Adelphi Chapter Named a Most Outstanding by Society of Physics Students

Students in Adelphi’s chapter of the Society of Physics Students (SPS) manage demanding courses, do research and are also active outside of the classroom, sharing their favorite subject with Adelphi and surrounding communities.

The chapter has been recognized for its efforts by the Society of Physics Students, which voted it a 2018–2019 Outstanding Society of Physics Students Chapter in America.

SPS is a professional association designed to help students develop their skills and to contribute to the field of physics with support from their teachers and mentors. The society is open to students of all majors who have an interest in and passion for physics.

“We at the SPS National Office want to take this opportunity to commend and applaud you for your tireless efforts to enrich the SPS community,” read a statement breaking the news to the Adelphi chapter. “It is because of your dedication and commitment to the SPS mission and vision that we are able to foster such a strong SPS community.”

This honor comes following last year’s recognitions: SPS selected Adelphi for the 2018–2019 Future Faces of Physics Award, and Adelphi’s chapter of the Society of Physics Students, with Sigma Pi Sigma, Adelphi’s physics honor society, was named the 2017–2018 Outstanding Chapter for its efforts to enrich the SPS community.

Under the leadership of their adviser, Matthew Wright, PhD, associate professor and chair of Adelphi’s Department of Physics, the chapter engages in a variety of events each year ranging from small lab events to bigger events off campus.

Dr. Wright said the bigger events are geared toward exposing “our students to career and professional development opportunities. We will visit a major lab or Columbia University’s engineering department, just to get a sense of what’s out there.”

The group also offers six or seven smaller events “for students who are into science,” said Dr. Wright, which can be anything from small engineering activities to physics challenges like an egg-drop competition. “They offer opportunities for students to get together and do something enjoyable but science related.”

Some members of the society, including Carissa Giuliano and Thomas Danza, presented posters at American Physical Society conferencea and PhysCon, the biggest physics conference for undergraduate physics students, in 2019.

Commenting on the SPS recognition, Dr. Wright said: “I am proud of the work my students do. They care. They are amazing.”