2014 Midwest Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics

Join us for a day of celebrating women in science! In partnership with the American Physical Society, The University of Chicago is hosting a conference bringing together women working in physics or physics-related fields. The conference includes a program (detailed below) for high school students to interact with other conference particpants. The conference is full, but if you would like to be added to a waitlist, please email us.

Students who are under 18 years of age must bring a signed waiver with them to the conference to be allowed to participate. Students over 18 must bring a photo ID showing their birthdate.

Feel free to contact us with any questions.

High School Program

Saturday, January 18th
9:15am - 9:45am	Registration at International House
10:00am - 11:00am	Hands-on Workshops Take part in a workshop in the Kersten Physics Teaching Center. Geometric Art - Carolyn Phillips, Argonne National Laboratory Explore the non-repeating patterns that delight modern mathematicians but yet have been found designed into Islamic architecture as long ago as the twelfth century. In 2011, Dan Shechtman was awarded a Nobel Prize in chemistry for discovering these non-repeating patterns in materials created in the lab and later found naturally occuring in meteorites. However, in 1982 the idea that such non-repeating patterns could exist was so surprising and controversial that the famous chemist Linus Pauling dismissed the finding with, "There is no such thing as quasicrystals, only quasi-scientists". In this session, we will play with these patterns and create our own quasicrystalline craft art. Juice from Juice: Berry Solar Cells - Lisa Nash, The University of Chicago Use berries (yes, berries!) as a source of energy to turn on a light bulb as you explore voltage, electric current, and electricity in this physics workshop. Discover the Universe! - Brittany Kamai, Jen Helsby, Alissa Bans, The University of Chicago Come learn how big the entire universe is! You will learn how big stars, galaxies and black holes are compared to things that you know such as a ruler, your house and the city of Chicago. In this engaging lab, we will give you a perspective on how scientists explore the universe.
11:15pm - 12:15pm	Undergraduate Research Panel Did you know college students are often involved with research groups on campus? Bring questions and learn how students approached their professors to be a part of their research group.
12:15pm - 1:00pm	Lunch Eat with Undergraduate and Graduate Women Students in Physics
1:00pm - 1:30pm	Make Ice Cream Take part in the tastiest experiment using liquid nitrogen to make ice cream with Society of Physics Students
1:30pm - 2:30pm	Panel Discussion Have questions about the process of applying for college? Learn about the requirements and deadlines from people who have already been there.
2:30pm - 3:00pm	Undergraduate Poster Session Come and hear current undergraduates give a short description of their research. You'll learn the types of projects that students work on and can ask them questions about what it is like.
3:00pm - 4:00pm	Informal Round Table Discusions Meet the with speakers from the conference in person and feel free to ask them any questions.