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TCNJ to host Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics

TCNJ will host the American Physical Society 2019 Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics (CUWiP) for the Mid-Atlantic States from January 18–20.

This three-day conference includes over 300 attendees, including undergraduate physics majors, professional physicists from industry and higher education, corporate and academic leaders, as well as high school students and teachers.

Workforce diversity drives innovation, global competitiveness, and economic growth, yet women in STEM fields are significantly underrepresented. Although women make up 47 percent of the nation’s workforce, they comprise only 24 percent of the STEM workforce. In 2015, women earned approximately 35 percent of U.S. bachelor’s degrees in STEM disciplines overall, but less than 20 percent of bachelor’s degrees in Physics.

The primary goal of the conference is to help undergraduate women continue in physics by providing the opportunity to experience a professional conference, information about graduate school and professions in physics, and access to other women in physics of all ages with whom they can share experiences, advice, and ideas.

“This conference will greatly impact young women by offering them a sense of community and an environment in which they can firmly identify as scientists,” said TCNJ Assistant Professor of Physics Angela Capece, the lead organizer of the event. “It is a wonderful opportunity for young women physicists in our region to connect with each other, and we are excited to welcome this group to our campus.”

The program at TCNJ will include keynote lectures, panel discussions about careers and graduate school opportunities in physics, workshops and discussions about women in physics, student research presentations, and laboratory tours. The conference will also feature hands-on tutorial sessions, workshops on professional development, and a networking fair.

For more information please visit https://cuwip.tcnj.edu/.

 

About TCNJ’s Physics Department 

TCNJ’s Physics Department is recognized annually by the American Institute of Physics as one of the top producers of physics majors in the United States. The most recent report of the American Institute of Physics ranks TCNJ’s Physics Department in the top 2% nationally for physics graduates among 496 non-PhD granting institutions in the U.S., and in the top 8% nationally among all 751 PhD and non-PhD granting institutions in U.S.  Moreover, TCNJ’s Physics Department ranks among the top in the nation in the percentage of its graduates who have gone on to complete doctoral degrees, according to the National Science Foundation.

Teacher education represents an important part of the TCNJ Physics Department’s mission as well, and TCNJ is consistently among the national leaders in number of new physics teachers certified to teach at the secondary level (high school).  In fact, TCNJ Physics ranks 2nd nationally by number of physics teacher certifications among all U.S. college and university physics departments.

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