1928: First National Convention
Held on the campus of the founding chapter, Davidson College, NC. Six chapters were represented, national officers were elected, and life-long leader Marsh White became Secretary/Treasurer.
1931: Second National Convention
Held at University of Kentucky
1934: Third National Convention
Held at Purdue University, where Sigma Pi Sigma was changed from a fraternity to an honor society, removing all elements of secrecy. Meeting attendance was opened to non-members as well. The society had chapters on 19 campuses.
1939: Fourth National Convention
Held April 6-8 at Ohio State University. 132 guests and delegrates attended from 28 chapters. Perkins Astronomical Observatory was visited.
1950: Fifth National Convention
Held at Berea College, in Kentucky on December 27-30, 1950 and included tours of ORNL.
1962: Sixth National Convention
Held at William Jewel College, in Liberty MO on May 4-6, 1959. 55 Delegates came.
1962: Seventh National Convention
Held at University of Kansas, October 22-24, 1962.
1967: Special Convocation (8th Convention)
Held at Purdue University, where delegates from ninety chapters voted on the merger between AIP and Sigma Pi Sigma. Society of Physics Students (SPS) formed as a result of these discussions.
1992: First Modern Congress (9th Convention)
Held in Dayton, OH, SPS and Sigma Pi Sigma collaborations, membership databases, and membership lists were addressed. Attendees also discussed employment, education, and social issues related to physics.
1996: Diamond Jubilee (10th Convention)
Sigma Pi Sigma's 75th anniversary was celebrated in Atlanta, GA, with the theme "Looking Back, Looking Forward." Allan Lightman, author of "Einstein's Dreams," and Robert Ballard, who discovered the wreckage of the Titanic, were two of the distinguished guest speakers.
2000 Congress (11th Convention)
Held at the Sigma Pi Sigma headquarters in College Park, MD, this congress focused on career diversity, undergraduate education reform, and hidden physicists. A keynote speaker was Physics Nobel Laureate William Phillips.
2004: Heritage and Promise (12th Convention)
Held in Albuquerque, NM, 400 attendees heard from Carl Wieman, Jocelyn Bell-Burnell and many other distinguished speakers and panelists. Students and faculty still speak warmly of the gathering. In addition to scientific talks, ethical issues arising in the profession were discussed, and several student-led recommendations were developed. Attendees toured the Trinity test site and McDonald Ranch House at White Sands Missile Range.
2008: Scientific Citizenship—Connecting Physics and Society (13th Convention)
More than 600 physics students, faculty, and Sigma Pi Sigma alumni gathered at Fermilab in Batavia, IL, for the 2008 Quadrennial Congress. They spent a packed weekend making new connections, interacting with Fermilab scientists and distinguished speakers, debating common concerns for the discipline and society, and touring Fermilab's unique experiments and grounds.
2012: Connecting Worlds through Science and Service (14th Convention)
Held in Orlando, FL, the 2012 congress was the largest gathering of undergraduate physics students in history. More than 800 attendees heard from distinguished speakers including Physics Nobel Laureate John Mather, Freeman Dyson, and Dr. John Grunsfeld, an astronaut with a PhD in Physics. Attendees toured NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, FL, and participated in several dynamic workshops.
2016: Unifying Fields (15th Convention)
Now more commonly known by its nickname, PhysCon, the 2016 congress welcomed over 1,100 attendees to San Francisco, CA. Plenary talks included Jocelyn Bell Burnell, Nobel Laureate Eric Cornell, Persis Drell, Patrick Brady, and James S. Gates. Sites like SLAC, Google X, the California Academy of Sciences, and the Computer History Museum welcomed undergraduates and their mentors for tours.
2019: Making Waves and Breaking Boundaries (16th Convention)
Held in Providence, RI at the Omni Hotel, this event welcomed 1,219 people from over 225 chapters.
2022: Making Waves and Breaking Boundaries (17th Convention)
Held in Washington DC at the Omni Shoreham Hotel, this event celebrated the organization's 100th birthday.This event welcomed over 1,250 people from over 250 chapters.
2025: Supporting Phase Shifts (18th Convention)
Held in Denver Co at the Sheraton Hotel, this event will celebrate the organization's inclusion of Astronomy.