8/8/2019 Commentary on Science & Diverstiy

1/13

symmetry|volume05|issue01|jan/feb08

Putting anew faceon physics

What will the physics

community look like10 years rom now?What should it looklike? With the adoptiono the theme Future

Faces o Physics, these are the questions theSociety o Physics Students (SPS) is encouragingyou to ask yoursel.

In the recent report Beyond Bias and Barriers,the National Academies noted that to maintainits scientifc and engineering leadership amid

increasing economic and educational globalization,the United States must aggressively pursue theinnovative capacity o all o its peoplewomen andmenIt is essential that our academic institu-tions promote the educational and proessionalsuccess o all people without regard or sex,race, or ethnicity. The report also stressed theneed or proessional scientifc societies to takea leading role in addressing issues o diversity.

SPS has recognized diversity as an issue oimportance or some time now. For three years

we have discussed issues relating to diversity atthe SPS National Council meeting. In 200708,the National Council is calling on students andleaders o the physics community to discuss andact on a wide range o student diversity issues,such as making physics communities more wel-coming and encouraging widespread discourse.

Physics suers rom a unique set o diversityissues. Youve probably heard the statisticsalthough women account or more than 60 per-cent o all bachelors degrees granted, they

receive only 20 percent o bachelors degrees inphysics. Students rom underrepresented minori-ties receive only 12 percent o physics bachelorsdegrees. Students rom low-income amiliesand students with disabilities rarely earn degreesin physics. These percentages decline urtherwith each step up the academic ladder.

Why is this? And what can you do to help?One reason is cited in a September 2003

Physics Todayarticle titled What Works orWomen in Undergraduate Physics? It describes

a leaky pipeline caused by lack o an inclusiveculture in university physics departments, amongother things.

SPS has started a grassroots eort to alleviatethis disparity. Most o our members are under-graduates, at a stage when the majority o studentswho studied physics in high school opt out othe feld. We are especially equipped to ocus onthis issue, since local SPS chapters are usually

where physics students make initial contact withthe broader physics community. Studies havealso shown that community outreach and mentorrelationships are important or encouraging theparticipation o underrepresented groups in sci-ence, and both are primary activities or local

SPS chapters.SPS is engaged in a Year o Dialogue on

Student Diversity in Physics, and we intend tospark these conversations through workshops atevery SPS Zone Meeting in 2008. More than adozen zone meetings are held each year, oten inconjunction with sectional meetings o theAmerican Association o Physics Teachers andthe American Physical Society. This allows usto engage both students and proessionals in thisessential dialogue.

One o the supporting materials SPS createdor the workshops is Jeo-party, a quiz modeledater the TV game show Jeopardywith questionsranging rom basic problems in physics to thefelds history, diversity, and place in pop culture.One example:

This iconic physicist was engaged

in many civil rights activities and

co-chaired the American crusade

to end lynching.Think you know the answeror, rather, the

question? Who is Albert Einstein? is always agood answer when asked about an historic physicsfgure, and in this case it is right!

We anticipate that participants will take thegame and their ideas back to their local commu-nities so the diversity discussion can continue.Students will have a chance to share their diver-sity eorts at a poster session and event duringthe Sigma Pi Sigma Quadrennial Congress in

November 2008 at Fermi National AcceleratorLaboratory in Illinois. This is a very exciting yearor SPS. It is our hope that we will truly engagethe physics community in a signifcant exchangeo ideas.

Ill leave you with one more answer romJeo-party:

The guitarist from this legendary

band recently received his PhD in

astrophysics.Dont know the question? Youll just have

to attend a Future Faces o Physics workshopto fnd out!

Krystle Williams is a second-year graduate student in the bio-physics program at the University of Rochester. She hasserved on the Society of Physics Students National Councilfor three years.

PhotocourtesyofKrystleWilliams

commentary: krystle williams