS Scholarship program is to encourage the study of physics and the pursuit of high scholarship. SPS derives most of its support from the American Institute of Physics (AIP). SPS awards and scholarship programs are made possible, in part, through the generous contributions of Sigma Pi Sigma members and friends.
Recently in Sigma Pi Sigma Category
Dr. Karen Williams, professor of physics at East Central University, Ada, OK, has been awarded The Worth Seagondollar Service Award in recognition of her extraordinary level of service and commitment to the Society of Physics Students (SPS) and Sigma Pi Sigma, the physics honor society. Williams received the award at the 2008 Sigma Pi Sigma Quadrennial Congress, held at Fermilab in Batavia, IL. The award recognizes her "service as a chapter adviser, zone councilor and president of the SPS, overseeing a great expansion of the role of president and the precedent-setting 2004 Sigma Pi Sigma Congress."
The Society of Physics Students (SPS) and Sigma Pi Sigma are joining organizations around the country and the world in celebration of the International Year of Astronomy (IYA 2009) and the Year of Science (YoS 2009). The SPS National Council chose A Universe of Wonder as the theme for 2009 in honor of these celebrations.
IYA 2009 commemorates the 400 years since Galileo first turned a telescope to the skies and all that we have learned in that time. To spread the sense of wonder and surprise that Galileo must have felt at seeing craters on the Moon and satellites orbiting Jupiter, SPS joins other IYA 2009 participants in their cornerstone project to help one million students build a telescope similar to Galileo's and look out to the same objects that inspired him. Dubbed "Galileoscopes," these working scientific instruments will be an integral part of the 2009 SPS SOCKs (Science Outreach Catalyst Kits).
How do we know what we know? From astronomy to zoology, YoS 2009 aims to increase public understanding of the process and nature of science. SPS has collaborated with the APS and other organizations in the COPUS network (Coalition on the Public Understanding of Science) to produce experiments, stories, physicist profiles, games, videos and other content for March's "Physics & Technology" thematic hub on the YoS 2009 website. As part of this effort, SPS is spearheading an experiment on the science of rolling objects. Anyone can contribute data by doing a few rolling experiments and submitting the results on the YoS 2009 website.
Sigma Pi Sigma, the physics honor society, is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2009 Sigma Pi Sigma Chapter Project Awards. These annual awards recognize chapter efforts to raise public awareness of the honor society, build Sigma Pi Sigma's student and alumni communities, and promote inter-chapter activities. The winning chapters receive $500 to help them achieve proposed activities. They are: Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA; East Central University, Ada, OK; University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD; Mesa State College, Grand Junction, CO; and Penn State University, University Park, PA.
You are invited to participate in the 2008 Sigma Pi Sigma Quadrennial Congress! This meeting is hosted by Sigma Pi Sigma, the physics honor society, but is open to all members of the science community. It will be held at Fermilab, in Batavia, IL, November 6-8, 2008. We believe that this is the only national physics meeting specifically designed to bring undergraduates, practicing physicists and physics alumni together to address common concerns for the discipline and for society. The theme of the 2008 Congress is Scientific Citizenship: Connecting Physics and Society. We will explore the greater role of the physicist in our society through round-table discussions, distinguished speakers, and historical perspectives.
Sigma Pi Sigma, the physics honor society, is proud to announce the recipients of the 2008 Sigma Pi Sigma Chapter Project Awards. These annual awards recognize chapter efforts to raise public awareness of the honor society, build Sigma Pi Sigma's student/alumni community, and promote inter-chapter activities. The winning chapters receive $500 to help them achieve proposed activities. They are: Mesa State College in Grand Junction, CO; St. Mary's University in San Antonio, TX; The University of Central Florida in Orlando, FL; and University at Louisville in Louisville, KY.
