On Friday, the Society of Physics Students (SPS) will kick off a two-day physics conference in the Thad Cochran Center. The event is open to fellow SPS members as well as the public.
The event will include a guest lecturer, physics demonstrations and research presentations from The University of Southern Mississippi as well as others. Various chapters of the society will also be in attendance as they socialize and connect in the name of physics.
SPS is a nationwide organization that connects people who love physics and want to spread the love and knowledge in their own communities.
The first day of the conference will take place in the Thad Cochran Center, Room 216 at 7 p.m. The guest lecturer will be Rost Parsons from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“Parsons is going to talk about weather and how we can help control it,” said Khin Maung Maung, the department chair of SPS. “It will be things we need to know regarding events such as Hurricane Katrina. That affects everyone.”
Following the guest lecture, Saturday at 1 p.m. the physics demonstrations and research presentations will begin in the physics department of the Bobby Chain Technology Building. Demonstrations will include liquid nitrogen, lasers and a pool of non-Newtonian fluid that viewers can jump in.
According to senior physics major and USM SPS president Robert McGrath, organization members hope the public will come out and enjoy
the festivities.
“We want to engage our community as often as we can, so we are inviting everyone we possibly can to come to this lecture and see these demonstration whether they be in college, high school or homeschool,” McGrath said.
McGrath goes on to encourage students to join the chapter by mentioning his experience and love for the organization as “it’s a good place for people to hang out and become friends.”
“We want to give everyone the opportunity to come and be apart of this really fun and interactive event,” McGrath said.
The Southern Miss chapter, chartered in 1968, consists of 13 active members along with faculty that visit high schools and other colleges in hopes of interesting people in the STEM fields. The chapter is part of zone 10, a regional district that consists of Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas and the western half of Tennessee.
For more information on the conference or joining the organization, visit www.usm.edu/physics/organizations.
