Spring 2003 Joint Meeting of the New England Sections of
the American Physical Society and
the American Association of Physics Teachers
April 11 – 12, 2003
Williams College
Williamstown, Massachusetts
Themes:
Quantum Bits
Ultrafast Pulses Beyond the Visible Spectrum
Teaching Physics
Friday, April 11
1:00-5:30 PM: Registration, Science Court. Eco-Café will provide coffee & snacks.
APS-AAPT Invited talks: “Quantum Bits,” Wege Auditorium (TCL123)
- 2:30 PM: Bill Wootters, Williams College, “Quantum Entanglement: How a Former Paradox is Becoming a Technology”
- 3:30 PM: David Branning, University of Illinois, “Creation, Manipulation, and Measurement of Photonic Qubits”
- 4:30 PM: David Mermin, Cornell University, “Teaching Quantum Mechanics to Computer Scientists”
6:00 PM: Reception and AAPT-APS Poster Session at the Williams Inn.
[Poster Session in lobby/tavern area. We will provide tripods. Posters must be self supporting]7:00 PM: Dinner at the Williams Inn
8:00 PM: Richard Wilson, Harvard University, “The Role of Physicists in Public Policy”
9:00 PM: After hours event for students
Saturday, April 12
8:00-11:00 AM: Registration, Science Court.
8:00-9:00 AM: Pastries and Coffee in Science Court
8:00-9:00 AM: Contributed Talks, APS and AAPT in Parallel Sessions
- Session I, Topics in Physics, Wege Auditorium, 5 ten-minute talks
- Session II, Teaching Physics, TPL 203, 5 ten-minute talks
- Session III, Teaching Physics, TPL 205, 5 ten-minute talks
- Session IV, Teaching Physics, TPL 114, 5 ten-minute talks
- Session V, Vision, Science, and Religion, BSC 002, 8 ten-minute talks
AAPT Contributed talk, TPL 203
- 9:00 AM: Tim Brennan, GLAST Educator Ambassador, Woodstock Union High School, “Where Particle Physics Meets Orbiting Astronomy: NASA’s GLAST Program and the Future of Gamma-Ray Astronomy”
APS Invited talks: “Untrafast Pulses Beyond the Visible Spectrum,” Wege Auditorium (TCL 123)
- 9:00 AM: Xi-Cheng Zhang, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, “Terahertz Wave Sensing and Imaging”
- 10:00 AM: Philip Bucksbaum, University of Michigan, ultrashort x-ray pulses
AAPT Invited talk: “Teaching of Physics,” TPL 203
- 10:00 AM: Stuart Crampton, Williams College, “Teaching Advanced Physics to Non-Majors Using Interactive Computer Movies.”
AAPT-APS Invited Talk: “Teaching of Physics,” Wege Auditorium (TCL 123)
- 11:00 AM: John Hubisz, North Carolina State University, “My Adventures Reviewing the Physical Science in the Most Popular Physical Science Texts in U.S. Middle Schools”
12:00 PM: Lunch: Sandwiches/box lunches in Science Court.
12:15 PM: Executive Committee meeting, NES-APS & NES-AAPT, TPL 114
APS portion of the meeting ends.
12:00 – 1:00 PM: AAPT Demos over Lunch
- Session L1, TPL 203
- Session L2, TPL 205
1:00-5:00 PM: AAPT Workshops
- 1-3 PM: Workshop A, Robert Hilborn, Amherst College, “Chaos,” TPL 215
- 1-3 PM: Workshop B, Michael Jabot and Dorrie Bright, SUNY Fredonia and the Holderness School,”The Physics of Sports,” TPL 106
- 1-2 PM: Workshop C, Stephen Cremer, Alberti’s Window, “Capturing Real-World Motions In Three-Dimensions: A New Tool to Create New Curricula for the Study of Motion,” TPL 312
- 2-3 PM: Workshop D, Dave Small, Pasco, “New and Hot Items from Pasco,” TPL 010
- 3-5 PM: Workshop E, Emily James, Brewster Academy, “Calculators in Physics for Beginners,” TPL 207
- 3-5 PM: Workshop F, Daniel Hatten, Western New England College, “A Spread of Physics Spreadsheets,” Jesup 205
- 3-5 PM: Workshop G, Patsy DeCoster, CPO Science, “Circular Motion and the Looping Coaster, Featuring Handhelds and Probeware,” TPL 312
AAPT portion of the meeting ends.
Building codes
- TPL = Thompson Physical Laboratory = Physics
- TCL = Thompson Chemical Laboratory = Chemistry
- BSC = Bronfman Science Center = Bronfman
- Jesup = computer center
Room styles and capacities
- “Science Court” = atrium between TPL and TCL w/Café seating
- TCL 123 “Wege Auditorium” = 136 seats
- TPL 203 Lecture hall = 115 seats
- TPL 205 Lecture hall = 58 seats
- TPL 106 Teaching Lab = 20 seats
- TPL 010 Teaching Lab = 18 seats
- TPL 215 Intro Teaching Lab = 24+ seats
- TPL 312 Intro Teaching Lab = 24+ seats
- TPL 114 Classroom = 20 seats
- TPL 207 Classroom = 20 seats
- BSC 002 Auditorium = 280 seats
- Jesup 205 Computer Classroom = 20 PC’s & a projector