The 2020 Assembly of Society Officers took place on March 26, 2020 at the American Center for Physics in College Park, MD.
AIP Member and Affiliated Societies convene to discuss areas of mutual concern at the annual Assembly of Society Officers. Session topics range from challenges/innovations in scientific publishing to public policy issues, from supporting/growing the membership base to trends in philanthropic giving, from supporting science education to promoting science as a viable career choice to a diverse population. The Assembly is also a forum where Member and Affiliated Society representatives can become better acquainted and share ideas.
2019 Agenda - March 28, 2019
9:00am Breakfast
9:30am Welcome
9:40am Session I: Evidence-Based Actions for Today to Diversify the Physical Sciences
Questions persist about how to make the study and practice of the physical sciences accessible to everyone. While our societies continue to study the issue and to strategize optimal approaches, there are certain programs that have shown not only promise, but actual progress in moving the needle. In this session, we will learn about the state of the field, interventions, and actions that we can collectively take today to be fully engaged partners in addressing this challenge.
Session Chair: Willie Rockward, Chair and Professor of Physics, Morgan State University; President of NSBP
Keynote: Makola M. Abdullah, President, Virginia State University
"Overcoming the Challenges of Diversity and Inclusion in STEM"
Panel
Understanding Interventions That Impact Research and Practice
Daryl Chubin, Principal Investigator and Co-Directors, Understanding Interventions- Minding the Gap in Physics
Claudia Rankins, Program Officer, Directorate for Education and Human Resources, National Science Foundation - The APS Bridge Program
Monica Plisch, Director of Education and Diversity, APS - AAS Graduate Education Diversity and Inclusion Task Force and its 2019 Report
Megan Donahue, Professor of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University, and President of AAS - Updates on the TEAM-UP Task Force
Tabbetha Dobbins, Associate Professor, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Rowan University
Break
Extended discussion
12:35pm Lunch & Mid-day mash up
Poster Session: Venture Partnership Program: Learn more about innovative Member Society projects that have received funding through AIP's Venture Partnership Fund (VPF). VPF collaborations are strategy driven, promote growth, address community challenges and broaden impacts; they are also quite distinct. Speak with various project leads and consider possibilities for your society's future proposals.
- The International Day of Light at ARTECHOUSE, OSA
- The Career Pathways Project Collaboration, APS
- Teacher Leaders In Physics Education Policy, AAPT
- ComSciCon-AIP: a new partnership in graduate student-led science communication, AAS
- Panta Rei – The Development of Rheology-Focused K12 Outreach Events, SOR
- Physics is the Engine That Grows Technology in the US Economy, APS
A sneak-peak at a selection of AIP's new Wenner Collection: This fascinating collection includes nearly 4,000 rare books and publications that document the important discoveries in physics and physical sciences, stretching back 400 years, including works by Ptolemy, Galileo, Huygens, Halley, Newton, and Curie, among many others.
2:20pm Session II: Cutting through the Noise: Mind, Perception, and Effective Communication
Every public education effort, awareness-raising campaign, and policy development initiative interplays with human perception and opinion. Understanding how the human brain is susceptible to psychological, social, and cultural influences that drive behavior can help us approach issues that we care about--and maybe even advance good science policy, fact-based decision making, and public regard for science. This session will examine lessons from cognitive psychology and science communication, so that we might more effectively open minds.
Session Chair: David Helfand, Chair, AIP Board of Directors; Professor of Astronomy at Columbia University; Past President of AAS
Panel
- When Five out of Four People have Trouble with Fractions
Ellen Peters, Distinguished Professor of Psychology, The Ohio State University - Keeping and, If Need Be, Prying Minds Open
Baruch Fischhoff, Howard Heinz University Professor, Institute for Politics and Strategy, and Engineering & Public Policy (PhD Psychologist), Carnegie Mellon University
Extended discussion
4:15 Closing remarks
4:30 - 6pm Closing Reception