Day: March 7, 2019

The annual meeting of the Physics Teacher Education Coalition or PhysTEC was held March 2-3, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts and Clemson University had a seat at the table for the first time. Attending the PhysTEC 2019 meeting were Profs. Sean Brittain and Chad Sosolik, who gave a presentation on their 3-year project with the Laurens County school districts entitled “STEM Training for K­-12 Teachers: A Pilot Program in Upstate South Carolina”.

The Dept. of Physics and Astronomy became  a PhysTEC member institution this past Fall as part of its ongoing effort to recognize and enhance the teaching and outreach components of its mission. PhysTEC, which was founded in 2001, is a network of institutions committed to developing and promoting excellence in physics and physical science teacher preparation. The organization operates as a partnership between the American Physical Society (APS) and the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT).

At PhysTEC 2019, attendees learned about ongoing efforts to improve physics teacher education at the undergraduate level, many of which may find their way onto the Clemson University campus. These include the UTeach Model and the Get the Facts Out initiative, which is focused on addressing the misperceptions and lack of knowledge that many students and professional physicists have about the teaching profession.

Since 2001, every year astronomers of South Carolina get together in what is known as the MASC (meeting of the astronomers of South Carolina) meeting. This year’s edition was hosted at Clemson on March 2nd and had more than 40 participants.

Hugo has been honored with the 2019 Young Fluorescence Investigator award. This award recognizes the excellent work our colleague has done and is well deserved!

Livability.com has ranked Greenville, SC #10 in their annual report of the 100 best places to live. According to their website,

We always start with data: this year, we examined more than 1,000 cities based on thousands of data points measuring economics, housing, amenities, infrastructure, demographics, social and civic capital, education and health care.

They polled 1,000 millennials to find out what matters most to them about where they live. Coming in at #10 is our very own Greenville, SC. They say that one of our strengths is the food scene in Greenville, but that’s not all. They write,

The city’s downtown is a premier destination for dining, shopping and entertainment, but outside of that, Greenville is home to an array of outdoor recreation opportunities thanks to its prime location in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

In addition to the wonderful amenities the upstate has to offer, it is also a remarkably affordable place to live. Let’s get the word out to prospective colleagues and students that the Upstate is a great place to work and play!

Professor Takacs and his students have formed a chapter of Newton’s Apple Club. Led by Bishwambhar Sengupta, this group worked with faculty and staff across campus to get a direct descendent of Newton’s Apple tree planted on campus. Read more about that here.