OverviewThis first Symposium on Physics Education was held January 10 in Seattle, WA.
Leaders in business, government, physics, and in science education at the school and college levels addressed a number of pertinent questions at the Symposium:
- Why do we need a strong workforce in science and engineering?
- What should be the role of physics education in developing this workforce?
- Are recent increases in the numbers of students in physics a supportive trend?
- What sort of local action and new thinking are needed to sustain this trend?
A brighter economic future depends on an energized workforce in science and engineering. The National Academies’ 2005 report, Rising Above the Gathering Storm, and the 2006 workforce benchmarks developed by the Task Force on the Future of American Innovation support this observation and make recommendations for attracting America’s best talent and the best talent from around the world into the sciences and engineering. These reports are influencing major public discussions and decisions on national competitiveness and are calling the physics community to coordinated action.
View the Symposium program here (PDF).
Summary materials including a transcript will be available at this site shortly.
Speakers
- Mary Jean Ryan, Chair, Washington State Board of Education; Director, the City of Seattle’s Office of Policy and Management; and Former Associate Deputy Administrator for Economic Development for the U.S. Small Business Administration
- Jeanne Narum, Director, Project Kaleidoscope; Moderator
- Van Eden, Academic Programs Director, Microsoft Corporation
- Michael Neuschatz, Senior Research Associate, American Institute of Physics
- Kenneth Krane, Professor Emeritus of Physics, Oregon State University
- Arthur Bienenstock, Special Assistant to the President for Federal Research Policy at Stanford University
The Symposium was organized by the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT).
Sponsor
Overcoming Gravity was sponsored by M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust (http://www.murdock-trust.org) and in kind, by Microsoft Corporation (http://www.microsoft.com)
