Built around the theme, Physics: The Experimental Core, the AAPT 2012 Summer Meeting will be held July 28-August 1 at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. AAPT Area Committees have developed a rich and diverse program of educational sessions, panel discussions, poster sessions, and plenary talks to meet the needs of students, researchers, and education professionals.

Highlights of the meeting include the presentation of the David Halliday and Robert Resnick Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Physics Teaching, the Robert A. Milikan Medal, and the Klopsteg Memorial Award. Watch the AAPT website for announcement of these award winners.

The annual Apparatus Competition, established to recognize, reward, and publicize worthwhile contributions to physics teaching through demonstration and experiment, is held during the Summer Meeting. Whether developed to pique the interest of students, used in lecture and demonstration, or simply used to help teach physics in new or fascinating ways, teachers are continually engineering apparatus to aid physics instruction. The Apparatus Competition is where you can share your apparatus with others. For more information, please visit the competition web site.

---

SPIN-UP Workshop, Austin, TX May 4-6, 2012

Do you want to grow your undergraduate physics program? AAPT, in cooperation with APS and AIP, and with support from the National Science Foundation invites faculty teams from physics departments to attend a May 4-6, 2012 workshop in Austin, Texas. The goal of the SPIN-UP Regional Workshop program is to enable physics departments in a wide variety of institutions to build the departmental infrastructure that will produce long-term improvements in undergraduate physics programs and to enhance both the number of students studying physics and the quality of student learning.

Each workshop invites teams of 2-3 faculty members, including the chair and/or the associate chair for undergraduate education, to work with an experienced group of physics faculty members, including representatives from departments that have recently seen large increases in the number of undergraduate majors. Each department will analyze its current situation and where they would like to be and then develop plans to implement sustainable change to meet the department’s goals.

Participating departments will cover their own travel expenses in order to demonstrate a commitment to making real change. The NSF grant will provide support for hotel accommodations. Departments may apply for a limited number of travel support supplements as well. For the May, 2012 workshop, preference will be given to teams from colleges and universities in Texas and nearby states, but other teams will be accepted if space is available.

For more information go to the link or contact Ruth Howes; Phone: (505) 955-0836. Program details and registration information will be available beginning in mid-February 2012.

---

Biennial Physics Department Chairs Meeting, June 8-10, 2012

The American Association of Physics Teachers and the American Physical Society will be hosting the biennial Physics Department Chairs Meeting June 8-10, 2012 in College Park, MD. The meeting provides an opportunity for department chairs to learn about recent developments in physics education, research activities, and science funding and to talk with other department chairs about a broad spectrum of physics department issues. APS will organize an optional Congressional visit day on June 7. Program information and registration details will be available in February 2012. Information about previous Department Chairs meetings.

---

Physics and Astronomy New Faculty Workshop, June 25-28, 2012

Physics and astronomy department chairs are invited to nominate members of their faculty who are in the first few years of their initial tenure-track appointments to attend the nineteenth Physics and Astronomy New Faculty Workshop, June 25-28, 2012 at the American Center for Physics in College Park, Maryland. This Workshop is sponsored by the American Association of Physics Teachers, the American Physical Society, and the American Astronomical Society and is funded by the National Science Foundation.

The Workshop will begin on Monday, June 25, at 1:30 pm and concludes at noon on Thursday, June 28. The program for the June 2012 workshop will be similar to the June 2011 program. A formal notice requesting nominations will be sent to physics and astronomy department chairs in mid-February.

---

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.