Society of Physics Students recognized with Outstanding Chapter Award

Randolph’s chapter of the Society of Physics Students (SPS) has once again won an Outstanding Chapter Award from the SPS national office–a designation given to fewer than 15 percent of chapters at colleges and universities in the U.S. and internationally.

Presented by the national SPS organization, the designation honors the group for its activities during the 2021-22 academic year.

Randolph students have won the Outstanding Chapter award more than a dozen times in as many years, most recently in 2020, and advisor Peter Sheldon, the Charles A. Dana Professor of Physics and Engineering, was recently named Outstanding Chapter Advisor for 2021-22.

The chapter is led by student officers. During the 2021-22 academic year, officers were Hailey Gilman ’22 (president), Shae Starks ’22 (vice president and historian), Laura Rowland ’24 (secretary), and Alexander Long ’22 (treasurer).

Membership in SPS, a professional association designed for students, is open to anyone interested in physics and related fields. It operates within the American Institute of Physics (AIP), an umbrella organization for professional physical science societies.

The Outstanding Chapter Award recognizes high levels of outreach as well as unique approaches to fulfilling the mission of SPS to “help students transform themselves into contributing members of the professional community.”

Randolph’s SPS organizes several community and campus outreach initiatives, including the annual Randolph College Science Festival.