The Yale University chapter of the Society of Physics Students (SPS) has won an Outstanding Chapter Award from the SPS National Office. This is the third time the chapter has been recognized for its excellence as a top-tier student-led physical sciences organization, a designation given to fewer than 15 percent of all SPS chapters at colleges and universities in the United States and internationally.
The Society of Physics Students (SPS) is a professional association designed for students and membership is open to anyone interested in physics and related fields. SPS operates within the American Institute of Physics (AIP), an umbrella organization for professional physical science societies.
The SPS chapter at Yale University is advised by Associate Professor Nikhil Padmanabhan and is led by student officers. The 2022-2023 officers are:
- Wyatt Kremer, Physics, ‘24
- Barkotel Zemenu, Physics, ‘24
- Argyris Giannisis Manes, Mathematics & Physics, ‘24
- Rose Branson, Astrophysics, ‘24
- Ryan Bose-Roy, Physics, ‘24
- Maddie Butchko, Physics, ‘24
- David Saunders, Astrophysics, ‘23
- Ruthie Gu
- Misheal Saah
Wyatt Kremer, Physics ‘24, commented, “I am grateful to have worked with my current co-president Barkotel Zemenu to revitalize our Physics of […] outreach series during the 2021-2022 school year. Partnering with Yale Pathways to Science, we were able to bring two immersive physics lessons and a great many smiles to a wide audience of local middle and high school students. Curiosity and discovery were at the heart of the program. We also worked to update our chapter about volunteering opportunities in which they could tutor and teach their own physics courses through other student organizations like the Yale Education Tutoring Initiative and Yale Splash. I am proud of our work and that of the other excellent board members who contributed to the success of our chapter. The board’s investment in preparing and refining the annual SPS chapter report helped showcase all the great endeavors taken on by Yale SPS in the 2021-2022 school year.”
Dawson Thomas, Mathematics & Physics ‘23, added, “- I would absolutely second everything Wyatt said! It takes hard work on all of our initiatives to earn an award like this. It is a testament to the strength and creativity of our SPS board and members!”
The Yale SPS Chapter was recognized as outstanding for its commitment to community-building, academic and professional initiatives, and accessibility in the virtual 2020-21 school year. For the annual Schultz and Tinsley Senior Prize Lectures, SPS hosted Monika Schleier-Smith and Donna Strickland, respectively. SPS facilitated connections between many branches of Yale physics, hosting informal talks and career panels for undergraduates given by graduate students, and maintaining weekly study sessions/virtual game nights. SPS also expanded connections into broader communities virtually, co-hosting the SPS Zone 1 meeting and leading New Haven outreach programs. SPS additionally assisted in initiating the first classes of Sigma Pi Sigma at Yale.
