FALL 2 0 1 7 RadiationsThe official publication of Sigma Pi Sigma Today’s Physics Education The Hindenburg Disaster as a Teaching Tool Bringing Astronomy Research into the Classroom Updating the Careers Toolbox Contents 8 Your Dollars At Work 8. Paying It Forward: A Physics Alumnus Connects with the Next Generation – Mariann Salisbury, Development Director, American Institute of Physics page 8 9. 2016–17 Award Recipients 12 Features 12. The Hindenburg Disaster Is a Physics Teaching Opportunity – Gregory A. DiLisi, Associate Professor, John Carroll University 16. Bringing Astronomy Research into the Classroom with Astrobites – Susanna Kohler, Astrobites Administrator 18. TRAPPIST-1: Just right? – Elisabeth Matthews, PhD Candidate, University of Exeter page 12 20 Unifying Fields 20. Updating the Careers Toolbox – Brad R. Conrad, Kerry Kidwell-Slak, Toni Sauncy, and Katherine Zaunbrecher – Career Pathways Project Team 21. Preparing Students for 21st Century Careers – Kendra Redmond, Contributing Writer 22 Spotlight on Hidden Physicists 22. Michael Brewer, The Inventor and Entrepreneur 23. Melissa Lamberto, The Medical Physicist page 21 Departments ON THE COVER SPS Member and former SPS Intern, Samantha Spytek. 4 . The Director’s Space Samantha graduated from Virginia Tech in 2017 with a BA in Physics. She is continuing in Virginia Tech’s 5 . Chapter Profiles Secondary Science Education Program with plans to earn an M.Ed. with licensure in Physics. Samantha 7 . In the News is excited to begin her career teaching high school physics. 15 . Member Updates Photo credit: Susan Haymore. 24 . 2016–17 Sigma Pi Sigma Initiates 3 Radiations Fall 2017 Radiations The Director’s Space Fall 2017 Sharing Physics Volume 23, Issue 2 by Brad R. Conrad, PhD Director, Sigma Pi Sigma and Society of Physics Students EDITOR Rachel Kaufman ach issue of Radiations focuses on a different facet of who we are as a community. This MANAGING EDITOR edition homes in on how we acquire Kerry Kidwell-Slak Eknowledge and what it means to use knowledge. To CONTRIBUTING EDITOR paraphrase Michio Kaku, all humans are naturally Kendra Redmond scientists. Physicists and astronomers in particular COPY EDITOR focus on the why questions: Why are the equations Cynthia Freeman of this form? Why must the wavefunction go to zero at infinity? Why do stars have the spectrum they do? ART DIRECTOR We never stop questioning, growing, and expanding Tracy Nolis-Schwab what we know. The universe is our laboratory. What LAYOUT DESIGNER more could we ask for? Hyun-Joo Kim Many students have asked me why a physics SIGMA PI SIGMA PRESIDENT degree is so useful, and I usually reply that it enables me to not only formulate Willie S. Rockward, questions but make sense of the complicated world around me. The world is messy, Morehouse College but that’s half the fun. This issue focuses on the idea that education and discovery SPS PRESIDENT happen everywhere, and an undergraduate physics education is changing to embrace Alina Gearba-Sell, this reality. Physics is deeply seated in experimentation, and part of its beauty is that US Air Force Academy we can apply the principles learned in the laboratory to the real world: by carefully SIGMA PI SIGMA/SPS DIRECTOR examining distant starlight, by investigating the Hindenberg explosion, and by Brad R. Conrad incorporating experimental or computational activities in almost any course. Throughout my education, the most important lesson I have learned is that physics is not just scribbles on a chalkboard but something that happens every day, all the time. As trained scientists, it is our task to share what we learn and help others see the beauty in physics and sunrises. I hope this issue helps. n Humans are Radiations (ISSN 2160-1119) is the official publication of Sigma Pi Sigma, the physics honor “ natural born society, published twice per year by the American scientists. When Institute of Physics, One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740-3841. Printed in the USA. Standard we’re born, we postage paid at Columbus, OH. POSTMASTER: want to know Send address changes to: Radiations Magazine, why the stars Sigma Pi Sigma, 1 Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740-3841. shine. We want to know why the sun Sigma Pi Sigma is an organization of the American Institute of Physics. It was founded at Davidson rises. College, Davidson, NC, December 11, 1921. Member, Association of College Honor Societies. — Michio Kaku ” Contact us at [email protected]; telephone: (301) 209-3007; fax: (301) 209-3082. Copyright © 2017, American Institute of Physics. Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory images by Joshua Stevens, using Suomi NPP VIIRS data from Miguel Title registered in the US Patent Office. Román, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. All rights reserved. 4 Radiations Fall 2017 Chapter Profiles Introducing Some of the Newest Sigma Pi Sigma Chapters The American Institute of Physics is a federation of scientific societies in by Kendra Redmond, Contributing Writer the physical sciences, representing scientists, engineers, educators, and Berry College students. AIP offers authoritative information, services, and expertise in After a decade of inactivity, Berry College physics education and student programs, recently resurrected its SPS chapter. “Our science communication, government students were interested in strengthening relations, career services, statistical our physics/engineering community and research in physics employment and saw SPS as a chance to do that,” says education, industrial outreach, and advisor Shawn Hilbert. Two years in, history of the physical sciences. AIP they added Sigma Pi Sigma. “Sigma Pi publishes Physics Today, the most closely Sigma is a great way to come together as a followed magazine of the physical community to collectively say thank you sciences community, and is also home to to our student leaders both inside and the Society of Physics Students and the outside the classroom.” Members of the Berry College SPS and Sigma Pi Sigma Niels Bohr Library and Archives. AIP owns The department graduates an average chapters show off science demonstrations at the science AIP Publishing LLC, a scholarly publisher of four physics majors a year and supports magic show. Photo by Andrew Lockhart. in the physical and related sciences. about 80 physics/dual degree engineering www.aip.org majors at any given time. The faculty strongly emphasize active learning with techniques grounded in physics education research, encouraging technical reading, strong problem solving, self-learning, and research. Member Societies The SPS and Sigma Pi Sigma chapters at Berry College host an annual physics magic show Acoustical Society of America for their local community of Mount Berry, Georgia. They also host star parties at the campus American Association of Physicists observatory, giving community members the opportunity to explore the cosmos. In the future, the in Medicine chapters plan to host a monthly science café series. American Association of Physics Teachers American Astronomical Society American Crystallographic Association University of the Sciences American Meteorological Society Roberto Ramos, advisor of the new chapter American Physical Society AVS Science and Technology of Materials, at University of the Sciences, describes the Interfaces, and Processing physics department as small and very tight- The Optical Society knit. SPS students participate in several The Society of Rheology outreach events in the Philadelphia area each year, developing leadership and teaching Other Member Organizations skills early in their education. With Sigma Sigma Pi Sigma Pi Sigma, Ramos aims to honor outstanding Society of Physics Students scholarship and connect students to the Corporate Associates broader community of physicists. The chapter’s inaugural induction SPS director Brad Conrad presents the Sigma Pi Sigma ceremony included talks by three physics charter to professor Elia Eschenazi, department chair at Connect with Sigma Pi Sigma professionals—a food scientist, medical the University of the Sciences, as university president physicist, and high school physics teacher. Professor Paul Katz and SPS president Katee O’Malley LinkedIn watch. Photo courtesy of Brad Conrad. www.linkedin.com/groups/Sigma- “These speakers from different walks of Pi-Sigma-physics-honor-142619 life gave personal testimonies of excellence as they practiced physics in their respective spheres of Facebook influence,” said Ramos. www.facebook.com/groups/ Moving forward, the chapter plans to continue inviting professionals from diverse fields to be part sigmapisigma of their induction ceremony. “Through this process, we want to facilitate the connection between students, faculty, administration, and these professionals—and even stimulate collaborations,” says Donate donate.aip.org Ramos. They also plan to invite local K-12 students who are impacted by SPS physics outreach activities. 5 Radiations Fall 2017 Chapter Profiles University of Washington Bothell This is an exciting time for physics at the by Holly Gummelt, the first student to a fuller experience for the students and University of Washington Bothell. “We have declare a physics major on campus. “Our commend them on the enormous amount of a new physics degree program, with the physics department is very new and small, effort they put into their schoolwork.” This first students declaring their physics major but we have a wonderful group of dedicated past spring, she was among the first group of in 2016 and graduating in 2017,” said