Spring 2016 meeting at Idaho State University. Click to enlarge

The Thirty-Sixth Annual Spring Meeting of the Idaho-Utah Section of the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) will be held Friday, April 14, and Saturday, April 15, 2017 at the Department of Physics & Astronomy, at the University of Utah, located in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The AAPT is

"A professional membership association of scientists dedicated to enhancing the understanding and appreciation of physics through teaching."

Spring 2017 Meeting Organization

2017 Meeting poster. Click to enlarge

The 2017 spring meeting will feature a Friday banquet, The banquet will be followed by a public demonstration show. Saturday will feature invited and contributed talks, a poster session for student research, a catered lunch, the annual section business meeting, group photo, and tours.

Anyone is welcome to attend, whether a member of AAPT or not.

The schedule is available here. Please note that this schedule is not finalized. For more information, please see the Location & Logistics page.

Academic Credit / Professional Development / Continuing Education

For those interested, we have arranged for you to receive academic credit through participating in this meeting. A course has been created in the Canvas learning management system, where we make this formal. The fee is $50. Click this link to sign up: https://continue.utah.edu/contracts/PHYS/1174.

Student Poster Competition

Students, don't miss an opportunity to participate in the student poster competition (with prizes!). Poster content may be on anything related to enhancing the understanding and appreciation of physics through teaching. This may involve physics research, education research, instruction techniques, demonstrations, physics projects, community engagement, etc. If you are interested in either presenting a talk, or making a poster, please fill out our Presentation Submission form.

There will be prizes for the best posters:
1st Place: $100 gift card
2nd Place: $50 gift card
3rd Place: $25 gift card

Contributed Talks & Demo Show Presentation

We are now accepting submissions for posters, talks, and demo presentations. If you are interested, please fill out our Presentation Submission form.

Utah Nano-Fabrication Laboratory Experience: A Matter of Scale

Nanotechnology has become a big thing, we can find it everywhere these days; from computer chips, to sensors in your phone, to the next generation of medical technologies, to nanofilms and coatings that can give everyday objects new and exciting properties.

This presentation and tour of our state-of-the-art nanofabrication facility involves an examination of methods that can be used to teach students about scaling principles and modern nanotechnologies, along with how we use them, and how they are made. We also go over the principles of building, designing, and inventing on the micro/nano-scale. Plus, we talk about how engineering on the extremely small-scale must be approached differently than on the large scale.

We will also be giving a tour of the Nano-fabrication Laboratory and surface lab where you can see the massive amount of equipment it takes to build and examine something so small.

Online Registration

Please register online to reserve your spot at the meeting (links below). Early bird registration for the meeting is $12 for students and $20 for everyone else, until April 2, 2017, when the prices increase. This fee also includes all meals and snacks on both days.

Student Registration Link
Everyone Else Registration Link

Material Donations

We are accepting donations of any teaching materials (including textbooks) for the raffle, as well as for high school teachers. Please bring these materials with you, and drop them off in 103 JFB prior to the Friday demo show.

Locations

All events will be on the University of Utah Campus. The Friday banquet will be held in the A. Ray Olpin Student Union, in Panorama East. The demo show and contributed talks on Saturday will take place in the James Fletcher Building (JFB). The afternoon session on NanoFabrication will also be on campus, in the Sorenson Molecular Biology Building (SMBB).

click to enlarge

Meeting Events

Main Program
Schedule & specific talks.

Poster Session
Poster Session will take place all day Saturday (April 15, 2017).

SPS Zone Meeting
Saturday, April 15, from noon - 1pm in B-1 JFB.

Presenting a poster? See the Logistics pages page.

Social Events

Public Demo Show
Friday, April 14, 2017, 7:30 - 9:30 pm
Taking place in the James Fletcher Building, room 103.