SPS Outstanding Chapter Awards: 2009-2017

Each year, SPS National presents about five SPS chapters per zone with Outstanding Chapter Awards. Outstanding chapters are “determined each academic year after a careful review of the information … presented in the annual Chapter Reports.” The award seeks to acknowledge those chapters that are especially involved in professional meetings, public outreach, community service, and social events.

Drexel SPS is proud to have received this award eight years in a row, especially since our zone includes more than 60 other chapters!

Future Faces of Physics Award: 2013-2015

The Future Faces of Physics Award is given to SPS Chapters in order to promote diversity in the field of physics. We often work in conjunction with our Women in Physics Society to provide positive role models as well as assess our own commitment to a diverse department.

In 2015, Drexel SPS chapter received an award to continue their partnership with a local all-girls Catholic high school and a local after-school science club, focusing on electrodynamic and thermodynamic demonstrations. Drexel SPS won this award for the first time in 2013 with the proposed idea to visit all-girls middle and high schools in the greater Philadelphia area to encourage young women to consider future studies in physics.

Marsh W. White Award – 2007-2015

The Marsh W. White Awards are given to SPS Chapters to aid and encourage outreach to the general public. Drexel SPS has won this award multiple times, often using the funds to support our booth at the Philadelphia Science Festival.

In 2015, Drexel SPS was presented with the Marsh W. White award for “The Starch Difference”, a fun and interactive demonstration of the effect of sound waves on non- Newtonian fluids.

In 2013, Drexel SPS was presented with the Marsh W. White award to bring a “Hollywood Physics 2.0” to the Philadelphia community. The demonstration included popular movie clips, and asked the audience to question the legitimacy of many common action tropes.

In 2012, Drexel SPS was presented with the Marsh W. White award to bring physics to younger students through the use of a high-speed camera. Students viewed everyday events, slowed drastically, and saw physics principles in action. Volunteers presented the demonstration at the Philadelphia Science Carnival and for the seventh and eighth grade students at the Independence Charter School located in Center City, Philadelphia.

In 2011, Drexel SPS was presented with the Marsh W. White award to create a set of outreach events in conjunction with the Philadelphia Science Festival in attempt to help promote an awareness and appreciation of science in the general community. The exhibition was held during the Philadelphia Science Carnival in 2011, and also at a separate event at Drexel University during the two-week long festival.

In 2010, Drexel SPS was presented with the Marsh W. White award to engage Philadelphia-based, inner-city, high school students to view and critique Hollywood movie clips using physics principles. The "Hollywood Physics" demonstration was presented at two high schools in the greater Philadelphia region.

Sigma Pi Sigma Undergraduate Research Award: 2007, 2010, 2012, 2015

The Sigma Pi Sigma Undergraduate Research Awards are made to SPS chapters to support research projects that will "contribute to the strengthening of the SPS program."

In 2015, Drexel SPS was awarded the Undergraduate Research Award to deploy a Geiger-counter and sample of RAM memory into the stratosphere to correlate cosmic ray activity with electronic bit-flipping.

In 2012, Drexel SPS was awarded the Undergraduate Research Award to create an electronic hand-tracking system to be used for manipulating virtual objects.

In 2010, Drexel SPS was awarded the Undergraduate Research Award to create a proof of principle prototype for a dynamic three-dimensional projection system.

Blake Lilly Prize – 2011, 2014

The Blake Lilly Prize recognizes “SPS chapters and individuals who make genuine effort to positively influence the attitudes of school children and the general public about physics.”

Sigma Xi Grants-in-Aid of Research (GIAR): 2007, 2010, 2013

The Sigma Xi Grants-in-Aid of Research program provides undergraduate and graduate students with valuable educational experiences. It provides funds to cover the direct cost of doing research.

Leadership Scholarship: 2009, 2011

The purpose of the Society of Physics Students scholarship program is to encourage the study of physics and the pursuit of high scholarship. The SPS Leadership Scholarships consist of $2,000-$5,000 awards for physics majors in the latter stages of their undergraduate careers.

It was awarded to Jerome Mlack in 2009 and Sajjan Mehta in 2011.