OPTYCs SPOTLIGHT 2025 Issue 49

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OPTYCs SPOTLIGHT 2025 Issue 49

June 12, 2025 Issue #49

SPOTLIGHT is the OPTYCs monthly newsletter. It brings you OPTYCs activity updates, highlights from recent publications related to physics education, and news & resources for Two-Year colleges.

OPTYCs News

NOTE: With the termination of the NSF grant, SPOTLIGHT will switch to a monthly frequency and will appear on the second Thursday of each month.

Greetings!

I just wanted to send a quick note out to our community that, in spite of NSF terminating the grant, OPTYCs is staying. The OPTYCs team have all volunteered to finish out our respective programs, pivoting to all-virtual options as needed. AAPT is committed to OPTYCs as one of its programs, and is keeping me on for a few months to work on sustainability. I am so grateful to the AAPT Board, Beth Cunningham (CEO), and of course, all of you for continued support for OPTYCs!

Some recent publications related to OPTYCs and the effect of losing funding:

APS FYI reporter Clare Zhang published an article last week on the impact of NSF grant terminations on physics, for which I was interviewed. The OPTYCs PI team submitted an impact statement to the ADVANCE Journal blog call for testimonials.

Meanwhile, we're still hosting a 4-part series on teaching quantum-related topics at the intro level, starting June 14.

I hope you'll stay on the journey and keep our community strong and vibrant!

-Kris Lui

Director, OPTYCs

The Organization for Physics at Two-Year Colleges

American Association of Physics Teachers

https://optycs.aapt.org

Upcoming events

Hands-On Quantum: Teaching Core Quantum Concepts with Bloch Cubes June 14, 2025 from 1:00pm - 3:00pm EDT
Quantum mechanics is an abstract subject, and therefore challenging to teach. To help improve student understanding of quantum concepts, in this workshop, we will discuss how you can use the Bloch Cube, a hands-on educational tool. Bloch cubes can help your students learn key quantum concepts without equations. Facilitators: Jeremy Levy and Chandralekha Singh (University of Pittsburgh)
Quantum Phenomena 2025 July 12, 2025 from 12:00pm - 2:00pm EDT
This workshop introduces an evidence-based instructional sequence designed to establish a strong conceptual foundation for further exploration of quantum phenomena. Designed to be completed in approximately one week or four hours of class time, the sequence emphasizes conceptual understanding and requires only basic algebra and geometry skills. This approach is particularly well-suited for upper-level secondary students and college introductory physics students, providing them with the necessary tools to grasp the complexities of QP. Facilitator: Zac Patterson (The Ohio State University)
Quantum Cryptography 2025 August 16, 2025 from 1:00pm - 3:00pm EDT
Quantum computers are both a danger to internet security and a solution. This workshop will help you understand how current internet security is built on factoring prime numbers and how Shor’s algorithm can break that security. The second part of the workshop will feature classroom activities around quantum key distribution (QKD) using polarization. Facilitators: Alice Flarend and Bob Hilborn
Quantum Or Not 2025 September 12, 2025 from 2:00pm - 4:00pm EDT
This session, brought to you by the Perimeter Institute, will explore a hands-on classroom activity that engages students and introduces them to the key principles of quantum physics: uncertainty, superposition, entanglement, and wave-particle duality. The mathematics in this activity is minimal and only involves basic algebra. Facilitator: Damien Pope (Perimeter Institute)

Recent events

Workshop: The Physics of Climate Change: A Data Science and Python Tutorial (May 10, 2025)

Professional Opportunities

Polar STEAM is now accepting applications for the 2026-27 Educators Program.

Applications close: August 8th at 5 pm PST

About the Program:

Calling Educators interested in bringing polar science and research to their learners!

Polar STEAM is recruiting educators for 2026/27 collaborations with researchers to create educational resources about polar regions and science. Applications are open for Arctic and Antarctic deployments as well as virtual collaborations in both regions. Join our community to expand your STEAM and polar science knowledge and to engage learners in some of the most interesting and critical ecosystems on the planet.

For more information: https://polarsteam.info/application/

Resources

The American Association of Physics Teachers
Committee on Physics in Two-Year Colleges (AAPT area committee)
Join the TYC Google group: Send an email to tycphysics@googlegroups.com
PhysPort Recommendations about teaching methods, assessment, and results from PER
PER Central A resource collection for physics education researchers
Physics Review Physics Education Research Fully open access journal for PER
arXiv Physics education The arXiv repository for physics education papers
AIP Statistical Research Center Data on education, careers, and diversity in physics, astronomy and other physical sciences

optycs.aapt.org