The McMurry University chapter of the Society of Physics Students (SPS) has won an Outstanding Chapter Award from the SPS National Office. This is the fifth time in the last six years that the chapter has been recognized for its excellence as a top-tier student-led physical sciences organization. The chapter was named an Outstanding Chapter in 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023 and a Distinguished Chapter in 2020. A designation of the Outstanding Chapter is given to fewer than 15 percent of all SPS chapters at colleges and universities in the United States and internationally. This year, only 78 of 844 chapters were honored. Some other SPS chapters that share this recognition with McMurry University chapter this year are the chapters from Yale, Harvard, Brown, and University of California Berkley.
The Society of Physics Students (SPS) is a professional association designed for students, and membership is open to anyone interested in physics and related fields. SPS operates within the American Institute of Physics (AIP), an umbrella organization for professional physical science societies.
The SPS chapter at McMurry University is advised by Dr. Tikhon Bykov, Dr. Wayne Keith, Dr. Timothy Renfro, and Mr. David Upshaw and is led by student officers. The 2024-2025 officers are:
- Elijah Gregory, Physics with Civil/Mechanical Engineering Focus
- Dustin Volk, Engineering Physics
- Marie Ange Uwituze, Physics with Electrical Engineering Focus,
- Hailie Brown, Physics
SPS chapters are evaluated on their level of interaction with the campus community, the professional physics community, the public, and with SPS national programs. The Outstanding Chapter Award recognizes high levels of outreach and unique approaches to fulfilling the mission of SPS to “help students transform themselves into contributing members of the professional community.”