The 2011 Joint Annual Conference of the National Society of Black Physicists and the National Society of Hispanic Physicists

Southeastern Universities Research Association, Washington DC

Investigators

Abstract

This NSF grant will support a majority of costs not covered by program income for the 2011 Joint Annual Conference of the National Society of Black Physicists (NSBP) and the National Society of Hispanic Physicists (NSHP). Minorities are very under-represented in the sciences and particularly in the field of physics, broadly defined. The overarching goal is to increase the number of students who graduate in physics and closely related fields by providing them with an opportunity to participate in a friendly and supportive Conference environment that combines forefront research with an extensive program of professional development. We estimate six hundred participants, three hundred of whom will be students, who, because the Conference is organized by NSBP and NSHP and heavily advertised to their membership, will be predominantly minorities. The Conference will offer extensive opportunities for the attendees to network with their peers to exchange not only scientific knowledge but also the tacit knowledge needed to succeed in the profession of physics. Our target is for the Conference to take place in April 2011, in a venue that will be determined by reasonable hotel cost and proximity to a significant scientific laboratory.