Biophysical Society Bulletin | February 2019

Communities

Education Committee The BPS Bulletin is running a series highlighting the Society’s committees to help members learn more about them and

the kinds of things committee members do on behalf of BPS. The Education Committee is dedicated to providing materials and ideas for promoting biophysics to the general public and particularly to students. The committee provides resources and educational programs at the BPS Annual Meeting. In con- junction with the BPS subgroups, the committee organizes and supports the Undergraduate Student Poster Festival and the Student Research Achievement Award. To serve students who may someday be inspired to pursue biophysics careers and promote public understanding of biophysics, the committee organizes a wide variety of events and outreach activities. Target audiences include primary and secondary school students, undergraduate students interest- ed in science majors relevant to biophysics, and instructors who serve these categories of students. At the BPS Annual Meeting, the committee serves students with a variety of opportunities to learn about and prepare for a career in biophysics. The Undergraduate Student Pizza “Breakfast” offers college students the opportunity to network, discuss academic goals, and hear inspirational talks from BPS members. Undergraduates also gain valuable research presentation experience through the committee’s Undergraduate Student Poster Festival, which includes a poster competition and prizes. Specific to each meeting loca- tion, local students in the host city community are invited to participate in Exploring Careers in Biophysics Day, focused on providing free entry and activities at the meeting. The committee offers training opportunities at the annual meeting for instructors, with session topics that vary year- to-year. This year, the committee is offering specific support to instructors at primarily undergraduate institutions in the workshop Founding, Establishing, and Maintaining a Research Laboratory at Primarily Undergraduate Institutions. Additional training will be offered in the sessions Biophysics 101 and Teaching Science Like We Do Science to educate attendees on the fundamentals of biophysics techniques and provide best practices in assessing the efficacy of teaching programs. These opportunities serve to better equip instructors in bio- physics with the tools to inspire student careers in biophysics. Relevant to students and their instructors alike is the Speed Networking Reception, supported in step with other BPS committees. At this reception, mid- and senior-career sci- entists in academia and industry discuss career advice with students and early career scientists in an exciting mixer where mentor-mentee partnerships swap several times over, allow- ing students the opportunity to network with a large number

of biophysicists in a small amount of time. Outreach beyond the annual meeting includes the creation and sharing of accessible biophysics lesson plans with instructors across the globe (recent biophysics educational programming has occurred in the United States, India, and Colombia), as well as the support of the international BPS Student Chapter program. The Student Chapter program includes direct outreach with college campuses and helps to support students interested in biophysics to network with peers, gain information on biophysics, and perform their own science outreach activities as a united group. The committee is made up of volunteer members who serve staggered three-year terms, renewable once. The current chair is Gina MacDonald of James Madison University. The committee meets in person at the BPS Annual Meeting and via conference call in late summer each year to plan activities and evaluate their success.

HAMAMATSUCAMERAS.COM

February 2019

15

T H E N E W S L E T T E R O F T H E B I O P H Y S I C A L S O C I E T Y