eNNOUNCER September, 2010

AAPT Launches eMentoring Program

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.

AAPT ementoring will help science educators…

• Improve teaching skills
• Create a community of support
• Provide new resources
• Build confidence

AAPT National Election

The election of officers for Executive Board service beginning in 2011 will take place between September 20 and midnight (eastern daylight time) November 5. This will be a totally electronic election. If you have an email address on record the information with instructions on how to access the ballot and vote electronically will arrive via your email box. If you don't have an email address, watch the mail for instructions on how to vote electronically! Candidate bios are also 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.

AAPT Executive Board Motion on Conceptual Frameworks for New Science Education Standards

In July 2010 the Committee on Conceptual Frameworks for New Science Education Standards (a committee of the National Research Council) released a draft report titled A Framework For Science Education that presented a vision of the scope and nature of education in science and engineering that is needed in the 21st century. The document described the major scientific ideas and practices that all students should be familiar with by the end of high school. Following a comment period and focus group at the Summer Meeting in Portland, Oregon, the AAPT Executive Board moved to encourage changes to the Framework document and commend the National Research Council on its work in preparing the document.

Read the Motion at http://www.aapt.org/Resources/policy/conceptualframeworks.cfm.

The NRC-Bose Draft Framework for Science Education is available at http://www.aapt.org/Resources/upload/Draft-Framework-Science-Education.pdf.

The NRC Science Conceptual Framework Focus Group Summary can be read on the AAPT website at http://www.aapt.org/Resources/upload/100815-Focus-Group-Report-on-Draft-Frameworks.pdf.

WM2011 Jacksonville

Plan your winter escape with a January trip to the AAPT Winter Meeting in Jacksonville, Florida. Join the physics community January 8-12 for a week of learning, sharing, and collaboration as we celebrate 100 Years of Nuclear Physics (1911-2011). Special events include an evening with Marie Curie, a return of the 5k walk/run, and a visit to St. Augustine. http://www.aapt.org/Conferences/wm2011/
You can submit an abstract through September 19th, 2010. Submit an abstract.
Registration will be available in early October.

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)

Betty Preece (SEES) Memorial Fund Supports Science Education for Minority Children

A long-time member of AAPT and Distinguished Service Award recipient, Betty Preece was an outstanding model of dedication and achievement within the science community. One of the many causes to which Betty gave her time and talents was the Students Exploring Engineering and Science (SEES) Program, which she founded. This program provides 100 minority, low-socioeconomic students with the opportunity to engage in three hours of hands-on science activities during the AAPT Winter Meeting each year. AAPT provides lunch, transportation, career information, and science materials.

AAPT established the Betty Preece SEES Memorial Fund in her honor. Given Betty’s history of caring for the education of minority children, we believe this gesture would have pleased her greatly. The endowment of this fund would ensure the sustainability and continuation of the program. All gifts to this fund will be used to sustain and expand this outreach to children who might not otherwise have the opportunity to participate in science activities.

If this program can change the direction of even one at-risk student’s life, that change would be priceless. It will take $24,000 to fully endow the Betty Preece SEES Memorial Fund. Honor Betty by making an investment in the lives of these students.

AAPT Award Nominations

The Robert A. Millikan Medal (http://aapt.org/Programs/awards/millikan.cfm) recognizes those who have made notable and intellectually creative contributions to the teaching of physics. The recipient delivers an address at an AAPT Summer Meeting and receives a monetary award, the Millikan Medal, an Award Certificate, and travel expenses to the meeting. Preference in the selection of the recipient will be given to members of AAPT.

The AAPT Awards program recognizes several types of accomplishment with awards, medals or citations, some of which are presented every year and a few of which are presented only occasionally. Nominations for any of these awards can be submitted to the AAPT Awards Committee by printing and submitting a form that is available at http://aapt.org/Programs/awards/upload/AAPT-Awards-Nomination-Form2010.doc. Nominations remain active for a period of five years from the date of submission. Self nomination is not appropriate. Donations toward the endowment of AAPT Awards are accepted at http://iweb.aapt.org/iweb/Donation/FundsDirectory.aspx.

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 Kansas City - Friday, October 29, 2010
2010 Area Conference in Baltimore - Friday, November 12, 2010
2010 Area Conference in Nashville - Friday, December 3, 2010

AAPT Membership Video Contest

The AAPT Membership and Benefits Committee in conjunction with the membership department invites members to create original videos about why someone should join 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.

Rules:
Length of Videos: 1- 5 minutes
Video Goal: explain, in a clear and entertaining way, why one should join AAPT.
The video itself should include the following:
1. The name(s) and affiliation of the submitter.
2. The category: University and Four Year College Faculty, Two Year College Faculty, High School Teacher, Pre-High School Teacher, or Student.
All content, including music, must be original. The video must contain only original material.
The prize for each of the 5 categories will be a $100 gift certificate to the Physics Store.

Judging Criteria
Each Judge will rate the video on each of the following criteria as (1) fair; (2) good; (3) very good; or (4) outstanding:
1. Relevance to Prospective Members—does the video make someone want to join AAPT?
2. Video Quality
3. Creativity

Team America Rocketry Challenge Registration Opens

Registration for the world's largest rocket competition, the Team America Rocketry Challenge, is open to student teams in grades 7-12 from any U.S. school, home school, or non-profit youth organization. Registration for the 2011 spring contest is opens September 8 through November 30. http://www.aapt.org/Programs/contests/rocket.cfm

TARC will be featured on the Food Network show "Ace of Cakes" on Thursday, Sept. 2 at 10pm EST! It's a rocket-powered week as Chef Duff plans to launch the first ever rocket cake. Will it survive its voyage into space and it's return to earth? First, it's high-flying hi-jinks with the Blue Angles as Duff gets some rocket lessons turning zero-G's in "Fat Albert." Be sure to tune in and spread the word! www.rocketcontest.org

Open Source Physics

In collaboration with the AAPT, APS, and AIP, ComPADRE is exploring the possibility of creating new multimedia features connected to the American Journal of Physics (AJP) and The Physics Teacher (TPT). The September issues of AJP and TPT begin a one-year experiment to augment articles in these journals with computer simulations from the Open Source Physics (OSP) Collection in ComPADRE. Although there are many well-organized websites and CDs of computer simulations that support textbooks, simulations associated with journal articles are more difficult to find and may be difficult to use and adapt. Even if an author submits a program to an online archive or posts a simulation or source code on a personal web page, the disparate operating systems, programming styles, programming languages, and user interfaces make it difficult for users to explore and modify the simulations. The OSP Collection seeks to address these problems with ready-to-use Java simulations for physics and astronomy teaching keyed to journal articles delivered through the ComPADRE digital library. The papers “Asymmetric rolling bodies and the phantom torque” by Leaf Turner and Ari Turner in AJP and “Calibration of a Horizontal Sundial” by Barbara Rovsek in TPT begin this experiment.

AIP UniPHY: Connect, Collaborate, Create

This innovative physics tool is a free scientific social and professional networking site for physical scientists that allows them to search for collaborators, see what competitors are up to, communicate with colleagues, and exhibit their own latest work. It provides an exciting new view into the world of physical science research. The pre-populated literature network represents more than 300,000 scientist profiles. If you have authored at least 2 articles in the past 10 years in AIP Journals, you may already have a pre-populated profile within AIP UniPHY. Visit www.aipuniphy.org and become a member today!

Beginning a Research Program in the Natural Sciences at a Predominantly Undergraduate Institution

Starting a successful research program and doing scholarly work at a predominantly undergraduate institution poses unique challenges for a beginning faculty member. A goal of the institute is to give pre-tenured faculty the opportunity to learn from and discuss with experienced faculty how to establish and manage a research program with undergraduates. While at the institute, participants will also prepare plans for starting and/or advancing their individual research programs at their respective campuses. Sign up for the November 19-21 Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) Institute at Calvin College, Garden Rapids, MI. Application Deadline is October 1, 2010. For additional information about this Institute, or to register, please visit http://www.cur.org/institutes/newfaculty.html

The Colorado Science Conference: Science—What Works?

The Colorado Science Conference will be on Friday, November 19, 2010 at the Denver Merchandise Mart. The theme is "Science—What Works?" So you could come to share techniques, resources, assessments, about ideas teaching and learning that you have found to be been effective. While the theme, “What Works,” may make you think of work and energy topics, contributions on any physics topic would be welcome! If you would like to propose a session, please go to the following URL: http://www.coloradocast.org/professionaldevelopment.php?page=presenters

Foundations and Frontiers of Physics Education Research

June 13-17, 2011 the fourth biannual conference on the Foundations and Frontiers of Physics Education Research will be held on the campus of the College of the Atlantic, in Bar Harbor, Maine. The conference will have a format much like a Gordon conference, with two plenary talks in the morning (1 hour each) followed by an hour's discussion, free time in the afternoon, and other sessions before dinner. We will have working groups and
targeted sessions for more detailed discussions outside the plenaries. There will be a lobster bake to open the conference and a sunset cruise to end it. Information about past conferences is available online at http://perlnet.umaine.edu/~FFPER/.

USA Science & Engineering Festival

Check out Laserfest's "Haunted" Exhibit (Booth 340) at the US Science and Engineering Festival October 23-24! Excite your imagination at the laser extravaganza, where AAPT, APS, and SPS will feature a LaserFest Haunted House and hands on demonstrations. Meet students and physicists who we guarantee will be fun, educational, and illuminating! http://www.usasciencefestival.org/

Be sure to drop by the booth we will be sharing with SPS and Laserfest.

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