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Andrew Phipps
Brigham Young University-Idaho
APS Education & Diversity Intern
American Physical Society
Final presentation
This summer the process of acquiring data from the federal database (IPEDS) was streamlined to make it easier for future interns and employees at APS to analyze and discuss where the Physics community stands in terms of diversity in academia. Updating the APS Education and Diversity statistics follows a strict set of instructions that presents data from a consistent source and filters out any inconsistencies. These instructions are based off of APS’ definition of Physics and the IPEDS database and take a considerable amount of time to sort through before APS proceeds to analyze it. This presentation will dive into the definition of Physics used by APS and the importance of what that data represents, as well as the effect it has on the physics/science community as a whole.
I am currently a junior at Brigham Young University-Idaho majoring in Physics with an emphasis in mathematics. Throughout my life I have had the opportunity to live in many places including Colorado, New Mexico, Washington, Iceland, Norway, and finally Idaho. Each of these places taught me how important family is. Moving around every 3-4 years brought me closer to my father in particular whose love of math and science was passed on to me through his teaching of and enthusiasm for physics. My passion grew and upon attending college I realized that the thrill of being challenged and discovering new things was a necessity in my life.
As I continued my education I found another passion in helping and teaching those around me, which had stemmed from the amazing teachers and examples I have had in my life. Because of this I applied to be a Teaching Assistant and joined SPS in order to make a bigger difference not only in my life, but in the lives of those around me. Not long after, I had the opportunity to attend a American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) conference in Texas with my supportive wife where my decision to teach became concrete.
In the future I plan to attend graduate School and become a professor. My hobbies include reading, going on walks or runs, traveling to new and exciting places, and socializing with others.