On Tuesday, September 5th, SPS (that is, the Society of Physics Students) had their first meeting of the new school year. There we discussed some of the activities that we will be sponsoring or participating in this year: ROFUs (Research Experience for Undergraduates), continuing the "Physics is Phun" outreach program, paintball, rocket launches, physics GRE review sessions, and more. These announcements were accompanied by free pizza (which is available at all SPS Meetings), and followed by a celebration of ice cream, physics-style: prepared with cream, vanilla, and liquid nitrogen.

The turn out was great, about 30 fabulous physics folks showed up. The next SPS meeting was held on Monday September 25th where Dr. Hill and Dr. Meisel presented information about their research, specifically geared towards undergraduates. These ROFUs not only give students an opportunity for research experience, they also keep students up-to-date on research being done by faculty in our department. Everyone interested is encouraged to attend.

This semester there are also many outreach opportunities available. In previous years we have visited elementary, middle, and high schools in the local area armed with equipment that enabled physics demonstration in an exciting way. Formal physics coursework is often not available to students until the end of high school, and these shows help pique the interests of students about the subject at an earlier age. These demonstrations are called "Physics is Phun" shows. As for other sorts of "phun", for several years now the Society of Physics Students and the Chemistry Club have been paintball rivals. The showings from both sides tend to vary from year to year, but the desire to shoot each other with balls has remained constant. This is a tradition we plan on keeping this year. The annual paintball game is generally held mid-spring semester.

Other activities we sponsor include physics GRE review sessions held in the SPS lounge weekly, spring rocket building and launching at the Alachua Girl's Club, and Feynman lecture showings. The SPS program at UF has previously received the Outstanding Chapter Award. Whether it's obtained again this year or not, it definitely has the potential to be outstanding. We welcome all majors: the only requirement is a love of physics. To keep up to date on all SPS activities you can keep an open eye when in the building for fliers or check our website.

Cheers,
Sara Waters
SPS President