|
Organizations
The Society of Physics Students, open to any person interested in physics,
promotes the professional development of students, and the professional
contributions that students make to the professional community and to
society.
The SPS fulfills this mission through seven roles it has within the physics
community.
- Encouraging undergraduate research experience as a teaching tool.
- Promoting science literacy and appreciation through physics outreach
programs to grades K-12 and the general public.
- Through SPS alumni and the members of Sigma Pi Sigma, the Society
maintains the only institutionalized structure the physics community has
for communicating with the "friends of physics" that exist throughout all
walks of life in society.
- The SPS provides an effective signpost for educating the student on
the many career options, in addition to traditional physics, that come
with a degree in physics.
- The active SPS chapter is an especially effective student recruitment
and retention tool for the physics department.
- The SPS is a gateway society to the other professional societies in
physics.
- The SPS provides training for leadership. Through SPS activities,
students' professional development, communication skills, leadership
qualities, and professional networking is enhanced in ways that cannot be
realized in course work alone.
There are nearly 6,000 SPS members in the United States, in nearly 700
chapters in colleges and universities. Membership dues are $20 per year.
The SPS also houses the physics honor society, Sigma Pi Sigma, which has
some 75,000 historical members.
The Society sponsors several publications and programs that are of service
to our members, and help our members and chapters be of service to physics
and society.
 Founded
in 1921, Sigma Pi Sigma is a member honor society of the Association of
College Honor Societies. Our society has some 75,000 historical members.
Election to Sigma Pi Sigma is a lifetime membership.
The Society of Physics Students (SPS) was formed in 1968 with the union of
Sigma Pi Sigma and the AIP Student Sections. Today Sigma Pi Sigma is housed
within the SPS.
Sigma Pi Sigma exists to honor outstanding scholarship in physics; to
encourage interest in physics among students at all levels; to promote an
attitude of service of its members towards their fellow students,
colleagues, and the public; to
provide a fellowship of persons who have excelled in physics. Sigma Pi
Sigma’s mission is not completed in the induction ceremony with the
recognition of academic accomplishment. In the four dimensions of Honor,
Encouragement, Service,
and Fellowship, the mission of Sigma Pi Sigma takes a longer view.
Honor
Sigma Pi Sigma is the Physics Honor Society. Through election to Sigma Pi
Sigma, distinctive achievement and high scholarship in physics are
recognized and celebrated.
Encouragement
By honoring high achievement in physics and upholding high standards for
election into Sigma Pi Sigma, the Society provides an incentive for all
physics students to rise to excellence. Sigma Pi Sigma is a source of
encouragement to all
students who study physics, whatever the ultimate level of performance
achieved by the individual. Such encouragement ranges from promoting physics
interest and science literacy in the general public, to challenging those
who are pondering
their potential for earning higher degrees. Sigma Pi Sigma urges its members
to demonstrate this encouragement through personal service.
Service
With the recognition of accomplishment comes a responsibility to service at
all levels. Nationally, Sigma Pi Sigma members can serve by helping to work
for sound national science policies. Locally, Sigma Pi Sigma members can
serve
in community science education projects and liaisons, and in mentoring
individual students. Such personal initiative provides opportunities for all
members of the local community to learn more about physics, and provides
visible
testimony to the high standards of Sigma Pi Sigma membership. Our colleges,
universities, and our Society know that when we become alumni, because we
respect the personal struggle for excellence, we will support the
generations of
students that follow us. When the experience of Sigma Pi Sigma members is
placed at the service of others at any level, then Sigma Pi Sigma touches
more lives than may be counted by the number of its members.
Service towards others is an offering of fellowship. This is another mission
that our honor society fulfills through its members.
Fellowship
The criterion of Sigma Pi Sigma membership is proven excellence in physics.
There are no generational boundaries. The first members were inducted in
1921 and new members are added every year. Sigma Pi Sigma members represent
many
generations of experience and wisdom that can be focused on the matters that
unite us.
In Sigma Pi Sigma there are no professional boundaries. One finds all
professions represented in the Sigma Pi Sigma membership. There are many
practicing physicists among Sigma Pi Sigma members, but excellence in
physics has opened
many career options to our members. Through their lives, physics has
enriched the world beyond the narrow scope of the physics community. Sigma
Pi Sigma reaches beyond specific disciplines, uniting a diverse group of
exceptional people
who have shared in the culture and traditions of physics. With the common
thread of this shared background in physics running through so rich a
diversity of generations and professions, Sigma Pi Sigma promotes a spirit
of community among
its members and encourages them to offer their collective wisdom and
perspectives in the service of the larger society
Beta Beta Beta Biological
Society is a nationally recognized organization for undergraduate students
dedicated to improving the understanding and appreciation of biological
study through education and research. The three goals of BBB are (1) the
promotion of scholarship in the biological sciences, (2) the dissemination
of biological knowledge, and (3) the encouragement of research. Our chapter
has added the fourth goal of the nurturing of fellowship among biology
students and faculty.
The Southwestern College chapter holds its meeting every other
Wednesday evening at 7 pm in Beech 105. Chapter
activities include seminars on biological research, social and sport
activities, field trips, and involvement in education and environmental
activism Membership is open to all students with an interest in biology and
the natural sciences.
Kappa Mu
Epsilon is a specialized honor society in Mathematics, which
was founded in 1931 to promote the interest of mathematics among
undergraduate students. Its chapters are located in colleges and
universities of recognized standing which offer a strong mathematics major.
The chapters' members are selected from students of mathematics and other
closely related fields who have maintained standards of scholarship, have
professional merit, and have attained academic distinction. Both men and
women are eligible for membership. |
