When the pandemic hit and the United States first went into lockdown, SPS National sprang into action to create virtual opportunities for chapters across the country. With colleges and universities moving online, students missed club meetings, classes, and so much more, threatening their sense of community. SPS National is working to mitigate the effects of this with new virtual opportunities.

One of these new opportunities is the SPS Virtual Colloquium series. Starting the first week of true lockdowns in America, SPS National began welcoming speakers every other week to address our members. Participants from the American Institute of Physics (AIP) Statistical Research Center, Monash University in Australia, NASA, and other organizations covered a wide variety of topics to ensure there would be something for everyone to enjoy. After each 30- to 40-minute talk, there was time for questions, and a recording of the session was uploaded to our YouTube channel for chapters to use in the future.

As we’ve continued to develop the series, the average number of registrants for the virtual talks has steadily increased. We hope these talks will serve as a way for chapters to gather as a physics community online, either through live attendance or by watching the recordings together. All of the past and upcoming talks can be found on our website (spsnational.org/about/SPScolloquium). We look forward to seeing you as we continue this series as a monthly event in the spring semester!