eNNOUNCER November, 2010

AAPT National Election

The election of officers for Executive Board service beginning in 2011 is in process until midnight (eastern daylight time) November 5. Candidate bios are online at http://aapt.org/aboutaapt/organization/2010_elections.cfm.

Nominations are open for the 2011 election. Information on positions up for the 2011 election, including a link to the Nomination Form, is available at http://aapt.org/aboutaapt/nominate.cfm.
Please vote today.

2011 Winter Meeting in Jacksonville, FL

January 8-12, 2011
Earlybird dealine is November 1st!
Register for the meeting now! This is your chance to come together with over 800 of your peers to discuss current physics teaching techniques and learn firsthand what teachers around the country are doing to improve physics education.
Highlights of the 2011 Winter Meeting’s program include:

Professional Development Workshops

• Using the Wii for Fun and Physics
• Grant Writing 101: Grant Writing Workshop for New Faculty
• SACS Friday H.S. Teacher Workshop: Nuclear Education Coastal Georgia College Camden Campus
• And many more to choose from...

AAPT Symposium on Education Policy: Having an Impact, Improving the Landscape, featuring

• U.S. Congressman and Physicist, Vernon J. Ehlers
• Michael Lach - Special Assistant for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education, U.S. Department of Education
  
• Dahlia Sokolov - Research and Science Education Subcommittee , House Committee on Science and Technology
• Noah Finkelstein, University of Colorado, Boulder, Symposium Chair

Featured Sessions

• Rutherford: His Life and Legacy
• Using Robotics to Teach Physics
• Extended Investigations in 5-9 Classrooms
• Status of Women in Physics

Plenary Speakers

• Fred Dylla (AIP) "One Hundred Years of Nuclear Physics"
• Lee Peddicord (Texas A&M University), "The State of the Art in Nuclear Power: Breeder Reactors and Beyond"
• Nancy Mendenhall (Proton Therapy Institute), "State of the Art Nuclear Medicine: Proton Therapy"

Special Events

• UF Proton Therapy Institute Tour
• Marie Curie Theatrical Production
• Tour of St. Augustine
• Return of the AAPT 5K Walk/Run
• Jacksonville Walking Tour

The post-deadline abstracts deadline is November 17. Submit a post deadline abstract.

Book your room at the Hyatt Regency for the low conference rate. Cutoff date for reservations at the group rate is December 16, 2010.

Also, in an effort to keep costs low, American Airlines is offering a 5% discount on airfare for our attendees. Enter the promotional code: 5511AQ. Get 2011 Winter Meeting updates by following us on Twitter (@physicsteachers) and be sure to use the conference hashtag #aaptwm11 in your tweets! You can also find meeting updates and more on our Facebook page.

Save the Date:
Summer Meeting 2011, July 30-August 3 (Omaha, NE)
Winter Meeting 2012, February 4-8 (Ontario, CA)
Summer Meeting 2012, July 28-August 1 (Philadelphia, PA)

USTREAM—Meet and Greet the Executive Officers

Are you interested in meeting the current and incoming Executive Officers of the American Association of Physics Teachers? Join Warren Hein, current Executive Officer, and Beth Cunningham, incoming Executive Officer, during a USTREAM session on November 16, 2010, at 4:00 p.m EST. Warren and Beth will discuss projects, programs, and activities offered by AAPT. To join the session, please go to http://www.ustream.tv/channel/aapt-new-executive-officer-meet-greet. In order to direct your questions to Warren and Beth using the online chat feature during the session, you will need to signup with and logon to USTREAM. This session is a part of AAPT’s exploration and expansion into new web technologies to reach out to current and prospective members. If you are unable to join Warren and Beth, the session will be recorded for viewing on USTREAM at your convenience.

Seeking New Editor for the American Journal of Physics

The American Association of Physics Teachers is seeking a new Editor for the American Journal of Physics to transition into the post by January 2012. See the press release for more information.
http://www.aapt.org/aboutaapt/pressreleases/new_ajp_editor.cfm

Are You a New Physics Teacher? Could You Use a Little Help?

The AAPT ementoring program is designed to connect pre-college physics educators in need of additional guidance with experienced pre-college physics educators. Based on each mentee's profile, the program will find the most qualified mentor to fit the needs of that mentee. Once the mentee is matched with their mentor, they can start communicating through email, voice chat, telephone, or in some cases face-to-face. All participants will have an opportunity to grow professionally and connect with colleagues at a regional or national level. Learn more at http://ementoring.aapt.org.

Grant and Scholarship Deadlines

The deadline for applications is December 1, 2010, for the following grants and scholarship.

Barbara Lotze Scholarship for Future Teachers

Frederick & Florence Bauder Endowment

High School Physics Teacher Grant

U.S. Physics Team Registration and Exam Dates

The U.S. Physics Team program is a competition for high school students to represent the United States at the annual International Physics Olympiad Competition. Preliminary exam dates are January 18-28, 2011. See www.aapt.org/physicsteam for registration information.

Need a Great Science Intern?

The AAPT Career Center is now offering a FREE online-only posting to employers recruiting seasonal interns. Get the word out and reach the future of the science community—AAPT's membership, as well as the members and student members of APS, AVS, and the IEEE Computer Society (if a computer-related internship). Your intern posting will also appear on the Physics Today Jobs site. Login to or create your Employer account at http://careers.aapt.org/hr/index.cfm to get started. Free posting valid on 60-day internship postings ONLY. "Internship" Job Level must be selected when posting to access this offer.

Local AAPT Sections will be hosting Physics Days at the 2010 NSTA Area Conferences

AAPT offers a full day of physics content at the NSTA Area Conferences. Physics Day consists of presentations on physics topics of current interest, physics demonstrations for the pre-college classroom and a make-and-take session. AAPT will be hosting a booth in the exhibit hall with giveaways and a raffle drawing!
2010 Area Conference in Baltimore - Friday, November 12, 2010
2010 Area Conference in Nashville - Friday, December 3, 2010

"Why I Belong" Membership Video Contest

The AAPT Membership Committee in conjunction with the membership department invites members to create original videos about why you belong to the association. Approved videos will then be posted on the AAPT YouTube Channel. Entrants will submit their videos together with copyright transfer/entry agreement form to AAPT between August 15 and November 15, 2010. See contest rules for more information.

Second Conference on the Physics of Sustainable Energy: Efficiency and Renewables

A popular energy workshop is making a repeat performance. On March 5-6, 2011, at UC Berkeley (Evans Hall 10), under the sponsorship of the APS Forum-Physics/Society, the APS Topical Group on Energy Research and Applications, and the American Association of Physics Teachers, international experts will give the technical background to understand the issues connected with using energy more efficiently and producing it renewably.
The event sold out last time, so sign up in advance at www.calpoly.edu/~dhafemei or http://www.aps.org/units/fps/meetings/energy/.

Pennsylvania Student Rocketeers Exhibit at White House Science Fair

Two members from this year’s winning squad of the Team America Rocketry Challenge exhibited their champion rocket at the White House Science Fair October 18, 2010. Nathan Bernhardt and Jordan Franssen from TARC champion Penn Manor High School in Pennsylvania, along with Brian Osmolinski, a physics teacher and director of the rocket club, attended a White House event recognizing student excellence in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. At the White House Science Fair, President Obama viewed exhibits of winning student projects and delivered remarks congratulating the students on their diligence, desire to tackle hard problems, and drive to invent and discover. See the web version.
Registration for the spring 2011 Team America Rocketry Challenge is open through November 30, 2010 for student teams in grades 7-12 from any U.S. school, home school, or non-profit youth organization.
http://www.aapt.org/Programs/contests/rocket.cfm

PhysTEC News, Fall 2010 Edition

The Fall 2010 edition of the Physics Teacher Education Coalition newsletter introduces the new funded sites, profiles PhysTEC teachers and a Teacher-in-Residence, features the national Task Force on Teacher Education in Physics, and provides perspectives on broader issues surrounding physics teacher preparation.Read the newsletter: http://www.phystec.org/newsletter/fall10.pdf

PhysTEC Request for Proposals

The Physics Teacher Education Coalition (PhysTEC) requests proposals for new sites to develop model physics teacher education programs. Proposals are solicited for two levels of support, $100k per year or $25k per year, for up to three years. Minority-serving institutions are strongly encouraged to apply.
An initial letter is due November 5. A webinar on October 18 at 1 p.m. EDT will discuss the RFP. More information and the program solicitation are available at http://www.phystec.org/solicitation

2011 Physics Teacher Education Coalition Conference

The annual Physics Teacher Coalition Conference is the nation's largest meeting dedicated to physics teacher education. The 2011 conference will be held May 23-24 at he AT&T Conference Center in Austin, TX. The meeting will focus on Building Sustainable Teacher Education Programs. It features workshops, panel discussions and presentations by national leaders as well as excellent networking opportunities. The 2011 conference will be held jointly with the UTeach-NMSI Institute Annual Conference. Learn more at http://www.ptec.org/conferences/2011/

Grand Opening!—Physics Outreach Clearinghouse on The Nucleus

Whether your favorite physics demo involves Spandex or explosions, you should check out the new Physics Outreach Clearinghouse, http://www.the-nucleus.org/outreach/!
Groups providing physics demonstrations or planetarium visits can submit their listing to be included in the Clearinghouse, and groups desiring a science demo team to visit their school can glean contact information and other vital details about outreach groups near them. Over 40 outreach provider groups are listed already, with many more to come.
The Nucleus is a ComPADRE collection designed specifically to serve as an informational touchpoint and online community for undergraduate physics and astronomy students, providing much-used resources such as the Undergraduate Research Clearinghouse, where tens of thousands of students peruse the thousands of summer positions each year. Undergraduates are encouraged to register and participate in the growth of the site—the more visitors we have coming through and providing thoughts, opinions, and further content, the more valuable this site will become!
Users of the Nucleus are encouraged to actively participate. In addition to exploring outreach and research options, they may vote in polls, participate in competitions, share thoughts, suggest materials for the editor to include in the collection, and build personal collections of materials. Although anyone may use the database, participation requires the creation of a user account so that contributions can be connected to the user. Account creation is free and requires only a name and email address.

Workshop on Active Learning with Video Analysis

June 20-24, 2011, at Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, NY
The LivePhoto Physics project is offering an NSF-funded 5-day workshop for university and college faculty interested in using digital video analysis in student research, lectures, tutorials, homework assignments, and laboratories. The workshop will cover both normal and high speed capture and analysis techniques for a range of topic areas such as mechanics, thermal physics, wave propagation, electricity, magnetism, and optics.
For more information visit: livephoto.rit.edu/workshops/ or contact Robert.Teese@rit.edu.

2010 Nobel Prize in Physics

On October 5, the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov of the University of Manchester, U.K. for their pioneering work with graphene, a single-atom-thick sheet of carbon.

2009 Nobel Prize in Physics Poster

In 2009, Charles Kao, Willard Boyle and Charles Smith were respectively recognized for "groundbreaking achievements concerning the transmission of light in fibers for optical communication," and "the invention of an imaging semiconductor circuit—the CCD sensor." Each year, the Academy produces a poster detailing the achievements of the award recipients for that year. AAPT is pleased to offer this popular item to its members free of charge, while supplies last. Order yours today from the AAPT Physics Store. We ask that you limit your request to 3 per member and simply pay the postage cost of $6.00 for U.S. customers or $14.00 for international. For more information, please contact Member Services at membership@aapt.org or by phone at 301-209-3333.

New Video on Physicsworld.com

A passion for fusion: nuclear research and science communication
Melanie Windridge talks about why she devotes so much energy to scientific outreach. http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/multimedia/44088

BLAST! Synopsis

BLAST! is astrophysics Indiana Jones style, a spectacular and suspenseful story of space exploration! Five-time Emmy winner, Paul Devlin, follows his brother, Mark Devlin, PhD, as he leads a tenacious team of scientists on the journey of a lifetime from Arctic Sweden to the desolate ice of Antarctica. By launching a revolutionary new telescope on a NASA high-altitude balloon, they hope to reveal a hidden Universe of never-before-seen star-burst galaxies, providing clues to the evolution of everything. From catastrophic failure to transcendent triumph, their adventure reveals the surprising real life of scientists. BLAST!, the science adventure film, gets its NY broadcast premiere on Thursday, November 4th, 8pm 2010 on WNET-NY.
BLAST Reviews and Press
Watch BLAST's astrophysicist Mark Devlin go head to head with Stephen Colbert: http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/246562/august-13-2009/mark-devlin
The magic formula for a successful mainstream science movie. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and you'll walk away astounded. –Discovery Space
http://blogs.discovery.com/space_disco/2008/10/blast-yourself.html
NPR's Science Friday with Ira Flatow
http://www.sciencefriday.com/program/archives/200906265

NASA Wants Student Innovators For 2011 Great Moonbuggy Race

Four decades after the first NASA lunar rover rolled across the surface of the moon, innovative students are preparing to design and build a new generation of wheeled wonders.
Registration is open for the 18th annual NASA Great Moonbuggy Race, set for April 1-2, 2011, in Huntsville, AL. Participating schools and institutions may register one or two vehicles and teams. Registration closes Feb. 1.
http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2010/oct/HQ_10-262_Moonbuggy_Race.html

Knowles Science Teaching Foundation Fellowship

The Knowles Science Teaching Foundation is now accepting submissions for the 2011 fellowship. Educators have opportunity to receive the competitive Fellowship, renewable for up to five years and valued at up to $150,000. Submissions are done online at www.kstf.org and due by 5pm EST Wednesday, January 12, 2011.

Foundations and Frontiers of Physics Education Research: Puget Sound Conference

March 17-20, 2011 on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State
The conference will provide a forum for examining and articulating the current state of the field, exploring future directions, and discussing ways to pursue promising avenues of research.
http://www.compadre.org/per/features/newsdetail.cfm?id=323

Council On Undergraduate Research: Posters on the Hill 2011

Call for Abstracts
It is increasingly important that the undergraduate research community works to ensure that those in the U.S. Congress who provide funding for research and education have a clear understanding of the programs they fund and why these programs are important. Undergraduate research must be among those programs that members of Congress understand if it is to continue to be supported.
Nothing more effectively demonstrates the value of undergraduate research than the words and stories of the student participants themselves. In the Spring of 2011 the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) will host its 15th annual undergraduate poster session on Capitol Hill. This event will help members of Congress understand the importance of undergraduate research by talking directly with the students whom these programs impact. Deadline for submissions is November 15. More information at www.cur.org/pohcall.html.

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