Randolph researchers win award at national physics conference

Randolph students Russ Burt ’17 and Zach Vernon ’18 (back right) received the Society of Physics Best Poster Award at the American Association of Physics Teachers National Conference.

Faculty and students from the Randolph College Physics Department received special recognition for their poster presentation at the American Association of Physics Teachers National Meeting this month.

Zach Vernon ’18 and Russ Burt ’17, along with physics professors Peter Sheldon and Sarah Sojka, presented five oral and poster presentations at the conference, held in New Orleans, La. The team received a Society of Physics Best Poster Award for its presentation, “Who Gets to Ride Shotgun? Is the Rear Seat Safe?” Vernon and Burt collected data for the project as part of Randolph’s Summer Research program in 2015.

Additional conference presentations by the Randolph students and faculty at the National Meeting included:

• “Driving Physics Education Home: Teaching Mechanics Through Motor Vehicle Collisions,” by professors Sojka and Sheldon.
• “Successful Research and Retention Programs in a Small Department,” by Sheldon, Sojka, and physics professor Katrin Schenk.
• “The Potential Impact of Seat Position,” by Burt, Vernon, Sheldon, and Sojka.
• “Randolph College Science Festival and Science Saturdays: Outreach for All,” by Sheldon.