Program and Speaker Notes

Graduate Education in Physics: Which Way Forward? Conference

Which Way Forward? Links

Conference topics included the graduate curriculum, preparation for non-academic careers, communication skills and professional development, TA training, ethics, comprehensive exam, departmental climate, and advising. This program was supported by the National Science Foundation under Award No. PHY-0701352.

For information regarding the program, please contact Janet Tate.

Program

Thursday, January 31 (Marriott Greenbelt Hotel)
5:30 - 7:00 pm	Registration
7:00 -10:00 pm	Dinner and keynote address (Poster session following dinner) Renee Diehl, Penn State University, APS/AAPT Task Force on Graduate Education
Friday, February 1 (American Center for Physics)
7:15 - 8:00 am	Breakfast
8:00 - 9:00 am	Plenary Addresses Michael Neuschatz, American Institute of Physics, Statistical Research Division Ken Heller, University of Minnesota, Past AAPT President (2006)
9:00 -10:15 am	*Panel Session 1: What's wrong (or right) with the status quo* in graduate education?** Robert Pelcovits, Brown University Thomas Greytak, MIT
10:15 -10:45 am	Break
10:45 -12:00 pm	Breakout Sessions (parallel) Recruiting, Retention and Funding Keivan Stassun, Vanderbilt and Fisk Universities Does the Undergraduate Curriculum Prepare for Graduate School? Charlie Holbrow, Colgate University Mentoring and Career Advising Steve Carlip, University of California Davis
12:00 - 1:00 pm	Lunch
1:00 - 2:15 pm	Panel Session 2: Preparation for Non-Academic Careers Shirley Chiang, University of California Davis Bijoy Chatterjee, National Semiconductor Venky Venkatesan, Neocera
2:15 -2:45 pm	Break
2:45 - 4:00 pm	Breakout Sessions (parallel) Interdisciplinary Courses Randall Kamien, University of Pennsylvania Naomi Halas, Rice University Communication Skills, Professional Development Sherry Yennello, Texas A&M University Internships, GK-12 Programs Edward van Keuren, Georgetown University
4:00 - 4:15 pm	Break
4:15 - 5:30 pm	Report and Wrap up
5:30 - 6:30 pm	Light reception
6:30 - 7:30 pm	Dinner
7:30 - 9:30 pm	Panel Discussion and Continued Poster Session: Where to Next? Judy Franz, American Physical Society Michael Thoennessen, AAPT, Michigan State University Michael Neuschatz, American Institute of Physics Statistical Research Division Myles Boylan, Division of Graduate Education, National Science Foundation
Saturday, February 2 (American Center for Physics)
7:15 – 8:00 am	Breakfast
8:00 - 9:15 am	Panel Session 3 Climate and Diversity Margaret Murnane, University of Colorado Boulder Vincent Rodgers, University of Iowa
9:15 -9:45 am	Break
9:45 -11:00 am	Breakout Sessions (parallel) TA Training Ken Heller, University of Minnesota Ethics Awareness Marshall Thomsen, Eastern Michigan University Comprehensive Exam, Time to Degree Hermann Verlinde, Princeton University
11:00 am - 12:30 pm	Report and wrap up
12:30 - 1:30 pm	Lunch
1:30 pm	Adjourn

Conference Organization

Organizing Committee:

Janet Tate, Oregon State University, APS Committee on Education
Theodore Hodapp, Director of Education and Diversity, American Physical Society
Chandralekha Singh, University of Pittsburgh, APS Committee on Education
Michael Thoennessen, Michigan State University, AAPT Committee on Graduate Education in Physics

APS Coordinator:

Sue Otwell, APS Education Programs Administrator

Advisory Committee

Renee Diehl, Professor of Physics, Penn State University; Member of the Joint APS-AAPT Task Force on Graduate Education in Physics
Steven Girvin, Eugene Higgins Professor of Physics & Applied Physics; former Director of Graduate Studies, Yale University
Kenneth Heller, Past President (2006), American Association of Physics Teachers; Professor of Physics, University of Minnesota
Theodore Hodapp, Director of Education and Diversity, American Physical Society; Professor of Physics, Hamline University.
John Markert, Professor and Chair of Physics, University of Texas, Austin
Margaret Murnane, Professor & Assoc. Chair of Graduate Studies of Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder; Fellow of JILA
Horst Stormer, Professor of Physics & Applied Physics, Columbia University, Nobel Laureate & former Director of the Physical Research Laboratory, Bell Laboratories.