Meetings and Events
Hola,
Two questions may have already occurred to you by now -- Why should you go to a meeting? To which meeting should you go?
The Role of Meetings
Physics, like all of the sciences, is a very social process. We
meet, we talk and argue, and we tell very nerdy physics jokes and
stories. We come together to shop for ideas, discuss our results,
listen to critiques, share our thoughts, touch bases with friends and
colleagues.
Going to meetings is a natural part of being a physicist.
Therefore, learning to give a talk, taking part in a discussion, and
interacting with colleagues you just met -- are all part of the
education of a scientist, a way of establishing your credentials as
being part of the community.
And though you will learn much by attending papers and posters
on topics of interest ... you will learn much more from conversations
and discussions with people who share common interests but who bring a
very different perspective. E-mail and phone calls are a poor
substitute for face-to-face conversation. And many fruitful friendships
and collaborations begin at meetings.
Hopefully, by now you have decided that a meeting might be worth exploring -- but which meeting?
The Choice of Meetings
Rather than try and carve out our own space among the many physics
meetings each year, the NSHP holds Joint Meetings with a few selected
societies. Each of our partners offers us (and you) a different
environment, different opportunities, different vibrations.
SACNAS
The Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science ( http://www.sacnas.org/) is one of the oldest and most dynamic societies devoted to minority
students and faculty. Certainly it boasts one of the largest gathering
of students at any national meeting.
Though posters on teaching pedagogy and educational initiatives are
beginning to make an appearance at this meeting, it remains primarily a
place for minority students and faculty to present their research. The
SACNAS meeting is unique in that as well as being a scientific meeting,
it is also a celebration of culture. The NSHP holds a Joint Meeting
with SACNAS in the fall but physics remains a small part of the papers
at the meeting. The NSHP has a small NSF grant to recognize and award
the best physics student poster at the meeting.
NSBP
The National Society of Black Physicists ( http://www.nsbp.org/) is older and more established than the NSHP but it shares a similar
mission and objectives for African-American physicists. Their meetings
began primarily for the physicists in industry and government
laboratories but they have continued to grow and now offer a wealth of
opportunities for both students and faculty. Indeed, students will find
a comprehensive set of sessions devoted to studying at the
undergraduate and graduate levels, preparing for the GRE, presenting
talks, writing resumes, finding jobs, and many other relevant subjects.
Students and faculty are able to present their research and attend
plenary talks on frontier research in physics.
Visit YouTube and hear what students had to say about being at the 2004 Joint NSBP/NSHP Meeting in Orlando.
Or you can read about the 2008 Joint meeting.
AAPT
The American Association of Physics Teachers ( http://www.aapt.org/) is the organization with the cleanest and greatest focus on the
teaching and learning of physics at all levels (K-20). Though NSHP has
had two Joint Meetings with AAPT (Austin -- Winter 2003 and Albuquerque
-- Winter 2005) due to geographical reasons no other Joint Meetings are
scheduled at this time. However, AAPT meetings have much to offer
Hispanic students and faculty who are particularly interested in how to
more effectively teach physics. In addition, those teachers and faculty
wanting to learn how to more effectively engage under-represented
groups in physics, indeed how to more effectively engage all students
in physics, can learn much by visiting AAPT meetings. The Physics
Education Research community has recently been holding a day long
conference at the conclusion of the AAPT summer meeting.
APS
The American Physical Society ( http://www.aps.org/) is the largest society of research-based physicists in the United
States. Though its focus has traditionally been on the research
development of the physics community it has started to develop an
impressive presence in the fields of physics educational research and
teaching physics at the university level. Though we (the NSHP) have not
held any Joint Meetings with APS at the national level we have met with
sectional APS chapters, primarily the Texas section (TSAPS) and the Southeast section(SESAPS).
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