Media Relations

WKU to host Southeastern Section of American Physical Society in 2013

Date: Wednesday, December 5th, 2012

WKU will host the 80^th annual meeting of the Southeastern Section of the American Physical Society (SESAPS) next November.

The meeting is scheduled for Nov. 20-23 at the Sloan Convention Center in Bowling Green.

About 200 to 300 physicists, including faculty members, undergraduate students and graduate students, are expected to attend the 2013 meeting, according to Dr. Edward Kintzel, assistant professor in WKU’s Department of Physics and Astronomy and director of the WKU NOVA Center.

The APS Southeastern Section includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Puerto Rico.

“It’s a pretty big deal that WKU will be hosting the SESAPS meeting,” Dr. Kintzel said. “This will be a great opportunity for institutions from the Southeast region to see what WKU has to offer, including our unique research tools like the NOVA Center’s Large Chamber Scanning Electron Microscope and our collaborations with business and industry.”

The 2012 meeting, hosted by Florida State and Florida A&M, was held last month in Tallahassee, Fla. Other recent hosts have included Virginia Tech, Louisiana State, Georgia Tech/Georgia State, North Carolina State, Vanderbilt, William and Mary, Florida, Oak Ridge National Lab, Auburn, Virginia and Mississippi State.

Dr. Kintzel and the local organizing committee plan to explore partnerships with regional universities and sponsorships from area businesses. The group also will be sharing information and providing updates online, on Facebook and on Twitter.

In addition to research presentations, scientific sessions and lectures, the meeting will include a graduate fair for undergraduate students to learn more about graduate school or employment opportunities, Dr. Kintzel said.

The American Physical Society is a non-profit membership organization working to advance and diffuse the knowledge of physics through its outstanding research journals, scientific meetings, and education, outreach, advocacy and international activities. APS represents more than 50,000 members, including physicists in academia, national laboratories and industry in the United States and throughout the world.