Nobel Laureate Supports Congressional Internships for Physics Undergraduates COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND, 11 November 2009 — John C. Mather, who shared the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physics for his precise measurements of the primordial heat radiation of the Big Bang, is now turning his sights to a more Earthly ambition. He will spend part of his prize money to bring more physics and physicists into government.
Today, the John and Jane Mather Foundation for Science and the Arts and the American Institute of Physics (AIP) announced the creation of the Mather Policy Intern Program, an endowed program that will send two undergraduate physics majors to Washington each summer where they will spend their break working in Congress or in other government offices where policy is formulated. "The aim of the program is to promote awareness of policy process among young scientists by directly engaging them in the work that goes on in the federal government -- work that is today as exciting as in any time in the past," explained Fred Dylla, Executive Director of the American Institute of Physics.
Show us your Spooky Science! Whether you dropped, chucked, frightened, or haunted this Halloween, SPS wants photos from your Halloween physics event. The best photos will be published in the Winter 2009 issue of The SPS Observer and their associated chapters will receive a never-before-offered SPS spooky science kit.
Photos must be uploaded or received by December 1, 2009 to be eligible.
SPS Council Looks to the Future In September the SPS National Council gathered for a packed weekend in Washington, DC to plan for the 2009-2010 year. An exciting result was the passage of an official statement on the importance of encouraging a diversity of people to excel in physics:
The Society of Physics Students recognizes that there is a vast untapped intellectual resource in all groups underrepresented in physics. For this reason, the Society of Physics Students is committed to making physics more accessible to everyone. We are committed to providing programs, resources and opportunities that encourage greater participation in the community of physics from members of all groups.
In addition, the Council broke out into committees to start work on a multitude of topics such as following up on the recommendations from the 2008 Congress of Sigma Pi Sigma, and selecting a theme for 2010, Exciting the Imagination. The new theme is aligned with LaserFest, celebrating of 50 years of laser innovation.
SPS intern Scott Stacey with an assembled Galileoscope.
See the same celestial wonders Galileo first glimpsed 400 years ago–build a Galileoscope! Now is a great time to join scientists and science enthusiasts the world over in exploring Astronomy–one of the recent monthly themes for the 2009 Year of Science (YoS2009). Continue your quest by celebrating the International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009). In recognition of these events, SPS selected A Universe of Wonder as its 2009 theme.
Student Perspectives on Physics Meetings Meetings are the lifeblood of SPS, and there are many opportunities to participate at the local, regional, national and even international levels. SPS partners with many professional societies to host undergraduate research sessions at regional and national meetings across the United States. At left, SPS reporter Jenna Smith's view of View of Al Gore's address from the "overflow" room at the 2009 AAPT/AAAS Joint Meeting.
To the Moon and back with the SPS interns
From mapping the hydrogen content on the surface of the Moon to developing laser-themed science kits for middle-school students, the SPS summer interns have been busy! SPS recently hosted the eighth annual SPS Intern Presentations at the American Center for Physics, College Park, MD. A diverse audience of mentors, colleagues, family, and friends came to hear the 12 energetic interns formally present their physics research and outreach projects. One attendee commented, "If those SPS interns represent the future of physics, well then, I feel much better."
The interns wrapped up their projects on August 6 and headed back home to Texas, Ohio, Illinois, and other destinations around the country. To read about the interns' summer experiences, see photos and view slides from their presentations, visit the 2009 Interns Page.
Inspiring Outreach Recognized with Blake Lilly Prize "I want to be an astrophysicist!" exclaimed a seven-year old girl talking to a graduate-school-bound physics club member during Wooster College's first annual Community Science Day. Wooster, along with four other schools, are recipients of a 2009 Blake Lilly Prize. These annual awards recognize SPS chapters and individuals who make a genuine effort to positively influence the attitudes of school children and the general public about physics.
2009 Student Fellowships in Physics and Society
From combating "pseudo-science" to controlling carbon emissions, recipients of the 2009 SPS/APS Student Fellowships in Physics and Society are involved in some fascinating research aimed at impacting the larger society. The 2009 recipients are Kevin Thomas, University of Central Florida (left), and Zhenyuan Zhao, University of Miami (right). Read their progress reports here. The Fellowships are granted jointly by the American Physical Society (APS) Forum on Physics and Society (FPS), in partnership with the Society of Physics Students and the APS Forum on Graduate Student Affairs (FGSA).
SPS hosts activities at Six Flags America
Ever had a 96-foot drop as a part of your demo show? On April 24th, 2009, 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! SPS volunteers from across the Mid-Atlantic region joined staff members from the SPS national office to take physics to the students.
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.
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!
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.
We've recently deployed the "Share" widget by AddThis across the SPS website. AddThis is the number one bookmarking and sharing button on the Internet — making it easier to bookmark and share our content with others across the web via Facebook, MySpace, del.icio.us, Digg, Google Bookmarks, or any of the 36 social networking services linked through AddThis.
"I wonder whether we are alone in the universe, or if there are other intelligent beings out there. Then I wonder about how to find them, whether SETI is doing the right observations, how to do an even better search, and how to find funding to actually do the work." —Jill Tarter, Director of the Center for SETI Research, SETI Institute
Andrea Roma
"I wonder what exactly are the series of physical mechanisms that take a signal to your eyes and perpetuate it in various forms through the biochemical/ nervous systems of the body and translates it to that physical sensation you feel in that particular spot when you watch your daughter jump with surprise when she wins her first ribbon in her 4-H competitions." —Andrea Roma, University of Washington
Lorenzo Sewanan
Is there a physical particle, perhaps subatomic, perhaps imperceptible, that can correspond to the human soul, the will? —Lorenzo Sewanan, Trinity College
Leigha Dickens
I wonder what it must have been like for Galileo and other first observers of planets through telescopes? To look at that star-like object in the sky and see a circle with rings, or a crescent like the moon, without having expected such shapes? —Leigha Dickens, University of North Carolina, Asheville
COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND, 11 November 2009 — John C. Mather, who shared the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physics for his precise measurements of the primordial heat radiation of the Big Bang, is now turning his sights to a more Earthly ambition. He will spend part of his prize money to bring more physics and physicists into government.
Whether you dropped, chucked, frightened, or haunted this Halloween, 
In September the SPS National Council gathered for a packed weekend in Washington, DC to plan for the 2009-2010 year. An exciting result was the passage of an official statement on the importance of encouraging a diversity of people to excel in physics: 
Meetings are the lifeblood of SPS, and there are many opportunities to participate at the local, regional, national and even international levels. SPS partners with many professional societies to host undergraduate research sessions at regional and national meetings across the United States. At left, SPS reporter Jenna Smith's view of View of Al Gore's address from the "overflow" room at the 
From mapping the hydrogen content on the surface of the Moon to developing laser-themed science kits for middle-school students, the SPS summer interns have been busy! SPS recently hosted the eighth annual SPS Intern Presentations at the American Center for Physics, College Park, MD. A diverse audience of mentors, colleagues, family, and friends came to hear the 12 energetic interns formally present their physics research and outreach projects. One attendee commented, "If those SPS interns represent the future of physics, well then, I feel much better."
"I want to be an astrophysicist!" exclaimed a seven-year old girl talking to a graduate-school-bound physics club member during Wooster College's first annual Community Science Day. Wooster, along with four other schools, are recipients of a 2009 Blake Lilly Prize. These annual awards recognize SPS chapters and individuals who make a genuine effort to positively influence the attitudes of school children and the general public about physics. 
By Krystle Williams, 2007-08 SPS National Council
"I wonder whether we are alone in the universe, or if there are other intelligent beings out there. Then I wonder about how to find them, whether SETI is doing the right observations, how to do an even better search, and how to find funding to actually do the work." 
"I wonder what exactly are the series of physical mechanisms that take a signal to your eyes and perpetuate it in various forms through the biochemical/ nervous systems of the body and translates it to that physical sensation you feel in that particular spot when you watch your daughter jump with surprise when she wins her first ribbon in her 4-H competitions." 
