When you join SPS as an undergraduate, you get free membership in two of ten other physics societies, all of which are members of the American Institute of Physics (AIP). AIP serves this federation of physical science societies in a common mission to promote physics and allied fields.

Since you can do this for up to three years, you might consider joining different societies each year, trying out acoustics, crystallography, rheology, medical physics, or optics just to see what those societies have to offer. In any case, SPS is eager for you to see the breadth of physics through these societies, so indulge!

ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA (ASA)    
Purpose: To increase and diffuse the knowledge of acoustics and to promote its practical applications.
Benefits: Journal of the ASA online, Acoustics Today magazine, discounted registration at ASA meetings, special events for students at meetings.

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PHYSICISTS IN MEDICINE (AAPM)
Purpose: Seeks to promote the application of physics to medicine and biology.
Benefits: Medical Physics online journal.

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PHYSICS TEACHERS (AAPT)  
Purpose: Promotes enhancing the understanding and appreciation of physics through teaching.
Benefits: Member discounts on AAPT products, access to members-only portion of AAPT homepage, student registration at AAPT meetings, online access to The American Journal of Physics and The Physics Teacher. Also access to local AAPT sections and more. See www.aapt.org/Resources/students.cfm.

AMERICAN ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY (AAS)
Purpose: Promotes the advancement of astronomy and closely related branches of science.
Benefits: AAS News Digest and e-mail distributions, notices of meetings and grant programs, participation in AAS meetings at junior (student) member registration rates, member rates on journal subscriptions, listing in AAS membership directories as “Society of Physics Students Member.”

AMERICAN CRYSTALLOGRAPHIC ASSOCIATION (ACA)
Purpose: Promotes the study of the arrangement of the atoms in matter, its causes, its nature, its consequences, and the tools and methods used in such studies.
Benefits: ACA Newsletter (four per year), reduced meeting registration, right to vote in annual elections, International Union of Crystallographers Newsletter, reduced rates on ACA publications.

AMERICAN METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY (AMS)
Purpose: Promotes the advancement of the atmospheric and related sciences, technologies, applications, and services for the benefit of society.
Benefits: Bulletin of the AMS, deeply discounted journal subscriptions and books, special rate for Weatherwise magazine, discounted meeting registration, eligibility for scholarships and fellowships, and participation in the AMS Student Conference.

AMERICAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY (APS)
Purpose: Promotes the advancement and diffusion of the knowledge of physics and all branches of fundamental and applied physics.
Benefits: APS News monthly, greatly reduced registration at APS general meetings, in-depth career guidance at meetings and online, join up to two free divisions or topical groups for timely information in your field, one free online APS journal subscription, access to the online APS Member Directory and other members-only websites, and all other privileges of full APS membership, including the right to submit papers to meetings, and vote in elections.

AVS: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY OF MATERIALS, & INTERFACES,  PROCESSING
Purpose: Promotes communication and disseminates knowledge in vacuum science, technology, and engineering.
Benefits: Access to our online Publication Library, Technical Library, MyAVS, the member-only area, AVS Newsletter, as well as discounted symposia and short course registration.
 

THE OPTICAL SOCIETY (OSA)
Purpose: Promotes the generation, application, archiving, and dissemination of knowledge in optics and photonics. The society’s purposes are scientific, technical, and educational.
Benefits: Optics & Photonics News print subscription; 50 downloads from the OSA Publishing Library, the world’s largest peer-reviewed collection of optics and photonics information; substantial registration discounts to more than 40 conferences and meetings annually; the ability to network with peers and mentors through technical group affiliations; and engagement with more than 350 OSA Student Chapters all over the world.

THE SOCIETY OF RHEOLOGY (SoR)
Purpose: Promotes the advancement and applications of rheology, the science of deformation and flow of matter, and its applications.
Benefits: Access to the premier Journal of Rheology, published bimonthly; The SOR Bulletin, published semiannually; discounted registration for the society’s Annual Meetings; personal and professional growth opportunities through discussion forums and networking opportunities. //

If you attended the USA Science and Engineering Festival in April in Washington, DC, you may have spotted a colorful tent with musical wine glasses, a bed of nails, and a giant smoke cannon. Yes, the physics circus had come to town, thanks to the combined efforts of the American Institute of Physics and many of its member societies. We had a great time being a part of the 3,000 free, hands-on science activities and 150 stage shows put on at the festival. Thank you to all of the local SPS and Sigma Pi Sigma volunteers who made the booth such a success!

Big Top Physics was hosted by the following organizations:

AAPT: American Association of Physics Teachers

AAS: American Astronomical Society

ACA: American Crystallographic Association

AIP: American Institute of Physics

APS: American Physical Society

ASA: Acoustical Society of America

NSHP: National Society of Hispanic Physicists

OSA: The Optical Society

SPS/ΣΠΣ: Society of Physics Students/Sigma Pi Sigma