BLACKSBURG — Virginia Tech was selected by the American Physical Society to host a 2017 Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics. This conference is a regional meeting for undergraduate physics majors. Virginia Tech is one of nine sites that will host a 2017 conference.

The American Physical Society’s goal with the conference, with support from the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy, is to encourage undergraduate women to continue physics by providing them with the opportunity to participate in a professional conference, learn about graduate school and professions in physics, and interact with the other women in physics at different stages of their education and career.

Giti Khodaparast, associate professor of physics, and Lara Anderson, assistant professor of physics, are leading the efforts for the conference. “We strongly believe this conference provides inspiration for future generations of female scientists, allowing them to connect with peers and mentors, and to engage in dialogues not always possible at their home institutions,” said Khodaparast. “Moreover, with six female faculty, one physics teacher-in-residence, and many female graduate and undergraduate students in the physics department who will be involved in organizing this event, we have the perspective and personnel to make this conference a success.”

Other Virginia Tech groups that are supporting the conference include the Department of PhysicsCenter for the Neutrino PhysicsCollege of ScienceOffice of the Vice Provost for ResearchOffice of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Academic AffairsAdvanceVT, theGraduate SchoolMulticultural Academic Opportunities Program (MAOP), and the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Sciences (ICTAS).

The conference will be held in January 2017. Specific dates, location, and more information will be available in summer of 2016.

The other selected sites for a 2017 Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics are: Harvard University; Montana State University; Princeton University; Rice University; University of Colorado, Boulder; University of California, Los Angeles; University of Wisconsin, Madison; and Wayne State University.

Share this story