Committee G: Physics Bachelor's Degree Production

 

Committee charge

 

Committee members

David Bahr (Zone 11), dbahr@bemidjistate.edu

Earl Blodgett (Zone 9), earl.d.blodgett@uwrf.edu

Ann Deml (Zone 9), ann.deml@gmail.com

Olivia Geraghty (Zone 16), oig2@nau.edu

Ajay Narayanan (Zone 17), anarayan@greenriver.edu

Jenna Smith (Zone 10), smijk@rhodes.edu

Gregory Topasna (Zone 4), topasnaga@vmi.edu

 

 

 

Mission Statement of the Doubling Initiative

 

 

We advocate doubling the number of bachelor degrees in physics to address critical national needs including K-12 education, economic competitiveness, energy and security.

·        An essential area of increase is in the number of highly-qualified high school physics teachers

·        An essential area of increase is in the fraction of physics majors held by women and under-represented minorities

 

Further, there are critical areas and concerns associated with such an initiative:

 

o        We do not necessarily seek to increase the number of PhDs in physics; however, we do advocate for an increase in the quality and diversity of the U.S. pool of physics Ph.D. candidates

 

o        Physics majors successfully pursue and are qualified for a wide range of careers and we support a much broader recognition of this by faculty and employers

 

o        We advocate that physics bachelor programs

1. Evolve to meet needs of emerging areas such as biophysics and nanoscience
2. Address documented shortages of physics-educated professionals in specific areas (e.g., secondary school teaching, medical physics, nuclear physics, etc.

 

 

Statement on Council Action

 

The 2007 council of the Society of Physics Students (SPS) voted to support the broad statement of the Doubling Initiative. The council refrained from endorsing individual initiatives that are part of the doubling initiative. The council resolved that the SPS will contribute to those initiatives in which the SPS has expertise

 

This statement was approved by members of Commitee G on January 21, 2008.

 

links and references

notes from Committee meeting I 9/28/07

• Charges 1 and 3 will be reviewed this year by the committee through email and the wiki.
• At our first meeting we discussed charge 2.
• We unanimously agreed to support the doubling initiative: We advocate doubling the number of bachelor degrees in physics to address critical national needs including K-12 education, economic competitiveness, energy, and security.
  • An essential area of increase is in the number of highly-qualified high school physics teachers
  • An essential area of increase is in the fraction of both women and under-represented minorities who major in physics
  • We do not necessarily seek to increase the number of PhDs in physics
• Regarding the sub-initiatives:
  • We reviewed all the sub-initiatives:
    • PhysTEC-II
    • Three-year Physics Degree
    • SPIN-UP-II
    • New Physics and Astronomy Faculty Workshop
    • PhysicsQuest:
      • Encourage SPS chapters to get involved (possibly by sponsoring a kit) with PhysicsQuest in classrooms.
    • Middle School Science Gathering
      • Encourage SPS participation with this sub-initiative
    • Expanded APS Minority Scholarships
    • Diversified APS and AAPT Meetings
    • Active Recruiting
      • We feel that active recruiting and the collection of resources in a web portal is a good idea, but should be broadened beyond AP students.
    • Physics Career Web Portal
      • This is Charge 3 and will be discussed throughout the year by the committee.
• We encourage the Society to consider if our current institutions have the resources available for the doubling.