eNNOUNCER December 2014

   

2014 AAPT Executive Board Election Results

Congratulations to: George Amann, Vice President; Sherry Savrda, Member at Large Two Year College representative; and Wolfgang Christian, Secretary. George and Sherry will join the AAPT Executive Board following the Winter Meeting 2015 in San Diego, CA. We thank all of the candidates who participated for their support of AAPT.

 

2015 AAPT Winter Meeting san diego skyline

The 2015 AAPT Winter Meeting being held January 3-6, 2015 in sunny San Diego, California.   Register today! Our 4-day meeting will consist of over 70 sessions, 30 workshops and tutorials, and much more. To view a complete program schedule, visit the website.

Don't forget to join the conversation on Twitter: #AAPTWM15

Learn more about:
High School Physics Teachers' Day
  Childcare Grants

         

Call for Award Nominations

The AAPT Awards Committee invites nominations for all of AAPT's awards, citations, and medals http://www.aapt.org/Programs/awards/. This is the first year that nominations will be accepted for AAPT Fellows. Nominees are accepted from the High School, Two-Year College and Four-Year College communities on a yearly rotating basis. Nominations of Two-Year College faculty for AAPT Fellows are particularly encouraged this fall.

AAPT Governance Changes

Although AAPT's Executive Office is currently located in College Park, MD, the Association has been incorporated in the state of New York since 1957. Recently, the New York state legislature passed the Nonprofit Revitalization Act of 2013. Most of that Act became effective on July 1, 2014 and several parts of the Act directly affect AAPT governance procedures. The proposed changes are intended to bring AAPT's governance into compliance with New York State Law.

Read about the issues and timetable for these changes.

A general meeting of the membership will be held during the 2015 Winter Meeting in San Diego at 8:30 pm on Sunday evening, January 4th. This meeting immediately follows the Plenary featuring Adrian Bejan, J.A. Jones Professor of Mechanical Engineering, who will be talking about constructal law of design in nature. The membership will be asked to vote to change the Certificate of Incorporation to clarify the procedure of the adoption of motions and elections when they are conducted electronically.

                    

More from AAPT

                     

Physics Days at NSTA
AAPT is pleased to partner with NSTA for Physics Day held at their 2014 Area Conferences held in Richmond (VA), Orlando (FL), and Long Beach (CA).  For more information about the programming for each Physics Day, click here.

Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC) Registration Reminder
Registration is now open for the world's largest student rocket contest, the Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC). Sponsored by the Aerospace Industries Association (AA) and the National Association of Rocketry (NAR) in partnership with AAPT, TARC is an opportunity for hands-on learning as students design, build and fly modal rockets in a national contest while competing for more than $60,000 in cash and scholarships.  Registration runs until December 12, 2014 and is open to teams of 3-10 students in grades 7-12.  For more information or to register go to rocketcontest.org.

 

2015 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 2015 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. Listen to stories from students at this year's Training Camp and register online.

 

2015 AAPT PhysicsBowl Registration Open!

Registration is now open for the 2015 AAPT PhysicsBowl taking place April 1 - April 17, 2015. Read more online.

  

Rush Holt to Succeed Alan Leshner as CEO of AAAS

Rush Holt, a physicist, educator, eight-term Democratic member of Congress, and Life Member of AAPT, has been named the new CEO of AAAS (which publishes ScienceInsider). He will succeed Alan Leshner, a neuroscientist who is stepping down this winter after leading AAAS since 2001.

During his years in Congress, Holt was a strong supporter of the U.S. Physics Team, making time to meet with team members during their training for the International Physics Olympiad.

                    

Millie Dresselhaus awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom

On November 11, the White House announced the 2014 recipients of the 2014 Presidential Medal of Freedom—the highest civilian honor in the United States. Millie Dresselhaus, former recipient of the Oersted Medal, is among the diverse group of recipients who were recognized for making  "extraordinary contributions to our country and the world." Millie was honored in a White House ceremony with other luminaries, including Isabel Allende, Tom Brokaw, Ethel Kennedy, Meryl Streep, and Stevie Wonder, on November 24. Read more »

                                         

Save the Date

The next Physics and Astronomy New Faculty Workshop will be held in College Park, MD June 22-25, 2015. Participants are nominated by their department chairs, who will receive nomination information in mid-December 2014.

The next AAPT/APS Physics Department Chairs Conference will be held in College Park, MD June 5-7, 2015. More details about the conference will be available in January 2015.

The Coalition for Reform of Undergraduate STEM Education has issued a report "Achieving Systemic Change: A Sourcebook for Advancing and Funding Undergraduate STEM Education." The report calls out the AAPT/APS/AIP Strategic Programs for Innovation in Undergraduate Education (SPIN-UP) program and the work of several AAPT members including Charles Henderson, Melissa Dancy, Noah Finkelstein, Robert Beichner (SCALE-UP) and Beth Cunningham (PKAL Summer Leadership Institutes). The report is available online at http://www.aacu.org/pkal/sourcebook.

  

Set Your Physics Today Preferences

AIPP, publisher of Physics Today makes this publication available as part of your AAPT membership. With their recent change in vendors, members may now choose to receive print or digital copies of Physics Today at no additional cost. You will continue to have online to Physics Today.
Read how to set your preferences.

  

U.S. Physics Team Coach Call

AAPT is seeking faculty to join the staff for the 2015 U.S. Physics Team. Learn about the qualifications and how to apply by clicking here.

  

AAPT Presents Her Stories

This new video produced by AAPT, APS, AIP, and SPS shares the stories and words of wisdom and encouragement from many women in physics from around the world. Feel free to distribute the video to your colleagues and women who are considering a career in physics. Click the read more link to view the video. Read more »  

  

New AAPT Resource on Comets

With the news surrounding the Rosetta's Philae landing on a comet we searched the back issues of AAPT's journal archives and pulled together past articles that you can use as you teach about comets. Your access to the articles makes them a valuable addition to your suite of membership benefits. Read more »

  

Professor Tackles Physics with Football

Michael Eads knows physics, and he knows football. On Tuesday night he combined the two for a single physics lesson during a Northern Illinois University STEM Cafe program. He started by explaining game footage of an NIU wide receiver smashing through an opposing team's defense.

"Newton's first law allowed him to score that touchdown," said the assistant professor in NIU's Department of Physics and the Center for Secondary Science and Math Education at NIU. Read more »

  

Southridge High Teacher Bradford Hill's Love of Physics Made Beaverton a Model Program

Every once in a while, Southridge High School physics teacher Bradford Hill strays off topic during a lesson. Hill, the recipient of the 2014 Paul W. Zitzewitz Award for Excellence in Physics Education, teaches a class of freshman. Hill loves physics and he especially loves teaching it. His work has made Beaverton, Oregon a model for other districts in the state. Read more »

                   

STEM Education Resource

The National Science Board has released an interactive, online STEM Education Resource website, where you can discover the answers to important questions on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and careers using the information from the National Science Board's Science and Engineering indicators report.

Explore these questions through interactive charts and maps that focus on different topics across all levels of education and the STEM workforce. View a quick demo at here.

                      

ComPADRE Continuation Fund

The ComPADRE Digital Library is a network of free online resource collections supporting college faculty, high school and middle school teachers, education researchers, and students in Physics and Astronomy. Collections contain materials designed for a specific community, with all materials available through the central ComPADRE portal.

Donations to the ComPADRE Continuation Fund are used to sustain and continue the operation of the ComPADRE website and the services provided to the physics education community.

    

Meggers Project Award

The William F. and Edith R. Meggers Project Award of the American Institute of Physics is a biennial award designed to fund projects for the improvement of high-school physics teaching in the United States.  The Award was made possible by an endowment created by the gift of a stamp and coin collection from William F. and Edith R. Meggers to the American Institute of Physics. Application submission deadline: March 31, 2015

    

Project InTeGrate Call for Proposals for Implementation Programs

Project InTeGrate, funded by the National Science Foundation, invites institutions, or clusters of institutions, to apply for grants of up to $50,000 to develop and evaluate programs that model innovative ways of 1) increasing the number and diversity of students developing Earth literacy and/or 2) preparing a diverse workforce equipped to bring geosciences (taken broadly) to bear in addressing societal issues, particularly those focusing on sustainability Faculty in any STEM discipline may apply for the grants. Information about the types of programs suitable for responses to this call can be found at this website.

To apply, please use the online application form to submit a 3 to 5 page proposal describing the goals, a description of what "success" will look like at your institution (how progress toward your goals can be observed at the end of 2-3 years), and plans for evaluating the impact of the project.  The deadline for submissions is January 30, 2015.

             

$25,000 Fishman Prize for Superlative Classroom Practice

Nominations and applications for the Fishman Prize for Superlative Classroom Practice—the only national award exclusively for exceptional teachers in high-poverty public schools are open through December 16, 2014.
Four winners a year from across the country receive $25,000 each, gain national recognition, and spend a summer reflecting on teaching, meeting with education leaders, and writing a short collection of essays on their best teaching practices. This must-read look into the 2014 winners' extraordinary classrooms is available for download today.

           

Get More from Your Membership

In our current world of 24/7 news sources catering to audiences of every sliver of the political spectrum it can be difficult to find an objective news source.  The physical science community is fortunate that it can turn to FYI, The AIP Bulletin of Science Policy News for its unbiased analysis of developments on Captiol Hill and in federal agencies supporting physical science research and STEM education. FYI is a membership benefit.  Subscribe today and stay informed.

    

SCOPE Student-centered Learning Resources for Schools and Classrooms

Student-centered schools have been shown to support high levels of achievement for traditionally underserved students.  As educators return to school this fall, they can learn ways to implement student-centered practices in their own schools and classrooms through a new online tool developed by the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education (SCOPE).

This professional development tool includes definitions of the features of student-centered schools, video examples of student-centered practices, and reflection questions for educators to use to integrate their own practices within their classroom and school-wide. For more information visit this link.

    

Master of Natural Science degree at Arizona State University

The Master of Natural Science(MNS)degree in physics at Arizona State University is a summer program for high school teachers. Teachers in 15 western states can apply for IN-STATE tuition; the deadline is April 1, 2015.
Details & application form:
For Information:Jane.Jackson@asu.edu

    

Seeking Calculus-based Physics Instructors to Join Open Textbook Project Writing Team

Instructors are selected to work with our acquired materials for one or more chapters to create an updated, high-quality University Physics free and open digital text.  The manuscript work will be done in MS Word and this project is in development now through 2015. Interested parties must have experience teaching this course and possess a PhD in physics or related content area for assigned chapters. Instructors are compensated with a per-chapter honorarium and receive billing in the published text.
If you are interested in contributing to this project, please submit your CV to our content team.

    

Hispanics Earning More Degrees in Physics and Engineering

Hispanic participation in bachelor's degrees among the physical sciences and engineering has grown at encouraging rates between 2002 and 2012. The Statistical Research Center recently released a focus on report detailing growth rates in bachelor's degrees for Hispanics in the United States across 15 physical science and engineering fields. In the physical sciences there was an increase of 77% from 202 to 2012. Degree rates increased for all of the identified fields of engineering, accounting for an overall increase of 64% during the last decade. Read more »

    

Looking for 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics Posters?

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has made the poster available on their website. You can order up to 7 posters for 2014.

    

Holiday Shopping That Supports AAPT Through Amazon Smile

Donating to AAPT just got a little easier! Simply visit http://bit.ly/AAPTAMZ and confirm you'd like a percentage of your Amazon.com purchases to go to AAPT. From then on, AAPT will receive a small donation from each of your purchases whether it's text books, electronics, clothing, or groceries; every purchase will support AAPT. Start shopping today!

Jobs Announcements from the Career Center

Lecturer/Instructor in Physics
University of Northern Colorado
http://jobs.aapt.org/jobs/6550300

High School Physics Teaching Jobs, available Nationwide
Carney, Sandoe & Associates
http://jobs.aapt.org/jobs/6630993
                   

Network Yourself to a Great Career

The Career Center hosted its first webinar last month. Spend an hour enjoying this valuable resource. Learn about networking tips presented by Alaina G. Levine, a STEM career consultant and the author of Networking for Nerds (Wiley, 2015).

2015 PhysTEC Conference (Feb.  5-7) Register Now

The PhysTEC will feature talks by national leaders, networking, workshops, and a pre-conference half-day introductory workshop on Learning Assistants. The fee for the conference is $170 for PhysTEC members and $325 for non-members. The Learning Assistant workshop is an additional $45 fee.  Faculty from minority-serving institutions are eligible to apply for travel grants.

2015 Building a Thriving Undergraduate Physics Program Workshop (Feb. 6-8) Register Now

The workshop will assist departments in developing strategies for increasing enrollment of physics majors. Participants will analyze their current departmental situation and decide how to take actions that will help them sustainably achieve their goals. Departments are encouraged to send teams of two or more faculty for maximum effectiveness. The fee for the workshop is $250 with a $100 discount for PhysTEC Conferences attendees.

The 5+ Club

PhysTEC is happy to announce the establishment of 'The 5+ Club', which recognizes institutions that graduate 5 or more physics teachers in a given year. Institutions whose applications are accepted receive an award and publicity.  In its first year (2014), The 5+ Club will allow institutions to use data from any of the past three academic years. The application deadline is December 1.  The application can be found at www.phystec.org/the5plus/.

 

Modeling Workshops Nationwide

Fifty Modeling Workshops in high school physics, chemistry, physical science, and biology will be offered in summer 2015, in many states. Modeling Workshops are peer-led. Modeling Instruction is designated by the U.S. Department of Education as an exemplary K-12 science program. Some sites offer stipends, usually for in-state teachers. Graduate credit is available at some sites. Pre-service teachers and TYC faculty are welcome too.
More Information
Workshop Descriptions

 

Increase Undergraduate Research Opportunities

Do you or does your department have a practice, funding strategy, internship placement strategy, or course with research embedded in it that, if adopted by other physics or astronomy departments, would help increase the number of undergraduate research opportunities? AAPT along with the Council on Undergraduate Research, the American Physical Society, and the Society of Physics Students are collecting articles that will be published on-line to serve as a resource to departments, faculty, and students as they work to meet the challenge put before the community that all undergraduate physics and astronomy majors at all colleges be provided with a research experience. AAPT’s statement on research experiences for undergraduates is available on our website. We invite you to submit an article for publication in this new resource that highlights any practice that encourages, leads to increases in, or enhances research experiences for undergraduates. We strongly encourage faculty members at two-year colleges to consider submitting a highlight.  Please contact Executive Officer Beth Cunningham (eo@aapt.org) for more information.

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 executed, mastered, 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 1, 2015. If qualified candidates are proposed, we anticipate presenting the first award at the 2016 AAPT Winter Meeting in New Orleans. Read more or Apply. Funding for this award, for the first five years, is provided by TeachSpin, Inc.

New α-Miners Program

ALPhA and the J.F. Reichert Foundation annnounce a new grant program for faculty concerned about advanced lab instruction. This program will provide funding for two people to attend the 2015 APS March Meeting in San Antonio, Texas with the express purpose of identifying (mining for) new research discoveries that have the potential of becoming new advanced laboratory experiments for undergraduate students. Funding will cover travel, lodging, registration, and incidental expenses.

Having determined that the topic of a given talk has the possibility of being imported into the advanced lab, the job of these so called "α-miners" will be to approach the presenters and research groups with the following questions in mind:

  • Are they willing to share special techinques or electronics?
  • Are they willing and able to provide any necessary samples?
  • Are they willing to mentor other faculty?
  • Are they willing to help design the new experiments?
  • Are they willing to lead an ALPhA Immersion on this experiment

The alpha-miners will be responsible for documenting the successful discoveries and submitting their reports to the COMPADRE website for use by the general physics community.

Those faculty interested in applying for this program should email Jonathan Reichert at jfreichert@teachspin.com

2014  International Year of Crystallography

The International Year of Crystallography 2014 (IYCr2014) commemorates not only the centennial of X-ray diffraction, which allowed the detailed study of crystalline material, but also the 400th anniversary of Kepler’s observation in 1611 of the symmetrical form of ice crystals, which began the wider study of the role of symmetry in matter.  Links to posters and other promotional materials and resources are available on the IYCR website. Read more »

More from your Membership, Join your AAPT Community

Did you know that you can connect with your collegues by joining an AAPT Email Discussion List?   There are more than 20 different lists/communities available. Find the list that matches your career interests at  http://www.aapt.org/Resources/lists.cfm.  Contact your Member Services  Department at 301-209-3333, or  by e-mail at membership@aapt.org if  you need assistance, or have further questions.

Career Learning Center

Professional development is a work in progress, and constantly gaining new skills and knowledge is essential to the success of any career. The latest enhancement to the AAPT Career Center - the Career Learning Center - is a career-guidance companion to searching the latest science teaching jobs. Equipped with four career-centric seminars, the AAPT Career Learning Center is a user-friendly virtual platform that satisfies the professional needs of AAPT members at all points on the career spectrum.
This helpful content is ONLY available to registered users with the AAPT Career Center, a free job seeker service provided by AAPT. Quickly login or create your job seeker account, and take control of your future by building a stronger presence among our industry's top employers.

Free Internship Job Posting on AAPT Career Center

AAPT has an online jobsite that offers free 60-day internship job postings.  To post internships online at AAPT visit http://jobs.aapt.org/. Locate the best fit for your organization by reaching the future of the science community – AAPT members. Valid intern-level opportunities are defined as limited-term (up to 12 weeks) employment for current undergraduates or recent bachelor degree recipients with financial compensation (if any) in the form of a modest salary or stipend. "Internship" Job Level must be selected when posting to access this offer.


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:
facebook twitter LinkedIn Googleplus pinterest YouTube flickr


Section News

Last chance to submit your Section Report for the January 2015 Issue of AAPT Section News. To list your section meeting in the AAPT Calendar of Events, e-mail the information to mgardner@aapt.org.


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 rfinnegan@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.

© 2014, American Association of Physics Teachers

In this issue

 

Featured Journal Articles

The Physics Teacher

Backyard Infrared Trapping
Read online

American Journal of Physics

Meteor orbits and impacts
Read online

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

2015 AAPT Calendar

AJP                             

  Free for members
Only $12.00
for non-members

 

2014 High School Physics Photo Contest Poster

2014-photocontest                            

  Free for members
Only $4.50
for non-members

The Physics Store logo