Travel: Travel Support for Students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) to the 2022 Physics Congress

American Institute Of Physics, College Park MD

Investigators

Abstract

The 2022 Physics Congress (PhysCon), organized by Sigma Pi Sigma (the physics honor society) and supported by the American Institute of Physics (AIP), is the largest single gathering of physics undergraduate students in the world. This award to AIP supports the attendance to this meeting by members of underrepresented groups in physics. This year’s conference, themed 100 Years of Momentum, will include keynote lectures by renowned scientists; interactive workshops on key topics of importance to undergraduates in the physical sciences; and tours of major science facilities to provide transformative experiences for the students. African Americans and Hispanics are both extremely underrepresented in physics. According to 2020 U.S. Census data, 16% of the 20–24-year-olds in the U.S. are African American and 22.3% are Hispanic. By comparison, data from the AIP Statistical Research Center shows that just over 3% of physics bachelor’s degrees in 2019 were awarded to African Americans, and 11% to Hispanics in 2019. Thus, both ethnic groups see less than the expected representation among physics undergraduates that should be expected based on the population. This award aims to address the participation and success of underrepresented students in physics by making them aware of resources and building connections to the physics community. This program would have SPS and volunteer leaders work with departments individually to identify students that would benefit from the program. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.