Education and Diversity News

APS Conferences for Undergraduate Women in Physics (CUWiP): Application for Students Closes October 12

The 2019 APS CUWiP will be held at twelve universities across the U.S. and Canada January 18 - 20, and provide great opportunities for women in physics to network, as well as learn from scientific presentations, panel discussions, graduate school fairs, and career expos! Applications are open September 3 - October 12 at the CUWiP page.

Deadline to Apply to Host a 2020 APS CUWiP: November 1

The 2020 Conferences for Undergraduate Women in Physics will be held January 17-19, 2020 at multiple sites throughout the United States and Canada. Canadian host applications should be submitted through the same process as U.S. applications. If you are interested in applying to host a conference, please visit the Host a CUWiP Conference page.

Get the Facts Out

In conjunction with the 2019 APS March Meeting, PhysTEC will be hosting a Pre-Meeting Workshop on a new initiative called “Get the Facts Out: Changing the Conversation Around STEM Teaching.” This project is designed to encourage discussion among students and faculty about teaching as a profession and misperceptions about it. The workshop will be available to those attending the March Meeting and the 2019 PhysTEC Conference. For more information, go to the PhyTEC website.

PhysTEC recently completed a study of “thriving” physics teacher education programs (i.e., programs that frequently graduate five or more physics teachers per year). The goal of the study was to identify common practices and structures of these highly successful programs so that these approaches may be emulated by other physics teacher education programs. To download the report and supporting materials, go to the PhysTEC Thriving Programs page.

APS Releases updated statistics on women, minorities, and education

Drawing on national databases, each year the APS collects and produces a number of graphics and data files that document the participation of various groups in physics. To see the latest numbers and historical trends on physics majors (bachelor’s, master’s and PhDs), women in physics, underrepresented ethnic/racial minorities, and more, visit the Physics Graphs & Statistics page. Data are also available to see how every department compares to national averages in terms of producing physics degrees and encouraging diversity among these degrees (How Does Your Institution Compare). Thanks to Bardia Bijani Aval from the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University for his help in assembling the data.

Professional Skills Development Workshop for Women Physicists

With support from the National Science Foundation and the APS Division of Fluid Dynamics (DFD), APS will offer a Professional Skills Development Workshop on November 30 in conjunction with the 2018 Annual DFD Meeting in Atlanta, GA. The workshop is open to female postdocs and early career female physicists and is designed to provide professional training in effective negotiation and communication skills, as well as a special opportunity for networking. Registration will close on October 22. For more information and to register, please visit the DFD 2018 Events page.

Join us in California for the 2018 Bridge Program/NMC Conference!

The 2018 APS Bridge Program & National Mentoring Community Conference will be held on November 16-18, 2018 at Google Headquarters and Stanford University. Workshops and plenaries focus on strengthening mentoring relationships, building firm foundations for successful student experiences, and providing learning and networking opportunities on other topics related to diversity in physics graduate and undergraduate education. Registration is open until October 31, or when maximum capacity is reached. For more information and to register, please visit the APS Bridge and NMC Conference page.