Whether you’re confident in your research or feeling undecided, the Congress is the perfect opportunity to showcase your hard work in an exciting, supportive environment. Presenting a poster helps you gain valuable experience, build confidence, and connect with fellow students, faculty, and industry professionals. If this will be your first time presenting, we’ve got you covered! Below, you’ll find all the resources and tips to help you prepare.

Ready to take the next step? Scroll down to find important deadlines, poster guidelines, judging criteria and advice to make your presentation a success.

• Session I: Friday, October 31, 10:30 AM - 12:00 AM
• Session II: Saturday, November 1, 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM

Abstract Submission Guidelines
Submitting your abstract is simple. Here’s what you need to know:

• Who can submit? The primary author (presenter) should submit the abstract. If they can’t attend, another author may step in.
• How to submit? Register for the Congress to access the abstract submission form.
• What’s included?
• A title and a 150-word abstract—be concise and clear!
• Co-author names and affiliations.

Choose a category that best fits your work:

• Supporting Our Phase Shifts: Share creative ideas on inclusivity, outreach, or cultural shifts in physics (e.g., “The impact of qualifying exams on student mental health”).**
• Sigma Pi Sigma Chapter Activities
• Careers and Corporate Internships
• Research categories like Astronomy, Condensed Matter, or Applied Physics (see the full list in the form).

Helpful Tips:

• Double-check your submission—it is final once completed.
• Prepare your abstract in an external document, then paste it into the form.
• Notification of acceptance, including your presentation day and time, will arrive two weeks before Congress.

Poster Guidelines:
Maximum size: 42 inches by 42 inches.
**This category highlights how students and chapters are navigating and shaping the evolving landscape of physics and astronomy. Whether individually or collaboratively, submissions will explore how inclusivity, community, culture, and outreach efforts are driving radical shifts in the field. Presenters are encouraged to be creative in showcasing how these small small steps or transformations are influencing the future of the broader scientific community.

• Ex. The impact of a qualifying exam of the mental health of students and their career trajectory
• Ex. Outreach events at local schools

To Judge or Not to Judge
Are you looking for feedback and prizes, or simply want to share your work and gain experience? The 2025 Congress lets you choose how to showcase your poster:

1. Present Only, No Feedback or Prize Eligibility
2. Submit your abstract by October 13.
3. Print your poster and bring it to the Congress—no judging, no prizes, just the opportunity to share your work!
4. Receive Feedback and Compete for Prizes
5. Upload a PDF of your poster and a YouTube video (max 5 minutes) of your presentation by October 2.
6. Your video should explain your research for a mid-level undergraduate audience with no expertise in your field.
7. Volunteer physicists will review your poster and video, providing detailed feedback. Top-scoring presenters will advance as finalists, where on-site judging will determine prize winners.
8. Important: Missing the PDF or video deadline reassigns you to Option 1.

*Note: All participants must present their posters in person at the Congress, regardless of their chosen option. Instructions for pre-judging submission will be emailed to you directly once you are registered.
Looking for tips to create a winning presentation? Check out these resources below:
(resources from an old document:)

• https://www.spsnational.org/the-sps-observer/fall/2021/how-prepare-poster-session
• https://www.spsnational.org/sites/default/files/files/publications/observer/2017/seven-suggestions-how-make-awesome-poster.pdf
• https://www.aps.org/careers/advice/designing-poster-presentation

The Physics Phine Art Contest and Exhibit is back for 2025! Both 2D and 3D work is accepted and pieces should fall into one of the themes below. Submissions open when registration opens and the deadline to submit is October 13. Art can be submitted either for judging with monetary prizes or as just for show, but all submitted work will receive a small thank you gift.

Session I: Friday, October 31st, 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Session II: Saturday, November 1st, 11:30 AM- 1:00 PM

Themes:

Supporting (our) Phase Shifts

• “…chosen by the program committee to describe the radical shifts current physics and astronomy majors have experienced in recent years.”
• Commonly, a phase shift is a major change to the underlying waveform of a signal or structure of a material in response to external stimulus (i.e. temperature, pressure, applied fields, etc.)
• What does the 2025 Congress theme mean to you? Have you personally experienced any phase shifts that influence your work? Have there been any phase shifts in how you relate to the physics & astronomy community?
• For work relating to or in response to the 2025 congress theme: (Supporting Phase Shifts) that follows general submission guidelines

General Science

• Channel your inner da Vinci and show us your best science-inspired artwork!
• For science-themed work demonstrating the overlap of art & science that follows general submission guidelines

Physics for Everyone

• Physics is everywhere, and not just for the physicists! Show off your science communication skills and show us your best work highlighting physics for a general audience.
• For work communicating or otherwise bringing physics to a broader/more general audience that follows general submission guidelines

Open Submission

• Non-themed
• Want to show off your artistic side but don’t fit in the other categories? We want to see your work here!
• For any work not fitting into one of the other categories that follows submission guidelines

Rules:
Compliance with these rules will be determined by the Phine Art Committee, but exceptions may be made with advance arrangement, subject to approval by the Committee. If you have questions about eligibility of your submission or want to request an exception, please contact SPS at sps-programs@aip.org ahead of time to check.

Overview

1. Artwork must be original and submitted by the artist.
2. Submissions of any type of visual art, such as paintings, drawings, photographs, holograms, and sculptures are invited from any Congress attendee. Dynamic (Time-based) art, such as performance and electronic works, are also welcome to be submitted as described below. Collaborative projects, particularly those by SPS or ΣΠΣ Chapters, are also invited.
3. Entrants may submit multiple works of art, either individually or as part of group submissions.
4. Submitted artwork will be categorized into the following themes:
5. Supporting (our) Phase Shifts
6. General Science
7. Physics for Everyone
8. Open (Non-Themed)
9. If we receive fewer than five submissions for a particular theme, the theme may be dissolved in the General Science category.
10. Artwork must be accompanied by a printed description of the work and (except for the Open category) a summary of how the work exemplifies the theme for which it is submitted.
11. Summaries should be no longer than 500 words.
12. Summaries must be provided by the artist and be no larger than a 4 x 6” index card.
13. Summaries should be printed or mounted on a stiff backing to be placed next to the artwork.
14. All artwork submissions and summaries must adhere to the Physics and Astronomy Congress 2025 Code of Conduct . Work that violates the code, or its spirit, or is otherwise deemed offensive by the Phine Art Committee will be removed from display and from the competition.

Specifications by type of artwork
2D Artwork

• Must be mounted separately on a stiff backing (e.g. cardboard, poster board, foamboard, or some similar material) to which the organizers can adhere strips of Velcro tape for hanging.
• Must be able to be hung as described above without damage to the work; protrusions can extend no more than 4" from the back edge of the backing.
• Must be no larger than 11” x 14”, including the backing, unless an exception is requested and granted. (Email sps-programs@aip.org to obtain an exception.)

3D artwork

• Must weigh no more than 50 lbs.
• Must fit on a 2 ft by 2 ft table top, unless an exception is requested and granted. (Email sps-programs@aip.org to obtain an exception.)

Dynamic (time-dependent) artwork

• Must be pre-recorded and available on a webpage with a scannable QR code. The QR code will be printed and displayed in the Phine Art Exhibit Hall next to the summary provided by the artist, for viewers to access on their phones and other devices.
• Will be shown on a screen in the Phine Art Exhibit Hall, with all Dynamic entries shown in a loop. If you want to bring your own equipment to display, make arrangements by emailing sps-programs@aip.org .