Student Research Symposium
Illinois Section of the American Association of Physics Teachers

Recent Award Recipients
Assessment Form

DESCRIPTION:
The Illinois Section of the American Association of Physics Teachers is pleased to announce an awards program as part of a Student Research Symposium for high school and undergraduate attendees of Illinois Section AAPT spring meetings. This program will serve to recognize and promote both high school and undergraduate student research in physics and physics teaching.

ELIGIBILITY:
High school and undergraduate students who are: 1) currently engaged in physics research as defined below, 2) working under the direction of a faculty advisor, 3) officially registered for the ISAAPT meeting which they are attending, and 4) registered competitors in the research symposium are eligible for participation in the awards program. The student(s) should have a substantive understanding of and/or involvement in the conception, methodology, and analysis components of the research. The research project does not have to be complete at the time of presentation. Registration for the competition will be indicated by checking the appropriate box on the paper submission form.

RESEARCH DEFINED:
For the purpose of this awards program, research will defined as "a formal procedure which contributes to the expansion of basic knowledge, or applies such knowledge to the solutions of problems in society, or exemplifies creative expression in a specific field of study." Examples of such research would be: research projects for independent study, research projects done on a group basis, or research projects done to fulfill requirements of an honors or mentorship program. Topics may be theoretical, experimental, or educational in nature.

CATEGORIES:
There will be only one presentation category. Scientific and education presentations, be they individual or group, will be treated on an equal basis. Mentors may not participate in registered presentations.

PRESENTATION GUIDELINES:
All presentations should include the following essential elements:
a) Introduction
b) Objectives
c) Procedures
d) Analysis of data
e) Results
f) Conclusion

JUDGING:
Judging will be based on scholarship, methodology, oral presentation, visual presentation, and creativity and originality. A representative panel of judges will be selected by the conference host from among registered conference attendees. Judges from institutions with students presenting in the symposium will be barred from judging in order to avoid conflicts of interest.  The judges will designate a chairperson who will be responsible for gathering assessment forms, determining the winner by the highest average score, and presenting that information at a plenary session of the membership before the conclusion of the meeting. The chairperson of the judging panel will present the awards to the symposium winners.

Here, as a PDF file, is a copy of the assessment form that is used by the judges.

AWARDS:
Suitable awards consisting of plaques, trophies, and/or certificates will be issued to winners of the student research symposium. Monetary awards will be given for the top three papers in the amounts of $100, $75, and $50. Monetary awards will be shared equally by all registered competitors within groups.

Award Recipients