Campus News

The Illinois and Wisconsin sections of American Association of Physics Teachers (ISAAPT and WAPT) will host a conference on “Contemporary Physics Instruction” at Rockford University on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 20 – 21, 2017. The plenary sessions and workshops focus on astronomy, science and media, instruction & pedagogy, laboratory practices, and the status of women and minorities in physics and astronomy.

The hosts have prepared a fantastic lineup of invited speakers and workshops relevant for physics instruction, both at the high-school and college level. Conference events will be held in Rockford University’s newly remodeled Starr Science Center, with the banquet in Forrest Cool Lounge in the Burpee Student Center.

More information is available at the website. Regular registration is $40 and includes lunch on Saturday, Oct. 21 and coffee/refreshments. The 10 first-time attendees from both Illinois and Wisconsin will have their registration fee waived. Undergraduate student registration is free.

Invited Speakers

• Las Campanas Remote Observatory: Remote Challenges and Solutions; Real Science Within Reach, Friday, Oct. 20, 4:30 p.m.; Howard Hedlund, Astro-Physics Inc., Rockford, Ill.
• The State of ‘Beyond the First Year’ Physics Labs and the Resources to Support Them, Friday, Oct. 20, 5:15 p.m.; Lowell McCann, Ph. D., University of Wisconsin – River Falls
• Building Instruments of Discovery, Friday, Oct. 20, 7:45 p.m.; Sarah Tuttle, Ph. D., University of Washington, Seattle, Wash.
• Is the pipeline leaking? White women and other minoritized scientists in Astronomy, Saturday, Oct. 21, 8:15 a.m.; Sarah Tuttle, Ph. D., University of Washington, Seattle, Wash.
• Science and Social Media: One Physicist’s Experience, Saturday, Oct. 21, 1:15 p.m.; Robert McNees, Ph. D., Loyola University, Chicago

Free Workshops

• W1. Friday, Oct, 20, 3 – 4:30 p.m. – Exploration of Integrating Computation into the Curriculum; Todd Zimmermann, Ph. D., University of Wisconsin, Stout
• W2. Saturday, Oct. 21, 9 – 10:30 a.m. – Women and Minorities in the History of Physics, Role Models for Today; Gregory Good, Ph. D., Director, Center for the History of Physics 
• W3. Saturday, Oct. 21, 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. – More Modern Modern Physics for the High School Classroom; James Madsen, Ph. D., University of Wisconsin, River Falls
• W4. Saturday, Oct. 21, 2 – 3:30 p.m. – IOLab – a multi-sensor device; Morten Lundsgaard, Physics Department, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign