TCNJ invites high school women and their teachers to join us for the Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics. The conference will take place on Saturday, January 19, 2019 from 7:30 am to 5:00 pm at the Brower Student Center on TCNJ’s campus in Ewing, NJ.
The conference will feature workshops, presentations, and activities on what it means to study physics, what a career in physics is all about, how to get involved in research early, and how to boost your college application. Separate workshops specifically tailored for high school teachers will also be offered.
See Program Booklet for Session Details
Student workshops
Choosing a College and Major, and How to Apply
In this workshop, attendees will hear from experts how to decide on which college or university is right for you, and how to select a program of study. Professionals and student workers from the administrative offices will walk you through the admissions process and discuss how to boost your application packets.
Careers as a Science Educator
Do you love science but you’re not sure exactly what science career path you’d like to follow? Or do you enjoy showing other people new things and helping them learn? Consider a career in science education! This workshop will be a panel discussion with science educators, talking about work as a science teacher or informal educator. Come find out more about these career opportunities!
How to Get Involved in Research
Who says you have to wait until graduate school to do real research? You love science, and one of the best things about science is DOING IT to discover new things. This workshop is a panel discussion with students and faculty, and is focused on how high school and undergraduate students can be involved in physics research.
Gender Equity in Physics
Physics suffers from an underrepresentation of women. This workshop – led by an expert in gender issues within science – explores some of the reasons behind this problem and what we as a community can do to grow the number of women working in Physics.
Physics Puzzles
Can you use your physics knowledge and your wits to solve this fiendish collection of physics puzzles? Only one way to find out!
Facilities/Equipment Demo
Tour the TCNJ Physics department facilities and explore state-of-the-art instrumentation and equipment. Expected stops include the observatory domes with telescopes, the planetarium, the scanning electron microscope (SEM), and the atomic force microscope (AFM). Visitors are encouraged to bring a small object that they can image using the SEM!
Teacher workshops
Using NGSS
The Next Generation Science Standards are here, and it is vital for physics teachers to design curricula and pedagogy that align with NGSS. This workshop will help you better understand what NGSS is and how to be compliant with it, as well as how to use it to make sure your students are learning effectively.
Using Computational Modeling in the Lab
Laboratory experiments are a vital part of any physical science course. But many labs fail to provide students with opportunities to gain proper quantitative and data manipulation experience, and don’t allow students to learn the computational skills they need. This workshop will explore how to use computational lab activities to address these needs.
“Make and Take”
It’s always nice to bring home something tangible from a workshop! In this session, attendees will learn the physics principles behind a device, and then build and test one of their very own, and then of course be able to bring it back to their classrooms for use in demonstrations or activities.
Novel Demonstrations
Everybody loves a good physics demo! Come see a wide variety of demonstrations from many areas of physics and learn the physics principles behind them. We hope you can find one you haven’t seen before and think about how to incorporate it into your teaching!