As a 501(c)(3) non-profit, AIP is a federation that advances the success of our Member Societies and an institute that engages in research and analysis to empower positive change in the physical sciences. The mission of AIP (American Institute of Physics) is to advance, promote, and serve the physical sciences for the benefit of humanity.

Scientific discovery shapes our lives every day. And AIP empowers the organizations and people that make those discoveries possible. Read more about AIP: www.aip.org/aip/about-aip

Strategy & Vision

We invite you to learn about AIP’s strategic direction by visiting: https://www.aip.org/aip#strategic-framework

History of AIP: Highlights

For nearly a century, The American Institute of Physics (AIP) has worked to advance, promote and serve the physical sciences community for the benefit of humanity. AIP was founded in 1931 to address research funding shortfalls brought on by the Great Depression. At the urging of the Chemical Foundation, which provided initial funding, leaders of American physics formed a corporation for the “advancement and diffusion of knowledge of the science of physics and its application to human welfare,” especially by achieving economies in the publishing of journals and the maintenance of membership lists.

Read more about the history of AIP: https://www.aip.org/aip/history

Board of Directors & Executive Team

The AIP Board of Directors provides active and strategic leadership.

The Board comprises the Chair, AIP CEO, Corporate Secretary, one Director from each Member Society, and up to four at-large Directors. These Directors make sure each Society has a seat at the table when looking to the future of the physical sciences.

AIP Executive Team

Our executives have their eyes on the future of physics.

The AIP Executive Team is a group of highly talented individuals working together to advance the physical sciences and promote AIP’s Member Societies with a unifying voice of strength from diversity.

Meet AIP’s Board and Executive Team here: https://www.aip.org/aip/leadership

AIP Foundation

AIP Foundation is an independent not-for-profit corporation, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charitable organization (tax ID #83-4485064), with the American Institute of Physics Inc. as the sole member of the corporation.

AIP Foundation inspires philanthropy that empowers physical scientists to change the world. Our remarkable community, united by a passion for science, supports AIP programs that foster the next generation of science leaders, steward our history for a brighter future, and create a more equitable and accessible physical sciences community for all. Our mission is to secure philanthropic support for AIP to advance, promote, and serve the physical sciences for the benefit of humanity.

AIP and AIP Publishing (AIPP) Relationship

Scientific publishing has been a part of AIP’s activities and focus since its founding in 1931. In 2013, AIP formed AIP Publishing (AIPP) a wholly owned not-for-profit subsidiary.

AIP Publishing’s mission is to advance, promote, and serve the physical sciences for the benefit of humanity by breaking barriers to open, fair research communication and empowering researchers to accelerate global progress.

AIPP publishes a number of scientific journals and other publications. Today, some AIP Member Societies also publish exclusively with AIPP, some publish partially with AIPP, and some conduct all their publishing activities on their own, with no relationship to AIPP. AIP Publishing is managed separately from AIP, but there is still a strong connection between the parent and subsidiary. For more information, visit: https://publishing.aip.org/about/about-us/

Society of Physics Students & Sigma Pi Sigma

AIP runs the Society of Physics Students (SPS), the professional society undergraduates and their advisors organized in collegiate chapters and open to anyone interested in physics, astronomy, and other physical sciences. Learn more about SPS here: https://students.aip.org/sps

AIP also runs Sigma Pi Sigma, the physics and astronomy honor society. Learn more here: https://students.aip.org/sigma-pi-sigma