Getting Your Students to Congress Can Seem Impossible. Here’s How Some SPS Advisors Make It Happen.

DJ Wagner, Past SPS President and SPS Chapter Advisor, Grove City College,Inducted at the College of William and Mary, 1991

Now is the time to gauge, generate, and foster interest in SPSCon 2025! My first experience with the congress was in 2004, attending with one student. As the conference wore on, I thought, “This is the best conference I have ever attended! I am bringing a busload of students to the next one!” So I did.

I brought between 20 and 33 students to each of the next four congresses. My students have made connections leading to summer research experiences and graduate school opportunities, they have been excited by all the physics presented (and the famous physicists doing those presentations), and they have grown professionally by presenting posters and competing in the “Phine” Art Contest. Faculty and alumni are also welcome—there are lots of activities for professionals too!

I encourage advisors and officers to work with your chapter this spring. Talk the conference up. Play the promotional videos at SPS meetings and in hallway displays. Encourage students to get involved in research they can present or to plan artwork to display.

Also start looking into travel options, and work on finding funding. The congress website has a host of fundraising ideas, which you can tailor to your situation. My chapter has successfully combined funding from many sources so that students pay little to nothing out of pocket. For example, if students have done funded research or corporate internships, the funding grant or company will often contribute. Our college has a research fund that will contribute if students present. We write letters to alumni soliciting donations (and always write follow-up thank you letters, with pictures from the conference!). And we do a rent-a-student fundraiser where community members donate to our chapter in exchange for a few hours of work. Mostly yard work, but lots of other odd jobs have been requested through the years (e.g., tutoring, sanding a boat, web design, moving a piano, . . . ).

My chapter has also been creative in reducing expenses: donating to local churches or charities with buses in exchange for transportation to the airport (both in our city and the conference city), packing meals to eliminate the cost of airport food and hotel breakfasts, and going on a grocery run at the conference site.

Often colleges and universities provide travel funding only to students presenting at a conference. One nice feature of the congress (and SPS talks and poster sessions at other professional meetings) is that student presentations are not limited to original research. There are poster divisions for outreach projects, chapter activities, internship projects, and more. Students can also present their artwork as part of the Phine Art contest. Regardless of their research experience, each of your congress attendees should be able to present something and thus qualify for participation-based funding. As a bonus, they’ll also gain confidence and experience by presenting in a student-friendly venue.

I hope I will see you—and your students—in Denver in October!

Chad Kishimoto, Zone 18 Councilor and SPS Chapter Advisor, University of San Diego, Inducted as an at-large member in 2022

Attending the Physics and Astronomy Congress is a tremendous opportunity for undergraduates. All of my students have returned from the congress—after engaging with Nobel laureates, conversing with astronomer Jocelyn Bell Burnell, and meeting with other students just like them from around the country—raving about their experience and noting it was the highlight of their undergraduate careers. Unlike so many professional conferences, the congress is designed specifically for undergraduates: speaking their language, discussing their future, and making connections to issues that all undergraduates in physics and astronomy face.

The congress is an excellent place for undergraduates to present their research. It is a low-stress environment for students giving their first research presentation, but also a really fun place for more experienced presenters to talk with their peers about their research. Presenting is also an excellent way to secure travel funds. Often a student’s research advisor can chip in travel money, or university and external offices and programs that support undergraduate research.

Fundraising can be daunting. The bottom line cost of bringing your chapter probably looms large, and it can be tough knowing that price may be a factor for some students. Likely, the whole sum won’t come from one source, but seek out several opportunities for hundreds to a thousand dollars, and they can add up! Talk to your administration about how valuable this experience will be for students, encourage principal investigators on research grants to support their students who will be presenting their research, and check with your student government—many support student organizations like SPS chapters.

Anthony Kuchera, Zone 5 Councilor and SPS Chapter Advisor, Davidson College, Inducted as an at-large member in 2020

The congress is a physics and astronomy event for students unlike any other! While it may look like a conference from the outside, it is so much more than that. It is a unique experience where your students can engage with other students from the country (sometimes world) and leaders of the physics and astronomy communities.

Many chapters fundraise and seek external funding opportunities to attend the congress. However, it is worth checking out what funding opportunities your institution has available for student travel. Because the congress has so many facets, internal funding may be available for a variety of reasons, like presenting research or scholarly work. The congress has a large poster session, and many students present research they have conducted over a recent summer or semester; however, presentations are not limited to research. Some students present posters on outreach and educational activities they have developed or performed as part of SPS. Finally, students even have the ability to present original artwork!

The congress also can be viewed as a professional development activity. Attendees will have opportunities to participate in skill-building workshops, networking activities, and talks from a diverse group of leaders in the broader physics and astronomy community. When considering internal funding through your institution, keep in mind that fall semester funding may have deadlines in the spring, so look early!