Meet the 2010 SPS Interns
The new class of SPS Interns descended on the Washington, DC area in early June, and are they ever busy! The first-ever Mather Policy Interns are working on science and technology issues on Capitol Hill, while the research and outreach interns are honing their research topics at national labs or developing science demonstrations for K-12 students. To see their introductions, journals, and photos, visit the 2010 Intern Page.

Intros & Journals | About the Program | Previous Interns

What is Involved in Getting a Ph.D. Abroad?
Find out first-hand from SPS member Anna Quider, a third year graduate student in astrophysics at the University of Cambridge, UK. Anna is blogging about her experiences as an American-trained student working towards a physics Ph.D in the United Kingdom. Her goal is to give US physics students an idea of what it’s like to study abroad for a graduate degree, as she knew very little about life as an international grad student before she became one.

Meet Anna | Read the Blog | More student publications

Exciting the Imagination: Laserfest 2010
Laserfest is a yearlong celebration of the 50th anniversary of the laser, which was first demonstrated in 1960. From DVD players to eye surgery, the laser is one of the greatest inventions of the 20th century—one that has revolutionized the way we live. Events around the world will showcase how the laser works, the history of the laser and its impact on society, and the laser's potential for the future. In conjunction with Laserfest, SPS has chosen "Exciting the Imagination" as it's 2010 theme.

Exciting the Imagination | Laserfest Website | Laserfest Events

SPS Attends Physics Day at Six Flags America!
Ever had a 96-foot drop as part of your demo show? On April 23th, 2010, thousands of high school physics students descended on Six Flags America, near Washington, DC, and its gut-wrenching, free-falling, thrilling rides—and SPS was there to welcome them! See photos from this annual event on the SPS Flickr site, and upload your photos if you attended Physics Day!

Photo Album | Six Flags America | Amusement Park Physics

SciGirls aims to change how girls think about science
Every girl can be a SciGirl with a groundbreaking new TV show and interactive website that will transform the way tween girls look at science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). The empowering series has the right formula to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers with an engaging combination of actual girls exploring real-world science and math alongside successful female mentors in the field – plus an online destination unlike any other where young viewers can share their own exciting ideas and projects. Why not look for ways to incorporate SciGirls in your SPS outreach activities?

Watch an Episode of SciGirls | Resources for Teachers | Resources for Parents

Does That Involve Acoustics?
By John Boyle, Brigham Young University
Acoustics is HUGE and endlessly interesting. I enjoyed this conference because of the inherent interdisciplinary nature of every presentation and field of research. On paper, relatively few attendees could claim the title Acoustician or Professor of Acoustics. Musicians, surgeons, micro-biologists, marine biologists, geologists, linguists, engineers, federal crash investigators, shipbuilders, audiologists, you name it, they were at the conference.

LaserFest at Southern Miss
The 2010 SPS Zone 10 Meeting was held on March 26-27, 2010 on the Hattiesburg campus of the University of Southern Mississippi. LaserFest at Southern Miss was chosen as the meeting theme to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the laser. The meeting included a plenary lecture on "Lasers and Their Applications" by Dr. Brian Patterson of the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. Dr. Patterson gave a spectacular presentation on the history of the laser, how it works, and various Air Force projects that make use of lasers, such as the Starfire Optical Range and the Airborne Laser.

Snow no match for students at the APS/AAPT Meeting
The record snowfall in the mid-Atlantic region last February did not deter hundreds of enthusiastic undergraduate physics students from descending on Washington, DC, for the 2010 APS/AAPT Joint Meeting. SPS had six dedicated oral sessions and a poster session, in which 75 (!) SPS members presented their research. Many more undergraduates participated in the specialized research sessions. During the SPS student awards reception, 21 presenters were honored with "Outstanding Paper" certificates and books donated by APS and AAPT.

Here are four compelling perspectives on the jam-packed week from SPS Reporters.

Leigha Dickens | Katie Foote | Erin Lease | David Neto

The 2009 AGU Fall Meeting
By Michael Towle, University of Memphis
Before I attended the Fall 2009 Meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU), my professors and fellow graduate students who had attended AGU in previous years gushed about how big it was. Sure, the official website stated that over 16,000 geophysicists would present their research. My mind has trouble processing and visualizing large numbers on a sheet of paper, so I thought, “How big could this rodeo actually get?” Upon arriving at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, I immediately discovered that AGU was incomprehensibly epic in scale.

Putting a New Face on Physics
By Krystle Williams, 2007-08 SPS National Council
"What will the physics community look like 10 years from now? What should it look like? With the adoption of the theme “Future Faces of Physics,” these are the questions the Society of Physics Students (SPS) is encouraging you to ask yourself."

SPS Council member Krystle Williams brings SPS's 2008 theme Future Faces of Physics to Symmetry readers. Symmetry is a magazine about particle physics and its connections to other aspects of life and science, from interdisciplinary collaborations to policy to culture. It is published by Fermilab and Stanford Linear Accelerator Center.

Read Krystle's article in Symmetry | SPS Future Faces of Physics Initiative

Future Faces of Physics Jeopardy
With the theme Future Faces of Physics, (FFP) SPS is raising visibility and focus on issues of student diversity in physics. Future Faces of Physics Jeopardy is centered on this theme...try it out with friends or at your next SPS meeting!

If you would like to request a free FFP meeting kit that includes the Jeopardy game, please contact SPS. You can also compile your own kit.

Play FFP Jeopardy | FFP Meeting Kit

The first man-made nuclear explosion
By L. Worth Seagondollar, Co-Founder of SPS and Professor Emeritus, North Carolina State University
This talk describes one of the greatest war-time experiences possible for a young graduate student in the 1940's, including an eye-witness account of the Trinity Test in the New Mexico desert. Near-catastrophic accidents, working with armed guards watching, Enrico Fermi asking you to come to his office—these are unforgettable adventures.

Full Transcript | Video Highlights

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