 Zoom Zoom Zoom—The Accelerating Universe of Physics Education
By Lila Adair, President-Elect and Program Chair
June 15, 2007
Do you sit on the edge of your seat, watching cars zoom around a track at NASCAR races, or do you take leisurely walks along beautiful Smoky Mountain trails? Do you like to tour cutting-edge research facilities, examining technological wonders of the future, or do you prefer stepping back in time by visiting a stately mansion owned by the Vanderbilts? What do you think of down-home Southern barbecue and a string band that will set your feet to dancing, followed by some amazing physics demos? All of this and more is available to you at the 2007 AAPT Summer Meeting in Greensboro, North Carolina, July 28-August 1.
The University of North Carolina, Greensboro, and the North Carolina section of AAPT are proud to present to you their dream-come-true Summer Meeting. Many years ago, Mary Creason of Duke University proposed a summer meeting to AAPT and worked hard to make it happen. Mary spearheaded that effort with the help of AAPT's North Carolina section officers: John Hubisz, Bill McNairy, Jose D'Arruda, Anthony Crider, William Schmidt, Larry Ward, Terri McMurray, and Mario Belloni, as well as UNCG Physics Department Chair and local host, Steve Danford.
As many of you know, Mary and her husband died in a traffic accident last month—a terrible loss for her family and for our AAPT family as well.
In Mary's honor and memory, the wonderful local planning team continues to complete the plans and arrangements for the biggest and best AAPT meeting ever—a meeting that we know would make Mary proud.
A Program to Remember
We now know that the universe is not just simply expanding, but expanding at an accelerating rate. And if the Summer Meeting content is any indication, it is clear the universe of physics education is expanding as well. There are more than 500 papers and posters scheduled, as well as 42 workshops and tutorials, 90 sessions and crackerbarrels, 18 committee meetings, and 6 plenaries. The Program Committee and Area Committees have worked diligently across the past year to put together a meeting that will provide informative, invigorating, and thought-provoking sessions for physics educators of all interests. If you haven't already registered, I invite you to do so now at our online, secure site. Preregistering via AAPT.org will save you time and money.
Furthermore, a detailed listing of all sessions, workshops, and individual abstracts are also available on AAPT.org.
Here's a key to the program codes to help you get started:
- Workshops are coded with the letter W
- Paper sessions are coded with the following letters:
- A & B for Monday
- C & D for Tuesday
- E & F for Wednesday
- Committee meetings: COM
- All other events: OE
I also recommend the Itinerary Builder feature—redesigned for this meeting and better than ever (see Planning Your Itinerary below).
Meeting Highlights
Saturday and Sunday
July 28th and 29th feature workshops that include a wide variety of interesting topics including: Mining the Hidden Web, Computer Simulations, Physics from the Junk Drawer, Lecture Demonstrations, Building Pedagogy, Preparing Pre-College Teachers, NASCAR, Teaching Astronomy, and Energy. Workshops vary from half-day to full-day sessions, and most are held on the UNCG campus. Round-trip transportation is provided from the Conference Center. Sunday evening concludes with the Society of Physics Students (SPS) poster session and the Welcome Reception honoring Bernie Khoury, AAPT Executive Officer Emeritus, who is retiring in December after 16 years.
Monday
July 30th highlights include the special High School Teacher Day, a salute to faculty and students of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), and a solar viewing experience hosted by Joe Hefner and the local Two-Year College Astronomy Clubs. There will also be two special welcome and informational sessions: First Timers Gathering at 7 a.m. and Spouses Gathering at 9 a.m. Special high school sessions include: K-12 Teachers on Campus, AP Courses, Physics Bazaar, Labs and Curriculum Issues, Professional Concerns, and the High School Committee meeting. Featured HBCU sessions are: Physics Education, Physics Research, Retention of Students, the HBCU luncheon (with ticket) and the Minorities Committee meeting. Monday will also feature a special session on Contributions of North Carolina Educators. Special poster sessions include: Energy, Favorite TYC Activities, Educational Technology, and Computers in the Classroom. And be sure to visit the many crackerbarrels in the evening.
Tuesday
On July 31, there are several special invited sessions. Have you ever wondered how art curators determine if a painting is real or a forgery? Physics and Art will tell you how it is done. Do you find super-fast and super-slow motion interesting? The Need for Speed session will explore both for you. If you are interested in Physics Education Research (PER), plan to attend the session on Conceptual Understanding, the PER Town Hall, and the PER Leadership Organizing Council Meeting. Women's issues will be featured in sessions on Institutional Family Friendly Policies and Women in Biophysics Frontiers. In Cutting Edge Physics Research in Simple English, a special morning and afternoon invited session, local physics graduate students will present their research. Special poster sessions include: Successful Implementation of PER-Based Strategies Around the World, Space Science and Astronomy Missions, and Physics Olympics as Student Outreach. Tuesday ends with the fun-filled down-home North Carolina Picnic: music, "egg"citing games, and fun activities, followed by the Physics Demonstration Show and some late-night committee work.
Wednesday
The closing day, August 1, begins with the Great Book Giveaway at 8 a.m. and ends at 5 p.m. with the closing paper sessions. In between, some featured sessions are: Physics and Society Education, Physics Teacher Preparation Around the World, Advanced Labs, and Introductory Labs. There are several undergraduate sessions: A Road Less Traveled: Exploring Teaching Assistant Training Programs, Introductory College Physics Courses, and Introductory College Physics Textbooks. Special poster sessions will deal with Advanced Labs and Reports on the IACPE Meeting in Costa Rico.
Planning Your Itinerary
Sessions
The following list of sessions by category will give you a head start on organizing your time at the meeting:
Apparatus: BC, BS, CF, CH, FG, FH
Astronomy: Solar Viewing, DA, DC
Curriculum Issues: AE, EF
Educational Technology: AB, AC, BD, BH, BL, BT, CA, DO, EA, EB, FA, FC, FE
Graduate Education: DI, FB
High School: AL, AH, BB, BP, BQ
History of Physics: CE
International Physics Education: CI, DL, EG, FI
Laboratory: DM, EH, FG, FH
Minorities: AI, BG, BO, DD
Physics Education Research: AA, AB, AG, BE, BN, BW, CB, DB, DDD, DF, EA, EB, FA, FE, FC
Science for the Public: AJ, BJ, BR, DN, EE, FF
Society of Physics Students: SUN, DK
Teacher Preparation: AF, CH, DJ
Two-Year College: AD, AK, BF, BK
Undergraduate Education: AN, BV, DH, EC, ED, FB
Women in Physics: CG, DG
Special Sessions: CC (Physics and Art), CD (Need for Speed), BI (Q&A with the AAPT Executive Officer), BU (AAPT Planning)
Crackerbarrels
These are informal gatherings of people with similar interests. There are no formal presentations, and participants are invited to come and go during the allotted time. Topics include curriculum discussions, teaching techniques, professional concerns, job opportunities, and physics content. If you are interested in the future of AAPT, do not miss these two sessions: Q&A with the Executive Officer and AAPT Planning—both hosted by Toufic Hakim.
Committee Meetings
These meetings are formal and follow a predetermined agenda. Committees consist of nine voting members but their meetings are open to the public and all meeting participants are welcome to attend and participate in the discussions. Attending committee meetings is an excellent way to learn more about the efforts, policies, and procedures of AAPT.
Special Events
These include the Apparatus Competition, High School Share-A-Thon, Photo Contest, Video Contest, and PIRA (Physics Instruction Resource Assistants) and TYC (Two-Year College) resource rooms. Tickets are available for the several special meal functions: TYC Breakfast (Monday), Retirees Breakfast (Monday), a luncheon honoring the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (Monday), and the fun-filled summer picnic (Tuesday). Tickets can be purchased online during preregistration. If you have already registered, email Meetings@aapt.org with your ticket request.
Plenary Sessions
These are among the most popular events of each AAPT Annual Meeting. The Program Committee and Awards Committee carefully select speakers and awardees based on their reputation in the scientific community, field of expertise, and contribution to physics education. This summer's plenaries bring together winners of AAPT awards and outstanding invited guests. Monday plenaries are the Max Dresden 2nd Memorial Lecture by Gerry Wheeler, Executive Director, National Science Teachers Association and a former AAPT president; and the Klopsteg Memorial Award lecture by Neil deGrasse Tyson, Astrophysicist, American Museum of Natural History and Director, Hayden Planetarium. Tuesday plenaries are the Robert A. Millikan Award lecture by David Sokoloff, Professor of Physics, University of Oregon; and a special guest plenary by Janet Guthrie, physicist, engineer, and the first female to drive in the Indianapolis 500 and Daytona 500. Wednesday plenaries are the Excellence in Pre-College Physics Teaching Award presentation by Jan Mader, Great Falls High School, Great Falls, Montana; the Excellence in Undergraduate Physics Teaching Award presentation by Steven Manly, University of Rochester; and a special guest plenary by George Coyne, Adjunct Professor of Astronomy, University of Arizona, physicist, and Director Emeritus of the Vatican Observatory.
Affiliated Conferences
AAPT also provides several additional events before and after the regular meeting. The PTRA (Physics Teaching Resource Agents) Physics Institute takes place the week before the meeting on the UNCG campus. The AAPT Topical Conference: Computational Physics for Upper Level Courses will be held Friday and Saturday (July 27-28) at Davidson College. The PERC and PhysTec Conferences will be held Wednesday evening through Friday (August 1-3) at the Koury Convention Center.
Acknowledgements
Special thanks to the Shodor Education Foundation ($8,000) for their generous gift for registration fee scholarships for high school teachers from NC, GA, SC, TN, and VA, and to UNCG Reynolds ($4,000) for their generous gift of registration fee scholarships to Greensboro-area teachers. The Shodor Education Foundation also provided $2,000 for scholarships for the Topical Conference at Davidson College.
For more information on scholarships for high school teachers, contact:
Jose D'Arruda, Shodor Education Foundation: jose@uncp.edu
Steve Danford, UNCG Reynolds: danford@uncg.edu
For More Information
Full details of all meeting events are available on AAPT.org. Your choice of events is limited only by your ability to select from the wide array of offerings.
So Zoom, Zoom, Zoom on down to Greensboro and join me and more than 900 of your physics education colleagues for an exciting week of physics, fun, fellowship, and Southern hospitality.
Return to June AAPT NEWS
Return to Guest Commentaries
|
