University of Maryland Chapter of Society of Physics Students Named Outstanding Chapter

The University of Maryland chapter of the Society of Physics Students (SPS) has won an Outstanding Chapter Award from the SPS National Office. This is the sixth time the chapter has been recognized for its excellence as a top-tier student-led physical sciences organization, a designation given to only 15 percent of all SPS chapters at colleges and universities in the United States and internationally.

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

The SPS chapter at University of Maryland is advised by Director of Education Programs & Public Engagement Donna Hammer and is led by student officers.

SPS chapters are evaluated on their level of interaction with the campus community, the professional physics community, the public, and with SPS national programs. 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.”

Freddy Cisneros Awarded Best Oral Presentation at SACNAS Conference

Physics graduate student Freddy Cisneros has been awarded the best oral presentation award in Physics and Astronomy at the annual SACNAS conference in San Antonio, Texas for his work on using machine learning to study rare events in condensed matter systems. The Presentation Awards recognize the next generation of scientists and STEM leaders for exemplary science. Cisneros is currently performing this work with the Tiwary research group in the Institute for Physical Science & Technology and the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry and is currently the UMD SACNAS chapter president.

Eight UMD Physics Graduate Students Received Awards for the 2018-2019 Academic Year

Congratulations to eight graduate students who have received awards from the Graduate School for the 2018-2019 Academic Year!

Siddhartha Harmalkar Received SPS Scholarship

Congratulations to Siddhartha Harmalkar who has received the 2018 Society of Physics Students (SPS) Leadership Scholarship. The award recognizes outstanding academic achievements and exemplary leadership in the SPS community.  

Harmalkar is a junior at University of Maryland and studies math and physics.  He has been an active member of SPS since freshman year and has just completed his sophomore year when he led UMD's chapter as SPS president.  His research is in Lattice QCD in the Quarks, Hadron and Nuclei Theory Group at UMD.  

Read full announcement in Society of Physics Students.