eNNOUNCER April 2019
Privacy Statement
AAPT News
Get involved in AAPT! Many opportunities!
AAPT members tell us that one of the best things about being a member is that AAPT provides a platform for giving back to the community. When you look at the diverse variety of AAPT activities, you see that the value in the organization comes from its members, their expertise, and their service to the community of physics educators.
There are many opportunities to learn about the efforts of AAPT and its members, and we have opportunities for you, to engage in activities that contribute to AAPT's mission to "enhance the understanding and appreciation of physics through teaching." The way we, as members, support this mission continues to evolve as the organization changes and the world changes.
Read more
Mark S. Hannum, Chosen to Serve as AAPT K-12 Program Manager
The American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) announced today that Mark S. Hannum, has joined the National Office as the K-12 Program Manager. In this role, Hannum will work closely with Dr. Robert Hilborn, Associate Executive Officer, to support AAPT's K-12 educational programs.
Hannum, in his role as K-12 Program Manager, will be responsible for developing new programs and enhancing existing programs that support the professional development of K-12 physics teachers. He will work with other AAPT staff and members in developing grant proposals to support AAPT's K-12 programs. In addition, he will work with AAPT's membership and marketing department to promote AAPT to K-12 teachers of physics.
Read more
2019 AAPT Summer Meeting
Join us at the 2019 AAPT Summer Meeting in Provo, Utah July 20-24. Surround yourself with Physics Educators from around the globe and develop and strengthen professional connections. Hear from internationally known plenary speakers, attend sessions, workshops and special activities designed with you mind. Don't miss this opportunity to share your expertise and learn from and network with leaders in the field. Check the AAPT website for more information as it becomes available.
Registration
Registration is now open. Be sure and register by the early bird deadline of May 22 and save over $100. Please click here for more information.
Enter the 2019 AAPT Apparatus Competition
The AAPT Apparatus Competition is held each year at the Summer Meeting, this year in Washington DC . There are two main categories, Low Cost and Unlimited. Pasco has again graciously sponsored the prizes, $1000 for First Place. The Application Deadline is June 28 , 2019. Please consider entering one or more of your Physics Apparatus in the competition.
Click here for the Entry Form
Click here for the Rules
SM19 Abstract Submissions
AAPT is accepting post-deadline abstracts from March 1 to May 2. All post-deadline abstracts will be scheduled on the July 24 in the last session of the day. Don't miss out on this fantastic opportunity to present your research and share your teaching methods with other physics educators from around the globe.
Click here to submit an abstract
Sponsorship and Digital Advertising Opportunities
AAPT’s summer meeting is expected to draw over 1,200 physics educators from around the globe. Don’t miss this opportunity to have your company stand ahead of the rest. Click here for some exciting opportunities.
Hotel
The 2019 AAPT Summer Meeting will take place at the Utah Valley Convention Center and the main conference hotel will be the Provo Marriott Hotel and Conference Center. Please click here for more information and to make a reservation.
Workshops
The summer meeting is offering over 40 exciting workshops to help develop and expand your teaching methods. Please click here for a complete list.
K-12 Teachers' Day and Two-Year College Day
A special one day registration rate is being offered to K-12 and Two-Year College teachers who have never attended an AAPT National meeting. This is an excellent opportunity to share and learn from your colleagues, while sampling what AAPT has to offer. Click here for K-12 info and here for TYC info.
AAPT Travel and Dependent Care Grants
Are you an AAPT member who needs help travelling to the summer meeting to make a presentation or do you need help covering the cost of child or dependent care in order to attend the summer meeting? Please click here for information on the AAPT Travel or AAPT Child and Dependent Care Grants.
2019 AAPT Fellows Awards Announced
The 2019 AAPT Fellows Awardees have been announced. The criterion for selection of Fellows is exceptional contribution to AAPT's mission, to enhance the understanding and appreciation of physics through teaching. Fellowship is a distinct honor signifying recognition by one's professional peers. Any AAPT member who has maintained an active membership for at least 7 years is eligible for nomination for Fellowship. Nominations are evaluated by the AAPT Awards committee and approved by the AAPT Board of Directors. Read more
2019 Millikan Medal Awarded to Tom Greenslade
AAPT has announced that Tom Greenslade will receive the Robert A. Millikan Medal during the 2019 Summer Meeting in Provo, Utah. This award recognizes educators who have made notable and intellectually creative contributions to the teaching of physics. Read more
David Jackson to Receive the AAPT 2019 David Halliday and Robert Resnick Award
The American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) announced that David Jackson will receive the 2019 David Halliday and Robert Resnick Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Physics Teaching. This award is given in recognition of contributions to undergraduate physics teaching and awardees are chosen for their extraordinary accomplishments in communicating the excitement of physics to their students. Read more
2019 Klopsteg Memorial Lecture Award
The American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) announced that Jodi A. Cooley, Southern Methodist University (SMU), Dallas, TX, is the 2019 recipient of the Klopsteg Memorial Lecture Award. The lecture and award will be presented during the AAPT Summer Meeting in Provo, Utah.
This award recognizes educators who have made notable and creative contributions to the teaching of physics. Cooley has not only provided the physics department at SMU added diversity from her research, but a great increase in enrollments of students as physics majors and minors due to her uncanny ability to depict and elucidate the importance of physics.
Read more
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 Books Program - Calling All Authors!
We are interested in hearing from authors who desire to publish books in the areas of physics content, the history and philosophy of physics, physics education research, and the application of pedagogical techniques in physics. Book topics must fit within the AAPT mission of “enhancing the understanding and appreciation of physics through teaching.” We have prepared guidelines to help us evaluate prospective book ideas as we seek a publisher. If you are interested in authoring an AAPT book, please review the guidelines and consider submitting a proposal. Send questions about authoring an AAPT book to eo@aapt.org.
New!! AAPT Diversity T-Shirts for SM19
New for the AAPT 2019 Summer Meeting in Provo, UT is the AAPT diversity shirt. It features art by Maggie Greenwood and lets you show your commitment to diversity and inclusion in physics. The shirts can be purchased for $22 when you register for AAPTSM19 online, available for pickup at the meeting, or $25 on site. Net proceeds go to AAPT's Special Projects and Philanthropy Committee's Travel Grant fund, which supports travel for high school and two-year college faculty who are from underrepresented groups and/or institutions that predominantly serve those populations.
AAPT Programs
Jiajia Dong, Named Academic Director of United States Physics Team
The American Association of Physcs Teachers has announced the appointment of Jiajia Dong, Associate Professor of Physics & Astronomy at Buckell University, as Academic Director of the United States Physics Team Program. Dong earned a BA in English and B.S. in Physics at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, P.R.China in 2003 and a Ph.D.in Physics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA in 2008. Read more
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 High School Physics Photo Contest
The 2019 High School Physics Photo Contest registration opens March 1, and will close May 15. The contest is open to high school students in grades 9-12. Teachers register on the AAPT website and receive a confirmation code that their students can use to submit their entries (essay and photo). Photos may be entered in either the Natural photo or Contrived photo category. The top 100 entries will be displayed and judged during the 2019 Summer Meeting in Provo, UT. Learn more!.
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 July 1.
PICUP Workshop on Integrating Computation into Undergraduate Physics Courses: July 8-14, 2019
The Partnership for Integration of Computation into Undergraduate Physics (PICUP), an informal group of physics faculty from around the country, is committed to building a community of STEM educators dedicated to integrating computation into the undergraduate curriculum. Towards this end, PICUP invites all physics faculty to consider attending the Summer Faculty Development Workshop to be held on the campus of the University of Wisconsin at River Falls, from Monday, July 8 through Sunday, July 14, 2019. The purpose of this week-long workshop is to guide participants in developing their own computational educational materials, and in formulating a plan for implementing these materials in their upcoming courses. If you apply before April 1st, the registration fee is only $100, which covers all housing and meal costs for the entire week! There may also be some limited funding for round-trip travel to River Falls. If you do not have experience with computational methods and programming languages, you are invited to also come for a day-long series of tutorial sessions on Tuesday, July 9th, that will introduce you to the fundamentals of using a computer to solve basic physics problems. These tutorials are intended to get you up to speed on programming and computational basics so that you can confidently participate in the main workshop that will commence on the morning of Wednesday, July 10 and ends on Sunday, July 14. Go to www.compadre.org/picup/ for more details on this workshop and other PICUP events.
Physics and Astronomy New Faculty Workshop
The next Physics and Astronomy New Faculty Workshop will be held June 24-27, 2019 in College Park, MD. This NSF-funded project now reaches about 50% of the new tenure-track hires in physics and astronomy in the U.S. Click here for more information about the workshops.
PhysTEC Fellows
The PhysTEC Fellows program provides recognition and support for postsecondary faculty looking to improve their physics teacher preparation programs. PhysTEC Fellows collaborate with their institutional team and a fellowship cohort to plan and implement changes. Learn more and apply
AAPT Membership
AAPT Member Spotlight
Shahida Dar
Mohawk Valley Community College
Utica, NY
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.
Member Discounts Now Available!
AAPT Members can now take advantage of major discounts at retailers such as Hertz, Office Depot/Office Max and HotelEngine.com. You save a percentage of your bill and a portion of the proceeds helps to support AAPT as well! We will be launching the program in the coming weeks, so be sure to check the Member Discounts Program page for details.
New AAPT Member Benefit: Up to 25 Free Downloads of AIP Journals Every Year
AAPT has partnered with AIP Publishing on a valuable new benefit. AAPT members now have access to 25 free article downloads every year from any of the AIP Publishing journals
This is an exclusive AAPT member benefit. Access any one of the journals in this list, now by clicking the 'SIGN IN' link in the right hand corner, and logging in with your Scitation username and password. Access the full text of an article from the journal by going to the article page and clicking either the "PDF" download or the "FULL TEXT" menu buttons. You will then be given an option to use one of your AAPT member credits to access the article. If you do not have a Scitation username and password e-mail Scitation and let them know.
Articles you download will be saved in your Scitation profile. AAPT members receive 25 free downloads each year as long as their membership remains in good standing.
Thank you for supporting AAPT, and we hope you enjoy this new membership benefit.
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. The deadline is June 7 for consideration during the 2019 fiscal year. Applications will be reviewed by the Special Projects and Philanthropy Committee. Click here for more information.
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!
Are you interested in the ways you can 'pay it forward'? Have you 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.
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
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.
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
Tarleton physics professor receives distinguished service citation
Dr. Daniel Marble, professor of physics at Tarleton State University, has been awarded the Mary Beth Monroe Distinguished Service Citation from the Texas Section of the American Association of Physics Teachers (TSAAPT).
Marble is the fourth recipient of the annual award that recognizes an individual who has served the Texas physics community with distinction. He received the service citation March 8, during the TSAAPT's annual spring conference hosted by Stephen F. Austin State University. Read more
Pass on the exciting news! Fulbright DAST Cycle II projects are open for U.S. K-12 educators!
The Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Short-Term Program for U.S. Teachers (Fulbright DAST) provides an opportunity for outstanding K-12 teachers from the United States to take part in a two- to six-week professional development experience overseas. Fulbright DAST Cycle II projects will take place in 12 different countries between October 2019 - May 2020.
In the News
Week-long Workshop on Coding in Physics / Physical Science in Bloomington, IN
The STEMcoding project will be offering a week-long in person workshop from July 14-19 in Bloomington, Indiana as part of the Pathfinders Summer Institute which is one of the best attended gatherings of computer-science-interested teachers in the country. The workshop is intended for high school physics and physical science teachers, and Prof. Chris Orban and Prof. Richelle Teeling-Smith, who are the creators of the STEMcoding youtube channel will be there running it. The workshop will be a much more in depth version of the half-day STEMcoding workshop that was offered at the AAPT meeting in Washington DC, and the upcoming AAPT meeting in Provo, Utah. For more information look here. If interested or if you have questions please e-mail orban@physics.osu.edu
Register Now to be a Presenter in the 2019 STEM for All Video Showcase
Do you have a federally funded project aimed at improving STEM or CS learning and teaching in formal or informal environments? If so, you are invited to be a presenter in this year's STEM for All Video Showcase!. Registration to present will end on February 19th (or earlier if the showcase receives more than 250 registrations). Don't miss out!
Click here for more information
The Living Physics Portal is now seeking beta users!
The Living Physics Portal is a new online environment for physics faculty to share and discuss free curricular resources for teaching introductory physics for life sciences (IPLS). The objective of the Portal is to improve the education of the next generation of medical professionals and biologists by making physics classes more relevant for life sciences students. We are currently looking for beta users to contribute curricular materials to this early version of the site, browse our existing collection of high quality materials from our team, and give us feedback on the site. To learn more about what's available in the beta version of the site, and what will be available in the future, see what's available and what's coming and become a beta tester. To get involved in our upcoming in-person events, see our events page.
JavaScript Physlet Physics Now Available
The new JavaScript edition of Physlet Physics is now available from the Open Source Physics ComPADRE Collection. The original functionality and interactivity of Physlets is maintained and all 800+ Illustrations, Explorations, and Problems are mobile friendly and ready-to-use by students without installing any additional plug-in. Try them out on AAPT-ComPADRE at: www.compadre.org/physlets/
Student Research Foundation
Please help us to identify strategies to close the gap between STEM supply and STEM demand. If you receive a package of surveys by mail, please complete them. If you have not yet received a mailed survey package from The Research Consortium on STEM Career Pathways, please ensure that you and your students are included by filling out this simple online form or by emailing info@studentresearchfoundation.org. Thank you for participating!
To the GIREP members and sympathizers
GIREP is working on improving even more the quality of Teaching and Learning Physics with different initiatives with the goal to support the production of research results, studies and in general teaching proposals based on PER. Contributing to this goal are the excellent Conferences and Seminars, organized more and more in collaboration with other bodies, the very active and qualified GTGs instituted in the last years and the contracts with the Springer and IOP for ISI books of selected papers. Content research, design based research and integration of research with practice is characterizing the GIREP members and sympathizers. Read More
Active Learning in Introductory Physics Courses: Research-Based Strategies that Improve Student Learning
Designed for those who teach introductory physics at universities, colleges and high schools. Graduate credit will be available through the University of Oregon.
Instructors: David Sokoloff, University of Oregon and Ronald Thornton, Tufts University
Participants will be introduced to research-validated, classroom-tested strategies for each component of the introductory course that have been demonstrated to improve learning. These include Interactive Lecture Demonstration (ILDs), RealTime Physics (RTP) labs, Collaborative Problem-Solving Tutorials, Workshop Physics (WP), Physics with Video Analysis (PVA), and related online video analysis exercises. The course will also include the use of video analysis to identify analytic functions describing real data. 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.
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 to check out GradSchoolShopper.com, the most complete directory of graduate programs in the physical sciences. New 2019 departmental data is now available! 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! 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.
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.
Face to Face Modeling Workshops
The 2019 face-to-face Modeling Workshops Cognition and Instruction in STEM, are posted on the website as we receive the information. Workshops have been planned for Arizona, California, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts and Ohio. Workshops are scheduled for physics, chemistry, biology, middle school and physical science. Click here for details.Physics Careers
Jobs Announcements from the Career Center
Upper School Physics Teacher
Marin Academy
Click here for job description.
Full-time Visiting Lecturer of Physics
Wellesley College
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 Fall 2018 Section News.
About eNNOUNCER
AAPT's eNNOUNCER is a service to members of the American Association of Physics Teachers and is produced by the AAPT Executive Office. Tell us what you think of this month's issue. Take this survey.
Other stories of significance appear in our Announcements Archive and our archive of Press Releases. E-mail suggestions, news items, comments, and unsubscribe requests to: aapt-news@aapt.org.
Deliverability of this publication depends on your e-mail address being current. If you have recently changed providers, jobs, or schools, please update your profile online at aapt.org as soon as possible. Adding AAPT-News@aapt.org to your address book will also help ensure that your copy is delivered to your mailbox.
Advertising and Archiving
See our Media Kit for advertising information or email dbott@aip.org. All eNNOUNCER issues are archived and information about AAPT publications is online.
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 eNNOUNCER may expire over time.
Thanks for your readership and your support of AAPT.
© 2019, American Association of Physics Teachers
Table of Contents
Featured Journal Articles
The Physics Teacher
Spinning Muons and a Path to Discovery
Read online
American Journal of Physics
Ping-pong ball cannon: Why do barrel and balls fly in the same direction?
Read online
TPT and AJP Table of Contents Archive
Go to Archive
Are you receiving your journals online?
Subscribe to our free e-mail alerting service to receive table of contents alerts as new American Journal of Physics (AJP) and The Physics Teacher (TPT) issues are published.
Physics Store Features
Interactive Physics Demonstrations
$8.00 for members
$12.00 for non-members
Super Power T-shirt
$15.00 for members
$22.00 for non-members
 |