Programs

Education and Outreach

APS-DPP hosts several free, interactive events where students, teachers, and the general public can explore familiar concepts of light, electricity, and magnetism with an unfamiliar state of matter - plasma! Join us to discover plasma science and fusion energy, learn about cutting-edge research, and find out about exciting career paths. Attendees will interact with physicists, engineers, and experts from national and international laboratories, universities, and industry who are ready to share their knowledge and enthusiasm for science while making the science accessible and engaging.

All events are organized by the DPP Education and Outreach Committee.

Interested in getting involved in outreach? Contact us!

For the Class of 2018 - Alumni

Fusion and Plasma Graduate School Day

Free and online, Saturday, September 26, 2020, 12-6 pm ET

A graduate degree in plasma physics or fusion science and technology can lead to exciting careers in academia, national laboratories, and industry. The APS-DPP Fusion and Plasma Graduate School Day is an opportunity to learn about US graduate programs in plasma physics and the fusion sciences, learn about the application process, learn about fellowship opportunities for graduate students, and to network with other graduate students.

More Info & Registration

Science Teacher Day

The next Science Teacher Day is Tuesday, November 10, 2020.

More Info & Registration

Science Teacher Day is a day of free professional development workshops for teachers to learn about plasma physics research and ways to incorporate plasma lessons and activities in the classroom. These "real-life" topics, seldom found in conventional classroom discussions or in school textbooks, provide tools to help teachers inspire students to understand the research challenges of plasma science and related applications. The workshop presentations, handouts, and classroom resource materials are designed especially for middle and high school teachers and targeted to satisfy state and national standards.

Read more: Why Teach Plasma Physics?

Plasma Science Expo

The next Plasma Science Expo will be in 2021.

More Info & Registration

The Plasma Science Expo is an exhibition during the annual APS-DPP Meeting that focuses on hands-on science education. Students, parents, teachers, and the general public are welcome to attend. Examples of activities are:

  • Make lightning with a Van de Graaff generator.
  • Observe your fluctuating body temperature on a special monitor.
  • Participate in a "flow bubble" demonstration.
  • Manipulate plasma with magnets.
  • Watch an electromagnetic wave demonstration.
  • Play with plasma “toys.”
  • Learn how to confine plasmas magnetically in a fusion device by participating in a computer simulation.
  • Meet and talk with professional scientists and engineers in the field of plasma physics and learn about cutting-edge research.

Contributing laboratories, industries, academic institutions, and government agencies include: University of California, San Diego; General Atomics; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory; Plasma Science and Fusion Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; University of Iowa; Contemporary Physics Education Project; National Science Foundation; Sandia National Laboratories; U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Fusion Energy Science, U.S. Department of Energy Defense programs, and many more.