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AAPT Section Report 2016

Brian A Pyper, Section Representative

The Idaho-Utah Section of the American Association of Physics Teachers met April 15-16 at Idaho State University in Pocatello, hosted by local organizer and Section vice president Steve Shropshire. The meeting combined with an SPS Zone 15 meeting as well. About 70 people were in attendance for the meeting, which featured a banquet dinner, several guest speakers, and the perennially popular demo show (http://www.physics.isu.edu/events/conference/AAPTDemoSchedule.shtml) and make and take.

The program was excellent, with a varied collection of contributed talks and posters. The full program of events is available at http://www.physics.isu.edu/events/conference/schedule.shtml.

The business meeting Saturday re-elected Adam Beehler from the University of Utah as the section treasurer, and tentatively elected Matt Zachreson of BYUI to serve as president elect, and host the meeting in Rexburg in 2018 on the condition that Boise State, whose turn it should be, can’t do it, and that his one-year appointment at BYUI is renewed.

So the Current slate of officers for the section is as follows:

Matt Zachreson (BYUI) – President Elect (rotates to Vice President in 2017)

Adam Beehler (UofU) – Vice President and Treasurer (2017)

Steve Shropshire (ISU) – President (2017)

Larry Smith (Snow) – Past President (2017)

Brian Pyper (BYUI) – Section Representative (term expires in 2018)

A sincere thanks to Steve Shropshire and the department at ISU for hosting the section so well. Keep abreast of the section doings and plans for the Spring 2017 section meeting at the University of Utah on the section’s web page at idahoutah.aaptsections.org.

Dear Colleagues,

The 2016 meeting of the Idaho/Utah Section of the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) will be at ISU in Pocatello, Idaho, April 15- 16.  The AAPT is a professional organization dedicated to enhancing the understanding and appreciation of physics through teaching.  The meeting will feature:

A Friday evening demo show and share-a-thon

A free banquet courtesy of the ISU College of Science and Engineering

Saturday sessions with invited and contributed talks on physics teaching topics, and a student research poster session

A leaf-blower hovercraft construction workshop, with all materials paid for by a grant from the Bauder Endowment (for the first 20 middle school and high school teachers only).  The cost for others to participate in this workshop is $120.

Tour of the Idaho Accelerator Center

Continuing education credit through ISU

For more information on the conference, to register, and to submit contributed abstracts, go to

http://www.physics.isu.edu/events/conference/

You do not have to be a member of the AAPT to attend.  Registration will be $5, which does not include the cost of lunch on Saturday, which is an additional $10.  This will be a great opportunity to learn and share tools and tips for teaching physics and physical science.

Thank you for your time and consideration, and have a great semester.

Steve Shropshire
Idaho/Utah AAPT Section Vice President

Dear Colleagues,

The 2016 meeting of the Idaho/Utah Section of the AAPT will be at ISU in Pocatello, Idaho, April 15 – 16.  Of all of the possible dates I proposed in emails to section members and others since October, this weekend had the fewest conflicts according to replies I received.

Please reserve this date and plan to attend, if convenient.  We will have our usual Friday evening demo show, which will be open to the public.  For Saturday we will have contributed talks, student posters, our annual section business meeting, a raffle, an optional tour of the Idaho Accelerator Center, and a leaf-blower hovercraft construction workshop.  Our meeting will be joint with a meeting of Zone 15 of the Society of Physics Students.

Additional details regarding registration, abstract submission, lodging, and a conference website will follow in the next few weeks.  If you are aware of any high school or college physics teacher who is not in recipient list for this email, or anyone else you think may have an interest in attending our meeting, please forward this to them and cc me.

Thank you for your time and consideration, and have a great semester.

Steve Shropshire

Idaho/Utah AAPT Section Vice President

—

Steven L. Shropshire, Ph.D.

Professor, Department of Physics

Idaho State University

Mail Stop 8106, Pocatello, ID  83209  USA

208 282 2212, FAX 208 282 4649

AAPT Idaho-Utah Section report spring 2015

The annual meeting of the Idaho-Utah section of the American Association of Physics Teachers was held March 13-14 at Snow College in Ephraim, Utah. The ever-popular demonstration show was held Friday night and was attended by over 200 people.  A short video compilation (thanks to Snow College!) is available here: https://snow.mediaspace.kaltura.com/media/aapt_event/0_9sg0w43a/13823862

Saturday held a full season of talks and activities, highlighted by a report from the Governor of Utah’s advisor for science education, Tami Pyfer. About 50 people participated in the conference, which was organized by Larry Smith, the current vice-president of the section, who did a fantastic job. A copy of the program is attached below.

Of particular interest was the business meeting, in which Brian Pyper was re-elected as Section Representative and Adam Beehler was elected as president-elect in absentia and in anticipation of his organizing the section meeting in two years at the University of Utah. This means the current spate of officers is: Katie Devine (CofI) – Past President, Larry Smith (Snow College) – President, Steve Shropshire (ISU) – Vice President, Adam Beehler (UofU) – President-Elect and Treasurer, and Brian Pyper (BYUI) – Section Representative. The section meeting will be held in Pocatello next year hosted by Steve Shropshire.

Rondo Jefferies from Weber State graciously sent me a note listing the history of the section meetings going back to 1983 when the section was founded. I’ve posted it below.

– Brian Pyper

section representative

March 2015

Program:

Friday, March 13th

4:00 – 6:00 PM                 Registration                                  Huntsman Library Lobby

6:00 – 7:15 PM                 Dinner                                              LDS Institute Pavilion

                                             (included in registration fee)

7:30 – 9:00 PM                 Physics Demo Night                    Huntsman Library Auditorium

                                             (free to the public)

Saturday, March 14th

8:00 – 9:00 AM                 Registration                                     Huntsman Library Lobby

9:00 – 9:10 AM               Welcome                                           Huntsman Library Auditorium

9:15 – 10:15 AM             Talk Session I                                        Huntsman Library Auditorium

10:15 – 10:30 AM          Snack Break                                      Huntsman Library Lobby

10:30 – 12:00 PM           Talk Session II                                      Huntsman Library Auditorium

12:00 – 12:05 PM              Group Photo                                        Plaza in front of Huntsman Library

12:05 – 1:00 PM                 Lunch                                                 Noyes Bldg, Founders Hall

                                            (included in registration fee)

12:30 – 12:50 PM              AAPT Business Meeting                       Noyes Bldg, Founders Hall

                                            Raffle/Prizes

12:50 – 1:10 PM              Poster Session                                    Noyes Bldg, Founders Hall

1:15 –2:45 PM                  Talk Session III                                     Huntsman Library Auditorium

1:15 –2:15 PM                  “Build-It” session                              SCNCE 326

Build a penny vaporizer and get a lesson plan (for HS teachers only)

2:15 – 3:15 PM                 Planetarium Open House            Noyes Bldg, Founders Hall

Lynn Lindsay, Emeritus and Adjunct Professor of Astronomy and Mathematics

The Spring 2015 meeting of the Idaho-Utah Section of the American Association of Physics Teachers will be held March 13-14 2015 at Snow College in Ephraim, Utah.

The Local Organizer is Larry Smith larry.smith@snow.edu

Information will be posted here as it becomes available, but mark your calendars and plan to attend.

See http://snow.edu/aapt/ for more.

Brian Pyper – Section Representative

pyperb@byui.edu

The Section meeting for Spring 2014 of the Idaho-Utah Section of the AAPT will be held March 21^st and 22^nd at The College of Idaho in Caldwell, Idaho.

Presenters:

Contributed talks are welcome from all aspects of physics education.  All physics faculty, particularly high school faculty, are encouraged to contribute a talk or poster.  Students interested in physics pedagogy and learning are also encouraged to present. Presentation topics can include, but are certainly not limited to: assessment, “best practice” teaching techniques, and curriculum design.  Presenters are also encouraged to share novel physics classroom ideas, laboratories, and demonstrations.  Papers on current physics topics are welcome, where such information would be of use and interest in the student classroom experience.

Oral presentations will be limited to 15 minutes, including questions.  Poster presentations are also invited.  Also welcome are demonstration items for the Friday evening public physics demo show. Please submit an abstract with title and author information via the online registration form, or directly to Katie Devine at kdevine@collegeofidaho.edu no later than Wednesday March 12^th.

Registration:

In person registration will be held at the main entry of the Boone Hall Science building 4:00pm-6:00pm, Friday March 21^st and 8:00am-9am Saturday March 22^nd.   Participants may also pre-register online at the following link:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dERsbXhUd0xmajJqbTFWNmV3RThLbHc6MA

Housing:

Rooms are available for $65/night at the Best Western Inn & Suites, 908 Specht Ave in Caldwell.  Reservations may be made by calling (208) 454-7225.  Please make your reservation by March 1^st and mention the AAPT to get the group rate.  The Best Western is located approximately 1 mile from The College of Idaho campus.  Ample free parking will be available on campus for attendees that wish to drive from the hotel to campus.

Travel and Parking:

The most convenient airport is located in Boise, ID (BOI).  Driving directions to The College of Idaho Campus may be found here: http://www.collegeofidaho.edu/about/maps/directions-campus .

Information about public parking may be found here:  http://www.collegeofidaho.edu/about/maps/parking.  The Jewett Auditorium lot is most convenient for accessing the buildings in which we will be meeting.

A campus map is available here:  http://www.collegeofidaho.edu/sites/default/files/CampusMap/CofICampusMap.pdf

About The College of Idaho:

Founded in 1891, The College of Idaho is the state’s oldest private liberal arts college. It has a century-old tradition of educating some of the most accomplished graduates in Idaho, including seven Rhodes Scholars, three Marshall Scholars, and another 11 Truman and Goldwater Scholars. The College is located on a beautiful campus in Caldwell, Idaho. Its distinctive PEAK curriculum challenges students to attain competencies in the four knowledge peaks of the humanities, natural sciences, social sciences and a professional field, enabling them to graduate with an academic major and three minors in four years. For more information on The College of Idaho, visit www.collegeofidaho.edu.

Schedule:

Idaho-Utah AAPT Meeting, March 21 and 22, 2014 The College of Idaho

Program Outline:
Friday, March 21st
4:00 – 6:00 PM Registration Boone Hall Main Entrance
6:00 – 7:15 PM Dinner (no host) Stewart’s Bar and Grill
2805 Blaine St., Caldwell ID
7:30 – 9:00 PM Physics Demo Night Langroise Recital Hall
Participants:
Phil Matheson, Utah Valley University, “Poor Man’s Blue Tooth”
Chris Stoker, Mountain View High School, “The Marshmallow Gun (and a few others)”
Harold Stokes, Brigham Young University, “Singing the Harmonics”
Richard Hills, Weber State University, “Waves and Superposition of Standing Waves on Cords”
James Coburn, Utah State University, “Optical Illusions, Lenses, and Lasers” Duane Merrell, Brigham Young University, “Pop Can Energy” Brian Pyper, Brigham Young University—Idaho, Various Demos
Saturday, March 22nd
8:00 – 9:00 AM Registration Boone Hall Main Entrance
(All talks are held in: )
9:00 – 9:10 AM Welcome Boone Hall, Room 101
9:00 – 10:15 AM Talk Session I (Session Chair: James Dull, The College of Idaho)
9:15 – 9:30 AM Dan Black, Snow College
Service Learning Contracts for Improved “Real” Service
9:30 – 9:45 AM Cameron Vongsawad, Brigham Young University Development of Educational Stations for the Acoustical Society of America Outreach Activities
9:45 – 10:00 AM Brian Pyper, Brigham Young University – Idaho Adventures in Supporting Public Education
10:00 – 10:15 AM Dewey Dykstra, Boise State University
Is it Fair?
10:15 – 10:30 AM Snack Break Boone Hall Main Entrance
10:30 – Noon Talk Session II (Session Chair: Katie Devine, The College of Idaho)
10:30 – 10:45 AM Chris Stoker, Mountain View High School Four Ways to Engage Students in Building Mental Models
10:45 – 11:00 AM James Dull, The College of Idaho Re-thinking Intermediate Electrodynamics: A First Step Toward Flipping an Upper-level Electrodynamics Course
11:00 – 11:15 AM Jean Francois Van Huele, Brigham Young University JITT for large classes
11:15 – 11:30 AM Harold Stokes, Brigham Young University The Mysterious Static Friction
11:30 – 11:45 AM Larry Smith, Snow College
The God Particle for Mortals: A Review of the Higgs Boson
11:45 – noon Sean Boston, Capital High School, Boise ID Labs: Data Analysis Made Easy
Noon – 1:30 PM Lunch/Raffle Prizes/AAPT Business Meeting/Lab Set-Up Open House
(Lunch available in Simplot Dining Hall, South Dining Room)
(AAPT business meeting and raffle at 12:15 in Simplot South)
(Lab Set-Up Open House 1pm-1:25pm in Boone 116)
(GROUP PHOTO AT 1:25 SHARP – Boone Hall Main Entrance)
1:30 – 2:30 PM Talk Session III (Session Chair: James Dull, The College of Idaho)
1:30 – 1:45 PM David Oliphant, Brigham Young University – Idaho Physics Problem Set Database
1:45 – 2:00 PM Katie Devine, The College of Idaho Using Pencasts to Flip Upper-Division Physics Courses
2:00 – 2:15 PM Gary Parkinson, The College of Idaho Using Wolfram Mathematica to Create Interactive Lessons
2:15 – 2:30 PM Cynthia Tang, Diana Gomez, Matthew Goodwin, The College of Idaho Analysis of Figure-Skating Jumps
2:30 – 2:40 PM Break
2:40 – 3:30 PM Optional Event: Planetarium Show Boone Hall Planetarium
Amy Truksa, The College of Idaho Planetarium Director
Using the Planetarium to Enhance Introductory Astronomy Courses

Two items:

The National AAPT winter meeting in Orlando is up for registration. see http://www.aapt.org/Conferences/wm2014/

Also: Beth Cunningham from the National Office sent me this today. Shout if you’re interested.

“I am seeking your assistance in finding an AAPT national member in your section to represent AAPT at an upcoming important conference in the region of your section.  The Conferences for Undergraduate Women in Physics (CUWIP) are three-day regional conferences for undergraduate physics majors.   The goal of the conferences is to help undergraduate women continue in physics by providing them with the opportunity to experience a professional conference, information about graduate school and professions in physics, and access to other women in physics at all career stages with whom they can share experiences, advice, and ideas.  The program includes research talks by faculty, panel discussions about graduate school and careers in physics, presentations and discussions about women in physics, laboratory tours, student research talks, and opportunities for students to interact.

The conferences are held simultaneously at eight different institutions of higher education.  The 2014 conferences will run Friday evening, January 17th, through Sunday afternoon, January 19th.  For more information about the conferences, see http://www.aps.org/programs/women/workshops/cuwip.cfm.  One of the locations for the conferences is University of Utah which is located in the Idaho-Utah section.  I need your assistance in finding a local AAPT national member who could represent AAPT and provide materials about careers in physics particularly involving teaching in high school or at the college or university level.  In addition, this representative can provide information about AAPT and the value of an AAPT membership in supporting careers in physics teaching.  The national AAPT office can provide materials for this representative to distribute.  If needed, we may be able to provide modest travel reimbursement if the volunteer requests support.

The leadership of AAPT understands the value of increasing the participation of women in physics careers.  AAPT’s current leadership includes four women: the current president, vice president, past president, and executive officer.  We are also keen to support programs to increase the number of women in physics, particularly as role models and mentors teaching physics to the next generation of scientists and citizens.  In fact, the AAPT Marketing Manager RaShonda Rosier (rrosier@aapt.org) is attending the conference at Florida State University and I am attending the conference at University of Maryland.

Can you find a local AAPT member who is willing to attend this conference as a representative of AAPT?  And, can you connect that individual to RaShonda and me by forwarding their contact information?  I would appreciate this information by October 31st so that RaShonda and I can coordinate registration and mailing of materials with this individual.  We can also assist this individual in contacting the conference local organizing committee.  As always, I appreciate your willingness to assist AAPT!

Warm regards,

Beth”

I told her I’d do it if no one else wanted to.

Thanks,

Brian Pyper
BYU-Idaho Physics
Idaho-Utah AAPT section representative

AAPT Idaho-Utah Section Meeting Report March 2013
Section Representative: Brian A Pyper – Brigham Young University-Idaho Department of Physics
The Section Meeting for the Idaho-Utah Section of the American Association of Physics Teachers was held at Utah Valley University March 15-16 2013. The meeting was excellently organized by Phil Matheson, the section President-Elect, and was attended by 64 people, 4 HS Faculty, 26 College/University Faculty/Staff, and 34 students some of whom were jointly attending the combined SPS Zone 15 meeting.
The program included the ever-popular Demonstration Show, and a collection of contributed talks, a make-and-take ferro-fluids activity, and the section business meeting and annual section officer election.
The results of the election were as follows, with terms from 3-17-13 to 5/31/14:
Farhang Amiri from Weber State rotated off the presidential chain.
Brian Pyper, also the section representative, rotates from President to Past President.
Phil Matheson, of Utah Valley University rotates from President-Elect to President.
Kathryn Devine, of College of Idaho, rotates from Vice President to President-Elect.
Larry Smith, of Snow College was elected Vice President.
This means that the section meeting next year (2014) will be held at the College of Idaho in Caldwell, with Kathryn Devine as the local organizer, and the following year (2015) the section meeting will be held at Snow College in Ephraim, UT, hosted by local organizer Larry Smith.

ID-Utah AAPT Meeting, March 15 and 16, 2013 Utah Valley University.
Program Outline:
Friday, March 15th
4:00 – 6:00 PM Registration Science Building Atrium (by SB 134)
6:15 – 7:15 PM Dinner Golden Corral 225 W. University Parkway
(Meet as a group to be seated as a group – $10.99/meal)
7:30 – 9:00 PM Physics Demo Night Science Building SB 134
Participants:
Wayne Peterson, BYU Two Demos: The Siren Disk; Creating a Plasma in a Microwave Oven
Brian Pyper, BYU-I Miscellaneous Demos
James Coburn, USU Several demos and a new way to make them visible.
Adam Beehler, U of U Eyeglass Diagnostics
Richard Hills, WSU Galileo’s Regret, Newton’s Rocker, & Bossie’s Stutter-Step
Blake Centini, U of U Fun with magnetism and light
Paul Mills, UVU “Run of the Mills Demos”
Phil Matheson, UVU “Finger demos”
Saturday, March 16th
8:00 – 9:00 AM Registration Science Building Atrium (by SB 134)
(All talks are held in:)
9:00 – 9:10 AM Welcome Pope Science Building PS-202
Session Chair: Bonnie Andersen, UVU
9:15 – 9:30 AM Brent Bargeron, UVU Exit Interviews, a Useful Component of Departmental
Outcomes Assessments
9:30 – 9:45 AM Bill Evenson, UVU/BYU Improving Student Learning Through “Tuning”
9:45 – 10:00 AM Sarah Young, BYU-I Higher Test Scores Achieved by Students who Learn
Physics for the “Big-Picture”
10:00 – 10:15 AM Hector Davila, Joe Jensen, UVU Learning in Bigger Classes
10:15 – 10:30 AM Snack Break, Science Building Atrium
10:30 – 10:45 AM Tracianne Neilsen, Kent Gee, BYU The Physics of the Voice
10:45 – 11:00 AM Kent Gee, Tracianne Neilsen, BYU Teaching Sound Propagation at BYU
Football Games
11:00 – 11:15 AM Paul Weber, UVU Enhancing Modern Physics by Including Waves
11:15 – 11:30 AM Steve Wasserbaech, UVU In Class Demo: Solving the Schroedinger
Equation with an Excel Spreadsheet
11:30 – 11:45 AM David Ludlow, BYU Eliminating Algebra Mistakes in Physics Homework
With the Math Drag’n Application
11:45 – noon Dallin Durfee Exploring the Physics of Musical Scales with a MIDI
Noon – 1:30 PM Lunch/AAPT Business Meeting/ SPS Poster Session/Raffle Prizes
(Pick up your lunches in the Science Building Atrium, and eat in PS 202)
(SPS posters are in the Science Building Atrium)
(AAPT business meeting and raffle at 12:45 in PS 202)
(GROUP PHOTO AT 1:15 SHARP – In the Science Building Atrium)
AAPT continuing:
1:30 – 1:45 PM Rondo Jeffery, Fahrang Amiri , WSU Jumping Ring Levitation and other
Recent results
1:45 – 2:00 PM Bonnie Andersen, UVU Teaching LabVIEW with the Vernier SensorDAQ
2:00 – 2:15 PM Bonnie Andersen, UVU Applying Principles of Team Based Learning
In Lower and Upper Division Physics Courses
2:15 – 2:30 PM Dan Schroeder, Weber AJP and the Future of Physics Journals
2:30 – 2:45 PM Phil Matheson, UVU What should be taught in an “Energy Course”?
2:45 – 3:00 PM Cameron Summers, BYU-I Physics Attitudes Influence Learning
SPS Breakout meeting:
1:30 – 2:15 PM SPS leadership Pope Science Building 206
(Planetarium)
Optional Event: Hands on Workshop
1:30 – 3:00 PM Julie Callahan Cheap Ferro-fluids
Location to be announced

Optional Event: Planetarium Show
2:15 – 3:00 PM UVU- Planetarium Pope Science Building 206
List of SPS Posters
Monica Cervantes, UVU Real-time pathology with high-frequency ultrasound. A feasility study
using bovine tissues
Joseph Chandler, Merideth Gold, BYU BYU SPS Outreach Team
Margaret Jensen, USU Annual Solar Motion and Spy Satellites
Darren McKinnon, USU Mapping the Milky Way: Seeing the Galaxy at 1420 MHz
Rachel Nydegger, USU Effects of Light Pollution at Utah State University
Kelby Peterson, USU Simulation of UV Induced Discoloration on Space Polymers
Jordan Rozum, USU Modeling Spiral Galaxy Surface Luminosity to Explain – Non Uniform
Inclination Distributions
Laurel Thompson, UVU Methods for identifying aerosols by light scattering techniques
David Pease, UVU Testing Regions of Frequency Hysteresis of a Variable-Depth
Thermoacoustic Prime Mover

Just at reminder that Tuesday, March 5th is nominally the last day to submit abstracts for the March 15/16 ID-UT AAPT meeting. However, late submission may still be accepted up to March 12th. Please email any late submissions directly to phil.matheson@uvu.edu.

Registration begins Friday, March 15th at the UVU Science Building Auditorium, SB 134 at 4:00 PM. Saturday registration will begin at 8:00 AM at the same location. Regular registration is $15 and includes a box lunch and break-time snacks. Please pay with cash or check. We have no means of processing credit or debit.

A no-host dinner will be held at Golden Corral, 225 W. University Parkway, immediately adjacent to the UVU campus. Because it is a Friday night, the restaurant asks that at least a majority of the party be there at 6:15 sharp in order to be seated together. Stragglers will still be able to join us as long as there a sizeable group up front. We are planning for about 25.

The Friday Night Demo show will begin at 7:30 PM in the Science Building Auditorium. If you are able to present, please contact phil.matheson@uvu.edu to arrange for any supporting materials that you might need. Bring your local friends and relatives.

Saturday’s meetings begin at 9:00 AM

Julie Callahan will be conducting a hands-on workshop to manufacture low cost ferro-fluids Saturday afternoon. Please contact her directly to register for that event by email cosmic.callahan@gmail.com. Nominal workshop cost is $20.

We’re looking forward to seeing you then!