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AAPT NEWS

January 2008

From the Editors
Published January 15, 2008

Highlights in this issue: a commentary from outgoing President Harvey Leff, a commentary from Winter Meeting Program Chair Alex Dickison, and much more. We hope you find AAPT NEWS useful and we welcome your feedback: Please write and tell us.

Action Items and Notable Dates
News for Members

President's Commentary
Perspiration and Inspiration: Lessons for Teachers
By Harvey Leff

Guest Commentary
Preparing for the Baltimore Meeting
By Alex Dickison

Watch for New Enhancements Coming to AAPT.org
Soon, the AAPT website will feature an improved member logon process; new, easier-to-complete forms; and host of other enhancements to streamline how you do business with AAPT. Watch the AAPT home page for more details coming soon.

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

2008 AAPT High School Photo Contest Now Open
Visit the contest home page for details and deadlines associated with this popular event for high school students:
http://aapt.org/Contests/photocontest.cfm

Hilborn Appointed UT Dallas Program Head
Robert Hilborn, AAPT Senior Fellow for College and University Programming, has been appointed Program Head of the Department of Science/Mathematics Education at the University of Texas at Dallas. Read more here:
http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2007/12/19-001.html

2008 AAAS Leadership in Science Education Prize
Nominations are now being accepted for this $1,000 prize that honors a high school science teacher who has advanced science education by developing an innovative and effective strategy, activity, or program. Deadline: March 2. For more information:
http://www.aaas.org/aboutaaas/awards/hs_scied_leadership

Nanobowl Video Contest: Win World's Smallest Trophy!
You could win the smallest trophy ever made—and $1,000 of (normal-sized) cash—in the PhysicsCentral Nano Bowl Video Contest. For more details, visit:
http://www.physicscentral.com/nanobowl/index.html

Legislative Action Center
Visit the Legislative Action Center and make your voice heard.

Phys. Rev. Focus: Current Research Presented for Students
Physical Review Focus provides student-friendly write-ups of newly published Physical Review articles. Stories often draw on textbook physics concepts. You can sign up for weekly e-mail updates or the RSS feed. Published by APS. Visit:
http://focus.aps.org

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

News from the Central Office

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 next week (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: Marketing Coordinator
Review the position description here:
http://aapt.org/aboutaapt/updates/2008-Announcements.cfm#MKTCOORD

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

Interactive Scheduler for Baltimore Meeting
AAPT's interactive program scheduler and itinerary builder is online here:
http://www.aapt.org/scheduler/wm2008

AAPT Annual Meetings: Save the Dates
  • Summer 2008, July 19-23 (Edmonton, Alberta); U.S. Citizens: Passports will be required for travel to Canada.
  • 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)
ASABE Multi-Media Competition for High School Students
The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineer's is now excepting entries for a multi-media competition. Participants must register by January 25th and submit their entries by February 8, 2008. For more information visit:
http://www.asabe.org/pr/asabe100comp/asabe100info.html

University of Dayton Chautauqua Center Summer Short Courses
A complete listing of offerings is available at this site:
http://campus.udayton.edu/~physics/gkm/chau/
Application Deadline: February 15

2008 PTEC National Conference
The Physics Teacher Education Coalition (PTEC) will host its fourth annual national conference on the preparation of physics and physical science teachers from February 29 to March 1 in Austin, TX. For more information visit:
http://www.ptec.org/conferences/2008

International Year of Astronomy: A Hands-on Symposium
At this symposium, education and outreach professionals will gather to discuss international, regional, and local programs for the International Year of Astronomy in 2009, which celebrates the 400th anniversary of the astronomical telescope. The symposium is part of the Annual Meeting of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific and takes place June 2-4, 2008, in St. Louis, MO. For more information, visit:
http://www.astrosociety.org/2008meeting

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 twice in 2008 (June 16-20 or 23-27) at Dickinson College. 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 Modeling Workshops
Shady Side Academy (Pittsburgh, PA) is presenting a workshop series (beginning on July 7 and July 14, 2008) designed for secondary school teachers interested in bringing a physics modeling approach to their teaching. For more details, contact dliebmann@shadysideacademy.org or visit:
http://shadysideacademy.org/discovery/documents/2008PhysicsModelingWorkshops.pdf

MIT-Harvard Program for Prospective Science Teachers
The MIT-Harvard Center for Ultracold Atoms is sponsoring a summer program (June 22-August 5, 2008) for undergraduate physics majors who are considering a career in pre-college science teaching. The organizers would appreciate your passing on word to any students you think might be interested. For more visit:
http://www.rle.mit.edu/cua/new/tops.asp

AAPM To Offer Workshop on Teaching Physics
"How We Learn and How We Should Teach Physics” workshop will be offered from July 31 to Aug 3, 2008, in League City, TX. For more details, visit: 
http://www.aapm.org/meetings/08workshop/default.asp

AAPT Fall Chesapeake Section Meeting
The meeting will be held November 4-5 at the American Center for Physics in College Park, MD. For more information or to register for the meeting go to:
http://www.udel.edu/physics/csaapt
Recommended Reading

American Journal of Physics
Article of the Month
"On the Potential of a Chemical Bonds: Possible Effects of Steroids on Home Run Production in Baseball" by R.G. Tobin
(AJP online subscribers only, PDF)

The Physics Teacher
"The Evolution Debate" by George V. Coyne
(TPT online subscribers only, PDF)
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 Central Office. It is published monthly on or about the 15th. All issues are archived here. Other stories of significance appear in our Announcements Archive and our archive of Press Releases.

E-mail news items, comments, and suggestions to: news@aapt.org.

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 AAPT NEWS may expire over time.