eNNOUNCER October 2018

"AAPT continues to follow the ongoing recovery efforts from the recent hurricanes and fires. As always, our thoughts are with those impacted by these and other devastating events. We also extend our offer to provide any support possible and encourage you to contact us directly if we can be of assistance."

AAPT News

Message from AAPT's President - Gordon Ramsey

I hope that your semester has started well. By now, we are well into the fall semester and a new academic year. Meanwhile, your Board of Directors has been working for you to advance the organization. We have established two new programs to move us forward. The first is an Early Career Emerging Leader Award for newer members to eventually become more deeply involved in AAPT governance. Read more

Preview of New AAPT.ORG Website

AAPT is in the process of creating a new public website. The current website design will be replaced with the new design in the near future. To give the membership a sense of how the new site will look and feel, a test site has been developed. The test site is not set up for transactions and links to pages or sites other than the test site should not be used for entering data. The test site is for inspection only and can be found at https://dev.aapt.org. Please take this opportunity to see what the new site will be like. Feedback can be sent to feedback@aapt.org.

2018 AAPT Board of Directors Election

The election of officers for the AAPT Board of Directors began in September. Members should have received instructions through email or, if no email is on file, through the mail to help you vote electronically. Learn more about the candidates. Read more

2018 Summer Meeting Highlights

With almost 1400 attendees, the 2018 Summer Meeting can be viewed as a huge success. The 2018 Summer Meeting was held at the Renaissance Washington D.C. Hotel and Washington Marriott Marquis with workshops at The George Washington University (GWU) in Science and Engineering Hall and Corcoran Hall. Read more

See photos from the 2018 Summer Meeting. Click here

2019 AAPT Winter Meeting

The 2019 AAPT Winter Meeting will be held in Houston, Texas, January 12-15.

Abstract Submission
AAPT will be accepting post-deadline abstracts from September 30 to November 13. All post-deadline abstracts will be scheduled on January 15 in the last session of the day. This is a great opportunity to present your innovative research and share creative teaching methods with your peers. Please click here to submit your abstract.

Awardee and Plenary Speakers
AAPT has secured a diverse group of awardees and plenary speakers for the Winter Meeting. Please click here for more information.

Sessions/Workshops
Click here to view a list of session topics and workshops.

Registration
Registration is open! Please click here for more information.

Hotel
The 2019 AAPT Winter Meeting will take place at the Westin Galleria and the Westin Oaks Houston at the Galleria in Houston's Uptown district. Both hotels are connected by the Galleria Shopping Center. Please click here for more information.

2019 AAPT Winter Meeting Awardees

Jack G. Hehn Recognized with AAPT’s 2019 Melba Newell Phillips Medal
The American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) announced today that the Melba Newell Phillips Medal will be awarded to Jack G. Hehn, AAPT Senior Fellow, College Park, MD, in recognition of his creative leadership and dedicated service that have resulted in exceptional contributions within AAPT. The Medal will be presented during the AAPT 2019 Winter Meeting in Houston Texas. Read more

Gay Stewart to Receive AAPT 2019 Oersted Medal
Gay Stewart has been named as the 2019 recipient of the prestigious Hans Christian Oersted Medal, presented by the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT). The Medal will be awarded at a Ceremonial Session of the 2019 AAPT Winter Meeting, in Houston Texas. The Oersted Medal recognizes her outstanding, widespread, and lasting impact on the teaching of physics through her pioneering national leadership in physics education, her exceptional service to AAPT, and her mentoring of students and in-service teachers. Read more

AAPT Job Opportunity

AAPT has an opening for a full-time K-12 Program Manager. The ideal candidate should have at least four years' experience teaching physics in U.S. high schools. For further details click here.

AAPT Privacy Statement Update

Privacy laws in the European Union changed on May 25, 2018. In an effort to strengthen your privacy rights, AAPT has updated its Privacy Statement. The update is part of AAPT’s ongoing commitment to provide transparency and safeguard your privacy. Changes include new information about how we process personal data. We encourage you to review the new privacy statement to familiarize yourself with the changes that have been made. These updates went into effect for all existing AAPT members and users of AAPT websites on May 25, 2018. Your continued use of AAPT’s Membership Services from that day on are subject to the updated privacy statement. Please review your member account preferences.

eAlliances: Uniting Isolated Women Physicists and Astronomers

Everyone needs mentors, but how do you find other women physicists who understand your experience-- as the only Hispanic in the department, the only PER researcher, the only full-time physicist at your TYC, the only one who brings a newborn in a sling to department meetings? Join eAlliances, an NSF-sponsored faculty development project for women physics faculty, and become part of a peer-mentoring alliance with other women who share many of your same experiences.

Why me?

• Connect with other women physicists and astronomers
• Get and give advice and affirmation
• Gather a variety of insights to help you address professional issues
• Address work-life balance issues
• Receive encouragement and support in achieving your goals

This is professional development for your career stage: whether you are teaching your first or hundredth section of intro physics; mentoring your first or hundredth research associate, or leading your first or hundredth committee meeting. Someone else has a similar experience and can share insights, frustrations, and successes.

To join: Register at eAlliances.aapt.org

AAPT-ALPhA Award is Now Open for Nominations

AAPT and ALPhA (Advanced Laboratory Physics Association) have announced the AAPT/ALPhA Award for undergraduate physics students who have built (and possibly designed), and left as a legacy for future students an advanced laboratory experiment. Do you have a student (or team of students) who might be interested in taking up the challenge to build an experiment new to their own department and possibly receive national recognition, attend a national AAPT meeting, present an invited talk, and receive a check for $4,000? The nomination process is now open. Applications need to be completed by September 30. Read more or Apply. Funding for this award, for the first five years, is provided by TeachSpin, Inc.

Recruit STEM Interns from the Best Job Sites for FREE!

The AAPT Career Center offers no-cost postings to employers recruiting seasonal interns. Locate the best fit for your organization by reaching the future of the science community - the AAPT membership, as well as the members and student members of the American Physical Society (APS Physics), AVS Science and Technology, and the Society of Physics Students and Sigma Pi Sigma.

Get the word out! Your posting will also appear on the Physics Today Jobs site, which when combined with the job sites of the organizations mentioned above forms the ultimate online science, engineering, and computing career network, ensuring maximum relevant visibility for your internship. Visit https://jobs.aapt.org/employers/ to get posting!

AAPT Programs

Support the U.S. Physics Team - Donate Now

Each year AAPT sponsors a competition for high school students to represent the United States at the International Physics Olympiad Competition. The mission of the U.S. Physics Team Program is to promote and demonstrate academic excellence through preparation for and participation in the International Physics Olympiad. AAPT is responsible for recruiting, selecting and training teams each year to compete in the International Physics Olympiad Competition. Your contribution is needed to support these high school students as they prepare to represent the U.S. internationally. Donate now!

2019 F=ma Contest Open

AAPT and the American Institute of Physics (AIP) sponsor a competition for high school students to represent the United States at the 2019 International Physics Olympiad. The mission of the U.S. Physics Team Program is to promote and demonstrate academic excellence through preparation for and participation in the International Physics Olympiad. The selection process begins with the F=ma exam. Online registration will open October 2, 2018.

2018 U.S. Physics Team Wins Three Gold and Two Silver Medals

The United States Physics Team ranked seventh place out of 88 countries in the overall medal count and sixth in the aggregate point count at the 48th International Physics Olympiad that was held July 21–29, 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal. Read more

2018 High School Physics Photo Contest

One of the fun opportunities during the AAPT Summer Meeting is reviewing and voting on the top 100 photos as selected by the Committee on Physics in High Schools under the direction of Tommi Holsenbeck. The votes have been tallied and the winning entries are posted. View here Congratulations to the winning students and their teachers.

2018 Contest Winners
Natural
1st Place – Magic Light, Yining Lu
2nd Place – Ring around the Rainbow, Aurelia Eden Balkanski
3rd Place – Message to the Stars, Ari Kutzer
Hon. Mention – Jump, Nathaniel Ray Wilson
Hon. Mention – The Dancing Wavelengths Eupholus Bennetti, Weston James Bell-Geddes

Contrived
1st Place – Finger Pickin’ Good, Nicolas Gonzalez
2nd Place – Red Heart, Kendelle Noel Fagan
3rd Place – Splashed Water Turned into Ice, Luanyin Huang
Hon. Mention – Converging Paradise, Eric Kraybill
Hon. Mention – Layers of Reflection, Emily Noelle Fears
2018 Top 100

The Frederick and Florence Bauder Endowment

The Frederick and Florence Bauder Endowment provides grants to support special activities in the area of physics teaching. The deadline for applications to request funds is December 1.

Physics and Astronomy New Faculty Workshop

The next Physics and Astronomy New Faculty Workshop will be held October 25-28, 2018 in College Park, MD. This NSF-funded project now reaches about 50% of the new tenure-track hires in physics and astronomy in the United States. More information about the workshop is available at https://aapt.org/Conferences/newfaculty/nfw.cfm

Workshop for Experienced Physics and Astronomy Faculty Members

Thanks to generous support from the National Science Foundation, AAPT in collaboration with the American Physical Society and the American Astronomical Society is hosting a workshop December 7-9, 2018 in Arlington, VA aimed at tenured faculty members (or equivalent) who want to learn more about effective physics and astronomy teaching practices and the evidence for the effectiveness of those practices in their roles as department leaders, mentors for junior faculty members, and physics and astronomy educators. The workshop will have a mix of interactive sessions with national leaders in physics education and small group discussions. An online registration form is available at portal.aapt.org/Event. Please register before November 5, 2018. Please apply early because the number of participant slots is limited. Also, please bring this notice to the attention of other faculty members who would benefit from attending the workshop. Limited financial support is available for travel and registration expenses for faculty at minority-serving institutions and from departments with severely limited financial resources. Contact Bob Hilborn rhilborn@aapt.org

AAPT Membership

AAPT Member Spotlight

Quinton L. Williams
Howard University
Washington, D.C.
Read More

Membership Renewal

We appreciate our community of members, and we are here to serve you. If you have any difficulties renewing your membership or have any membership-related questions, please do not hesitate to contact us in the Membership Department at 301.209.3333 or membership@aapt.org.

AAPT Members and the Global Survey of Scientists

Please help us better understand the status of scientists around the world. In September a representative sample of AAPT members will be invited via email to complete the Global Survey of Scientists. The goal of this global, multicultural, and multidisciplinary survey is to study social dynamics in astronomy, biology, chemistry, computing, mathematics, physics, and the history and philosophy of science and technology. The analysis will compare scientists’ and practitioners’ experiences, challenges, and interests across regions, countries, disciplines, sector of employment, and career stage. The insights gained will help the International Science Council and its member unions recommend interventions to increase participation of all people in STEM fields. Once the survey results are analyzed, the responses from AAPT members will be shared with AAPT leadership and membership. You will receive a message from me asking you to complete the survey. Please take a moment to do so.

Applications Now Being Accepted for Jossem Fund Grants

Applications are currently being accepted for the E. Leonard Jossem Fund. The E. Leonard (Len) Jossem International Education Fund provides grants to individuals in support of international programs dealing with teaching and learning of physics. The fund will be available for two different categories:

• Collaborations between U.S. and developing countries. Funding should facilitate interactions and exchanges of ideas between U.S. physics educators and/or students and those in developing countries.
• International meetings and conferences focused on physics education. Meetings and conferences should involve direct contact between physics educators and furnish the interactions that stimulate new ideas and lasting collaborations. Students and faculty with limited resources can apply for funding to attend international meetings and conferences.

The Jossem Fund invites applications from physics educators who are AAPT members at any academic stage or rank. Only AAPT members may apply. Awards will range from $200 to $2,000. Applications must be received by late spring or early summer (deadline is the same as the Special Projects Fund) for consideration during the 2018 fiscal year. Applications will be reviewed by the Special Projects and Philanthropy Committee. Click here for more information.

STEM Inclusion Study and AAPT Climate Report

AAPT recently participated in the STEM Inclusion Study, the first large-scale, national study to investigate the experiences of professionals from across STEM disciplines and industries to identify challenges that underrepresented individuals face in the profession. More information about the study and its goals is available on the study’s website https://www.steminclusion.com For a summary of the AAPT Climate Report, click here.

Teachers and Faculty Who Have Tutored Physics?

The AAPT Committee on the Interests of Senior Physicists (CISP) is considering organizing sessions or workshops on tutoring in physics and astronomy. We think that such sessions would be of particular interest to physics teachers looking for post-retirement occupations.

Do you know teacher or faculty member who has tutored physics at any level? If so, please send their names and email addresses to Charlie Holbrow, Chair of CISP (chholbrow@gmail.com). CISP would like to get in contact with them and learn about their experiences and explore how we might share these with interested colleagues.

The possibilities for tutoring online either on your own or through some online agency are of particular interest, but there are useful things to say about any sort of tutoring. CISP wants to gather information about all modes of tutoring physics and make the information widely available.

Support New Teachers This Fall!

Are you interested in the ways you can 'pay it forward'? Have thought about how you can truly impact the future? Consider supporting the next generation of physics teachers with your tax deductible donation to the AAPT New Teacher Fund. Your generosity helps to provide professional development opportunities to new, and early career educators, with a membership in AAPT. Proceeds from this fund underwrite much of the cost of membership dues and, enables us to expand our outreach efforts.

Physics Teacher Education Coalition (PhysTEC) Conference

Save the date for the Physics Teacher Education Coalition (PhysTEC) Conference! PhysTEC is the nation’s largest meeting dedicated to the education of future physics teachers. It features workshops on best practices, panel discussions by national leaders, and excellent networking opportunities for physics teacher educators. Registration opens in November. Learn more

The 5+ Club

School districts in the United States consistently rank physics as the highest teacher shortage area among all academic disciplines. The 5+ Club bridges the gap by reinforcing the efforts of colleges and universities to graduate more physics educators. Apply by October 26 to join the nationally recognized group of institutions that have graduated five or more physics teachers in the 2017-2018 academic year. Apply now

Call for Award Nominations

The AAPT Awards Committee invites nominations for all of AAPT awards, citations, and medals. We are particularly interested in nominations for AAPT Fellows and for the Homer L. Dodge Citation for Distinguished Service to AAPT.

Free Individual Membership in the Council on Undergraduate Research for Faculty in Institutions with Enhanced Membership

We wanted to bring to your attention that one of AAPT’s frequent collaborative organizations, the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) has an enhanced institutional member category. For a list of CUR’s enhanced members, please see this webpage. If you, and other faculty, administrators, and students are at a CUR enhanced member institution, your individual membership is FREE. All you need to do is to sign-up, remembering to choose the division of physics and astronomy as your “home” in CUR. CUR’s physics and astronomy division is very active, and more members would be welcome!

Please refer to the Membership Tab of the CUR website (https://www.cur.org)) hover over “Become a Member”, select the Individual Membership Online Application, and select your institution’s name from the dropdown list. A “pop up” message will announce that you have added onto the Enhanced Membership, click OK and complete the application form. Thanks for sharing this great opportunity to connect with CUR with your colleagues in physics and/or astronomy departments.

Chesapeake Section Fall Meeting

The Chesapeake Section of AAPT has our fall section meeting coming up Saturday, November 10th at Tidewater Community College in Virginia Beach, VA. More information is available online at www.csaapt.org.

First Year Revealed

Monday, 15 October 8 PM Eastern (Washington, DC)

Justine Boecker Harren is just beginning her second year of teaching. After graduating from Bethel University with degrees in Elementary Education and Physics Secondary Education. She took a position in an urban school in Minneapolis teaching 9th grade in a physics first classroom. Boecker Harren reflects, “I didn’t know what I was getting into when I took that job.” In the upcoming webinar, Boecker Harren reveals what she knew going in and what she wished she knew going in, and things that worked that first year and many things that didn’t.

Click here to register for the webinar

Infusing Engineering into the Science Classroom

Join other teachers seeking to integrate engineering into their science classroom with this unique professional development opportunity. Headed by AAPT/AIP Master Teacher Policy fellows Matthew Peterie and Andrew Edmondson, you will learn from experienced and skillful teachers. The cost will be $385 for individual attendee which includes your registration for the year long program and meals for the two days at Olathe Northwest. If a group of teachers from a building or district would like to attend, reduced pricing is available. After registering your team by completing the form below, subsequent correspondence will make arrangements for payment.

Sign up here

In the News

Nobel physicists on the move

With the Nobel Prize announcement coming out next week, the American Institute of Physics has created an interactive map as a Digital Object that tracks the places where Nobel physics laureates lived and worked. Read more

Melba Phillips Papers Now Online

The Niels Bohr Library & Archives (NBLA) at the American Institute of Physics has digitized the papers of physicist and physics educator Melba Phillips. The whole collection is now accessible to the public in NBLA’s online repository here. Click here to read a brief biography of Phillips and to learn about some of the interesting items in the collection.

2019-2020 AIP State Department Fellowship program

AIP is seeking applicants for the 2019-2020 AIP State Department Fellowship program. Fellows work at the department's headquarters in Washington, D.C., for a one-year term on topics at the intersection of science, policy, and international affairs. The deadline for applications is Oct. 15. We ask that you share this opportunity with your membership.

There are multiple opportunities to share and post about the fellowship:

• Attached is a flyer with more information, which you can post on your website, newsletter or emails to the membership.
• Direct link to the application webpage.
• Posting in AIP FYI. If you are subscribed to FYI, please forward the email to others.
• Tweet or retweet about the fellowship. See the following links Read more

Career Toolbox for Undergraduates

The Careers Toolbox for Undergraduate Physics Students is a set of tools and exercises designed to help undergraduate physics students prepare to enter the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics workforce. Tools range from exploring the common job titles of physics bachelor's to preparing for interviews, and are all geared specifically for physics students. This resource is brought to you by the American Institute of Physics and the Society of Physics Students. The 4th Edition is now ready for use.

Help students find the right grad program. Tell them about GradSchoolShopper.com

Advise your students in the new year to check out GradSchoolShopper.com, the most complete directory of graduate programs in the physical sciences.Students headed for graduate school can use this FREE service to search by degree programs, admission deadlines, research specialties, faculty profiles, GRE requirements, and more! New 2019 departmental data is now available. If your program isn’t listed, contact us to find out how to have it included.

Highly Trained STEM Teachers Needed to Boost America's Global Competitiveness, According to New Study

The United States' global competitiveness is at risk as the nation confronts persistent shortages of STEM teachers. More than half of all high school physics teachers lacked certification in the discipline in 2012, for example. As a result, students who are interested in STEM careers find themselves ill prepared to compete in an increasingly highly technical workforce.

A new study by the American Physical Society, in collaboration with the American Chemical Society, Computing Research Association, and Mathematics Teacher Education Partnership, addresses the reasons why STEM students shy away from teaching as a career and offers ways to counter the trend. Download the full report at www.aps.org/policy/reports.

The International Conference on Physics Education (ICPE)

Johannesburg, South Africa. October 1-5, 2018

The International Conference on Physics Education (ICPE) will be held October 1-5, 2018 in Johannesburg, South Africa. The theme of the conference is: “Physics Education for Development: a focus on context”. The main objective is to create a platform to facilitate the interaction of various stakeholders that includes physics educators, postgraduate students, teachers, researchers and policy makers working in physics education research and in physics education, from schools, colleges, universities and governments from all parts of the world.

The program will include a wide spectrum of presentations including keynote speakers, single and symposium oral presentations, posters and workshops. The conference will be held at the Misty Hills Hotel and Conference Centre, close to the Cradle of Humankind, a World Heritage Site and the famous Pilanesberg National Park. Click here for more information.

American Modeling Teachers Association

During the 2018 summer, almost 800 teachers attended one of the 49 Modeling Workshops, held in 14 different states. Plans are currently being made for the 2019 season, in which we hope to have workshops in Physics (mechanics, E&M, waves, computational Modeling: Physics First, light and sound), chemistry (first and second semester), biology, physical science and workshops for middle school teachers. The workshop information will be made available in the spring on the website.

Contact Wendy wendy@modelinginstruction.org.

AMTA adds 3 distance learning courses

AMTA acknowledges that summer Modeling Workshops may not work for all people who are interested in taking a workshop.

For the spring of 2019, we have scheduled 3 distance learning courses, based on the feedback of almost 500 members who recently completed a survey. The workshops start in January and costs are $825 for non-members (includes a one-year membership) or $750 for current members.

Optional graduate credits from Dominican University is available ($100 each, up to 3 credits per workshop).

Courses require a minimum number of registrants by December 21th in order to run. Enrollment is limited.

Details on the courses is available in the registration forms:

• For people who have taken a first semester chemistry Modeling Workshop, Brenda Royce and Larry Dukerich have agreed to lead a chemistry II course on Tuesday evenings. Read more

• For a second time, we are happy to announce the Intro to Modeling course, for people who have not taken a workshop prior, or would like to learn about Modeling in different content areas. This course will be given two evenings per week: Monday and Wednesday. Workshop leaders are being secured right now. Read more

• For the first time, we will have an advanced course: Advanced Modeling Instruction: Cognition and Instruction in STEM which will be hosted by Colleen Megowan-Romanowicz on Thursday evenings. Read more

Arizona State University Master of Natural Science Degree in Physics for Teachers

Arizona State University has an interdisciplinary Master of Natural Science (MNS) degree in physics for high school and two-year college teachers. Courses are in summer, and the degree is founded on Modeling Instruction. Teachers in 15 western states can apply for IN-STATE tuition; the deadline is APRIL 1.

For more details click here
Ask for information click here

Physics Careers

Jobs Announcements from the Career Center

Assistant Professor, Physical Sciences, Tenure-Track
College of St. Scholastica
Click here for job description.

PHYSICS INSTRUCTOR - TENURE TRACK
Grossmont/Cuyamaca Community College District
Click here for job description.

More Physics Resources

Social Media @ AAPT

AAPT wants to connect with you on social media! Stay abreast of the latest AAPT and physics-related news. We invite you to like us, follow us, connect with us, and pin us. You can find us here:

Section News

Please submit your Section Report for the AAPT Section News. To list your section meeting in the AAPT Calendar of Events, e-mail the information to mhall@aapt.org. See the Spring 2018 Section News.

Section Meetings

Southern Ohio Section
Oct 20, 2018
The Seven Hills School, 5400 Red Bank Rd
Cincinnati, OH
Email: Doug Forrest

MIAAPT (Michigan Section)
Oct 13, 2018
Interlochen Arts Academy
Interlochen, MI
Email: Brad Ambrose

2018 Fall meeting of the SACS-AAPT
Oct 12, 2018 - Oct 13, 2018
Clemson University
Clemson, South Carolina
Email: Chad Sosolik

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