July 23 , 2004

Making physics resonate: CSUS to host massive teaching event

Full schedule
From July 26 through Aug. 5, California State University, Sacramento becomes the center of mass for physics education in the United States. Relatively speaking.

During that time, the University will host more than 1,700 physics teachers from high school through the university level. They’ll learn about the latest physics lab gadgets, gather teaching strategies, share research and more.

There will also be an electrifying event for the public called "Physics Phun for Everyone" at 8 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 3 in the University Union Ballroom.

Area physics teachers are being invited to attend the national confab, which has previously been held in such places as the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Notre Dame and Trinity University in San Antonio.

It all starts July 26 with the prestigious Physics Teachers Resource Agents Institute, a week of workshops for about 120 teachers who received competitive grants from the National Science Foundation.

From July 31 through Aug. 4, about 1,400 teachers will attend the meeting of the American Association of Physics Teachers. Then about 200 people from the Physics Education Research group will meet July 4 and 5.

Organizer Peter Urone, a CSUS physics professor, says the events will give CSUS physics students and faculty a chance to showcase their facilities and current research. It will also be a great opportunity for students to explore graduate studies and career opportunities, he says, and for area teachers to learn from their peers nationwide,

“It’s prestigious to get these events, and it will be really great as far as showcasing the campus and in helping improve physics teaching throughout our region,” Urone says.

Featured speakers over the 11 days of events will include Sydney Drell of Stanford University, an internationally recognized expert on nuclear proliferation, and Tom Cahill of UC Davis, who conducted studies on air quality near the site of the Sept. 11 attacks in New York. There will be a performance by Lynda Williams, the famed "Physics Chanteuse" and a CSUS Alumna.

There will also be an evening picnic and series of demonstrations at PASCO Scientific, the Roseville company celebrating its 40th year making equipment for teaching physics.

A complete schedule of workshops, meetings and special events is at www.aapt.org/scheduler/129th/. For more information, contact CSUS professor Peter Urone at ppu@csus.edu. On-site registration for the July 31 - Aug. 4 event is $210 for one day and $300 for the full meeting. Student registration is $60 for undergraduates and $80 for graduate students.

Media assistance is available from CSUS public affairs at (916) 278-6156.
Full schedule

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