AAPT Celebrates Diversity at the 2015 Conference of NSBP

February 20, 2015, College Park, MD—The American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) will join forces with the National Society of Black Physicists during their 2015 Conference: Re-Visioning the Future of Scientific Leadership, at the Hilton Baltimore Hotel February 25-28.

AAPT Executive Officer Beth A. Cunningham, PhD will speak on the topic Building Undergraduate Physics Programs for the 21st Century. This session will focus on three efforts aimed at enhancing undergraduate physics programs in the 21st century: 

  1. a physics communitywide effort to provide recommendations and guidelines for undergraduate programs to prepare students more effectively for a wide range of careers, 
  2. a nationwide program to enhance the knowledge and implementation of interactive engagement teaching methods by college and university physics faculty members, and 
  3. the promotion of a range of student interventions that have proven to be successful in increasing the diversity of the undergraduate physics student population.

AAPT Associate Executive Officer Robert Hilborn will present on the Physics and Astronomy New and Experience Faculty Workshops. Since its founding in 1996, this joint effort of the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT), the American Astronomical Society (AAS), and the American Physical Society (APS), has served over 1600 faculty members in the first few years of their tenure-track appointments. The workshops introduce the participants to the scholarship of teaching, including many easy-to implement interactive engagement techniques and the evidence for the effectiveness of those techniques.

AAPT is determined to enrich the field by increasing the number and diversity of physics students and teachers at all levels. Through this partnership with NSBP, AAPT will continue to provide programming and valuable resources to diverse physicists in the United States and abroad.

AAPT is an international organization for physics educators, physicists, and industrial scientists—with members worldwide. Dedicated to enhancing the understanding and appreciation of physics through teaching, AAPT provides awards, publications, and programs that encourage teaching practical application of physics principles, support continuing professional development, and reward excellence in physics education. AAPT was founded in 1930 and is headquartered in the American Center for Physics in College Park, Maryland.

AAPT is an international organization for physics educators, physicists, and industrial scientists—with members worldwide. Dedicated to enhancing the understanding and appreciation of physics through teaching, AAPT provides awards, publications, and programs that encourage teaching practical application of physics principles, support continuing professional development, and reward excellence in physics education. AAPT was founded in 1930 and is headquartered in the American Center for Physics in College Park, Maryland. 

For more information: Contact Marilyn Gardner, Director of Communications, mgardner@aapt.org, (301) 209-3306, (301) 209-0845 (Fax).