We are grateful and thankful for the honor of being selected as the recipient of the Outstanding Chapter award by the Society of Physics Students. We would also like to extend a huge thank you to our board members, past and present, for creating a place for us to flourish and share our love for physics. Lastly, we would like to thank our community of students, professors, and all who have contributed to our efforts with both their presence and interest in this field which brings us all together!

On the 4th of October 2023, scientists Moungi G. Bawendi, Louis E. Brus, and Alexei I. Ekimov were awarded a Nobel prize for their discovery and development of nanoscopic semiconductors called quantum dots. Quantum dots are crystals formed by clusters of a few thousand atoms that exhibit quantum mechanical properties. Due to having a heightened frequency of electrons, slight changes in their nanoscopic size will influence these quantum dots to absorb and emit different wavelengths of light. Thus, by manipulating Quantum Dots’ size they will change color! This discovery has been a breakthrough commercially in the field of color-changing LED lights and ultra-high definition television screens. In the near future, quantum dots are being sought after to help surgically remove cancerous tissue, improve solar panel efficiency, and quantum computing encryption. 

 Click Here to Find Out More!  Quantum Physics

In a recent discovery, the element Phosphorus has been discovered on the icy moon of Saturn, Enceladus. Enceladus, the sixth largest moon of Saturn, has a subsurface ocean locked beneath its icy crust. The plume that ejects from the fractures called the “Tiger Stripes” on Enceladus’ South Polar Region, supplies Saturn’s E ring with icy particles. The Cassini mission from 2004 to 2017, flew through the plume and The E ring several times, and using this data scientists have been able to discover Phosphorus on the moon. With this discovery, Enceladus becomes the first celestial object in the solar system where the six basic elements for life, CHNOPS, have been found.

Click Here to Find Out More!   Astrophysics

National Hispanic Heritage Month runs from September 15 – October 15. According to the US Dept of Ed., only eight percent of STEM related degrees were earned by Hispanic students between 2009 and 2010. SPS offers free joint-membership to the National Society of Hispanic Physicists – if you’d like to add this to your SPS membership, email sps@aip.org with your request!