John Stewart, Chair Elect – Forum on Education, West Virginia University

The Forum on Education program committee has completed its work selecting the sessions for the APS April Meeting from January 28-31, 2017 in Washington, D.C. and the March Meeting from March 13-17, 2017 in New Orleans, LA. The Chair Elect of the Forum on Education is the chair of the program committee. The slate of education sessions developed by the committee is impressive and should be of interest to a broad audience. This year’s program committee included Danny Caballero representing the topical group on physics education research (GPER), Mary Mogge representing the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT), Nicholas Weingartner representing the Forum on Graduate Student Affairs, Itai Cohen representing the Forum for Outreach and Engaging the Public, Ken Cicire and Bruce Mason who contributed AAPT co-sponsored sessions, Ted Hodapp and Monica Plisch from APS, and Forum on Education Executive Committee members Wendy Adams, Luz Martinez-Miranda, and Heather Lewandowski. Informal invitations have gone out to the speakers who will soon receive a formal invitation from the APS, so a speaker list cannot be announced at this writing; however, session titles can be announced. The meetings will be covered in the order they will actually happen.

APS April Meeting from January 28-31, 2017 in Washington, D.C.

Session 1 – Forum on Education Excellence in Physics Education Award – This session will present this year’s award winner and allow FEd and GPER APS Fellows from previous years to present an overview of their work.

Session 2 – Research in Teacher Preparation (co-sponsor with GPER) – This session will provide an overview of the history of and most recent developments in research into physics teacher education.

Session 3 – Online Communities Supporting Physics Education (AAPT contributed session) – This session will present a variety of online sources of materials to support physics educators.

Session 4 – Using 21st Century Physics to Educate 21st Century Students (AAPT contributed session) – This session will present a number of ways that modern physics (nuclear and particle) can be used in the classroom.

Session 5 – The Cutting Edge of Physics Education Research (co-sponsor with GPER) – This session will feature speakers whose work is pushing forward the boundary of physics education research.

APS March Meeting from March 13-17, 2017 in New Orleans, LA

Session 1 – Reichert Award Session – This session will feature the Reichert Award winner and other speakers discussing Advanced Laboratory instruction.

Session 2 – Preparing Physics Students for 21st Century Careers – This session will feature speakers from academia and industry discussing how to prepare physics students for careers in both the private and academic sectors. It should be of interest to both faculty involved in preparing students and students who want to know what skills industry is looking for.

Session 3 – The New (and Future) Faculty Workshop in Three Hours – This session will feature speakers who have presented at the APS New Faculty Workshop and speakers who have been instrumental in finding innovative ways to train future faculty. The session should give attendees an overview of the New Faculty Workshop, some new ideas, and possibly a refresher course.

Session 4 – How to Get a Job: Preparing for a Career in Physics – This session addresses the issue of preparing students for careers in physics, both within academia and in the private sector, from the view of the student (as opposed to Session 2 which takes the view of faculty). It will feature general discussion of careers in physics and how to find the career you want. It will also feature speakers from industry and speakers who have taken unique career paths. It is meant to be particularly appropriate for the many student (graduate and undergraduate) attendees at the meeting, but also valuable for faculty who wish to understand physics career issues.

As program chair, I would like to thank the committee for all their hard work putting together a fantastic set of sessions that APS members should find very interesting.

Disclaimer – The articles and opinion pieces found in this issue of the APS Forum on Education Newsletter are not peer refereed and represent solely the views of the authors and not necessarily the views of the APS.