American Institute of Physics awards funding for new Physics Phest! initiative

A visitor gets her hair blown back by a mini jet engine at the 2019 Science Festival.

Thanks to funding from a national physics organization, Randolph College has launched yet another program that will expand its annual Science Festival and benefit local high school students and teachers.

Peter Sheldon, the Charles A. Dana Professor of Physics & Engineering and director of the Center for Student Research at Randolph, received the William F. and Edith R. Meggers Project Award from the American Institute of Physics. The biennial award will enable Randolph to establish a physics community for area high school students and teachers via regional physics competitions and classroom outreach. These activities will culminate in the new Physics Phest! Randolph College Regional Physics Quiz Bowl, a head-to-head competition that will be part of the kick-off to the College’s annual Science Festival weekend.

“This initiative will create new ways for students and teachers to engage with physics and with each other, it will help to build high school teams for the American Association of Physics Teachers’ PhysicsBowl, and we will center all the activities around a face-to-face academic competition in order to reach and inspire the physics students in our region,” Sheldon said. “Plus, it’s an opportunity for students to engage in some friendly competition while their families and peers watch.”

This spring, Randolph College’s Science Festival will celebrate its 16th year and has grown to welcome over 4,000 community members.