2024 Spring Zone 7 Meeting

Meeting Announcement

The Spring 2024 Zone Meeting for SPS Zone 7 was held on April 12-13, 2024, on the campus of Kettering University in conjunction with the Spring 2024 Meeting of the Eastern Great Lakes Section of the American Physical Society (EGLS APS) and Michigan Section of the American Association of Physics Teachers (MI-AAPT).  The meeting was locally hosted by the Kettering University SPS chapters. The overall theme of the EGLS APS meeting was "Physics and Industry" but contributions were accepted on any topic related to physics or astronomy.  

Registration

Registrations for the SPS Zone 7 meeting and EGLS APS meeting were separate. There was no cost for students to attend either meeting, but registration was required for both. Students also needed to set up a free APS account to register for the EGLS APS meeting if they did not have one already. Note that free APS membership  is available for students who are first-time APS members (yes, it's really free!). To guarantee a seat at the EGLS APS banquet, students should have registered at least two weeks prior to the meeting and purchase banquet tickets for $10 during registration. A limited number of banquet tickets were available for purchase during the meeting through the EGLS APS registration site.

• SPS Zone 7 meeting registration was available via an online form.

• EGLS APS meeting registration will be available on site during the meeting at the "Meeting Registration" link at the Spring 2024 EGLS Meeting web site. 

Presentations & Posters

Students are encouraged but not required to present a poster or oral presentation. Awards were given by EGLS APS for the best poster and oral presentation by undergraduate students. Abstracts needed to be submitted via the "Abstract Submission" link at the Spring 2024 EGLS Meeting web site by Monday, March 25, and are now closed. Students who are not presenting at the EGLS APS meeting do not need to be an APS or SPS member to participate in the SPS zone meeting activities (except for the banquet).  But, of course, we encourage all students to join SPS to take advantage of its great benefits!  

Student Travel Scholarships

A limited number of EGLS APS student travel scholarships were available for undergraduate students traveling to the meeting from outside of the Flint area to attend the meeting.  Travel scholarships were limited to one per institution and covered up to $100 in travel costs. Applicants are encouraged to team up with other meeting attendees for travel and lodging purposes and must register for the meeting to be eligible for a travel scholarship. Student travel applications are available from the from link in the "Travel" section of the meeting host's web site and were due by Friday, April 5.

Zone Meeting Schedule

The meeting was held mainly in the Learning Commons (LC, Building 14) and Academic Building  (AB, Building 1) on the campus of Kettering University. Selected sessions were live-streamed via Zoom, as indicated. Links to the streaming sessions were sent to chapter officers and advisors via email and posted to the zone's Discord server prior to the meeting.  

Friday, April 12, 2024

1:00-2:00 pm:  On-site Registration (excluding banquet) [LC Owens Lobby]

2:00-2:15 pm:  Welcoming Remarks (together with EGLS)  [LC Reiss Auditorium]

2:15-3:15 pm:  EGLS APS Invited Speaker Session #1   [LC Reiss Auditorium]

Prof. Na Hyun Jo
Assistant Professor, Department of Physics,
University  of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan

3:15-3:30 pm:  Coffee Break [LC Owens Lobby]

3:30-4:30 pm:  SPS Zone 7 Kick-off Event  [LC Owens Conference Room]  (live streamed via Zoom)

This event was an opportunity for students to introduce themselves, meet fellow students from across the zone, and find out more about the Society of Physics Students. The event was hosted by Associate Zone Councilor Jacob Callebs and Zone Councilor Ron Kumon.  Slides from the presentation have been posted along with a video recording on the SPS Zone 7 YouTube channel.

3:30-4:30 pm:  EGLS APS Invited Speaker Session #2  (concurrent with Kick-off) [LC Reiss Auditorium]

Prof. Alex Matos Abiague
Associate Professor, Department of Physics
Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan

4:30-6:30 pm:  EGLS APS Poster Session [LC Asahi Kasei Traverse]

7:00-9:00 pm: EGLS APS Banquet & Keynote Speaker [Factory One]

(Note: Banquet tickets needed to be ordered in advance via the EGLS APS registration to guarantee entry to the banquet.)

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Sean R. Wagner
Senior Researcher, Battery Electrode & Formation Manufacturing
Materials & Manufacturing Systems Research Lab
General Motors Corporation, Warren, Michigan

9:00-11:00 pm:  SPS Zone 7 Game Night and Social Activities [AB 2-601]

SPS Zone 7 and the Kettering University SPS chapters sponsored a fun game night with snacks!

Saturday, April 13, 2024

7:45-8:15 am:  Registration and Light Breakfast [AB Outside of McKinnon Theater]

8:15-9:15 am:  EGLS APS / MI-AAPT Invited Speaker Session #3 [AB McKinnon Theater]

Dr. Rachel Ivie
Director of Higher Education and Grants
American Association of Physics Teachers, College Park, Maryland

9:15-9:30 am:  Coffee Break [AB Outside of McKinnon Theater]

9:30-11:00 am:  EGLS APS / MI-AAPT Oral Presentations (parallel sessions)  [AB 3rd Floor Classrooms]

11:00-11:15 am: Chair's Remarks and Student Prize Announcements [AB McKinnon Theater]

11:15 am-12:45 pm: EGLS APS Invited Speaker Session #4 [AB McKinnon Theater]

Speaker: Prof. Kathryn Svinarich
Chief of Staff, Office of the President &
Associate Professor of Physics, Department of Natural Sciences
Kettering University, Flint, Michigan

Speaker: Quinn Peterson (B.S., Physics, Kettering University)
Mechanical Engineer
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Batavia, Illinois

12:45-1:30 pm:  SPS Zone 7 Pizza Lunch [Meet in AB McKinnon Theater and move to AB 2-601]

1:30-3:30 pm:  SPS Zone 7 Sloan Museum of Discovery and Longway Planetarium Visit
[Meet at AB McKinnon Theater to car pool to Flint's Cultural District]

Thanks to everyone who attended.  

Over 32 undergraduate students and 1 alumnus attended the zone meeting from 13 chapters.  Chapters in attendance included Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania (Zone 3), Case Western Reserve University, The College of Wooster, Eastern Michigan University, Grand Valley State University, Kettering University, Marietta College, Miami University, Marshall University, Michigan State University, Oakland University, Ohio Northern University, and Wayne State University.  A report on the meeting, including photos from the event, has been posted.

We look forward to seeing you at the next meeting!

Check back on the SPS Zone 7 web site for announcements about future zone meetings.