Education and Diversity News

Physics Department Chairs Conference Goes Online

Save the date: The free virtual APS/AAPT Physics Department Chairs Conference will take place June 18-19, 2020. Registration and further information are available at the conference page.

The conference agenda will include:

• A town hall with NSF Directors from the Division of Physics and the Division of Materials Research
• “Restarting the research enterprise" with APS Chief Government Affairs Officer Francis Slakey
• Discussions about experiences of these past few months on topics including: labs, assessing student work, assessing faculty in an online environment, synchronous vs. asynchronous teaching/learning environments, etc.
• Pre-release discussions of the “Effective Practices for Physics Programs” (EP3) Guide, currently under development, and set for initial release in December 2020. Possible topics include: Recruitment/retention of students, guide for new chairs, program review, advising and mentoring of students, and career preparation
• Session for new chairs (experienced chairs are encouraged to attend and share strategies)

STEP UP Online Community

STEP UP has launched an online community (hosted on APS Engage)—sign up at my.aps.org/STEPUP. You can join using existing APS credentials, or sign up for a free account. We have subcommunities for High School Teachers, Faculty/Professors, and Undergraduate Students, plus a central board for sharing ideas on encouraging young women to pursue physics degrees.

Join in the conversation today!