New College of Florida Physics Students Win National Recognition

The New College of Florida chapter of the Society of Physics Students (SPS) has won an Outstanding Chapter Award from the SPS National Office. This is the first time the chapter has been recognized for its excellence as a top-tier student-led physical sciences organization, a designation given to fewer than 15 percent of all SPS chapters at colleges and universities in the United States and internationally. 

SPS is a professional association designed for students and membership is open to anyone interested in physics and related fields. SPS operates within the American Institute of Physics (AIP), an umbrella organization for professional physical science societies.

“This recognition is a high honor for New College of Florida and helps reaffirm our college’s academic commitment to physics and mathematics particularly,” said NCF chapter president Matt Mancini. “I am proud to be a part of such a motivated community of students and faculty. The dedication and passion for physics has become contagious and has allowed for the development of a true ‘physics phamily’ in our SPS chapter.”

SPS chapters are evaluated on their level of interaction with the campus community, the professional physics community, the public, and with SPS national programs. The Outstanding Chapter Award recognizes high levels of outreach as well as unique approaches to fulfilling the mission of SPS to “help students transform themselves into contributing members of the professional community.”

The NCF SPS chapter was recognized as outstanding for its efforts in community outreach both on campus and off for efforts that included, but were not limited to: 

• Visiting Sarasota High School to conduct demos as well as Q&A on University Physics
• Increasing workshops and TA availability in Physics
• Working with faculty to have a new course, Materials Characterization Techniques, offered that helps develop hard skills for students seeking professional paths 

The SPS chapter at New College of Florida is advised by Professor of Physics Donald Colladay and is led by student officers. The 2019-20 officers are: Matthew Mancini, President; Sarah Gonzalez, Vice President; 

Alexandru Sturzu, Treasurer; and Alexandra Hinton, Secretary.