Michael Bowles, a
graduating Ph.D., attaches a gas line to the BetaCage prototype particle
detector within the reduced-radon cleanroom in the physics department at South
Dakota School of Mines & Technology.
The South Dakota School of Mines
& Technology chapter of the Society of Physics Students
(SPS) has won an Outstanding Chapter Award from the SPS National Office. This
is the fourth year in a row the chapter has been recognized for its excellence
as a top-tier student-led physical sciences organization, a designation given
to fewer than 15 percent of all SPS chapters at colleges and universities in
the United States and internationally.
Many members of SPS at Mines work on research associated
with the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in Lead. The
deepest underground laboratory in the United States, SURF houses multiple
experiments in areas such as dark matter, neutrino physics, biology, geology
and engineering. Mines students have a unique opportunity to engage in world-class
science at SURF while completing their degrees.
“I am very proud of our students for this well-deserved
achievement — their engagement with the community is fantastic. The SPS
activities combined with the unique research opportunities here at South Dakota
Mines help make the students very well-rounded,” says Richard Schnee, Ph.D., the head of the department of
physics at South Dakota Mines.
The SPS chapter at South Dakota Mines is advised by Michael
Dowding and is led by student officers including president Layne Tieszen, vice president
Jonathan Hulscher and secretary Brian Lutz. Dowding was also a finalist for the
2019 National Outstanding Chapter Advisor.
The Society of Physics Students
is a professional association designed for students, and membership is open to
anyone interested in physics and related fields. SPS operates within the
American Institute of Physics (AIP), an umbrella organization for professional
physical science societies.
SPS chapters are evaluated on their level of interaction
with the campus community, the professional physics community, the public and
with SPS national programs. The Outstanding Chapter Award recognizes high
levels of outreach as well as unique approaches to fulfilling the mission of
SPS to “help students transform themselves into contributing members of
the professional community.”
Each year Mines’ SPS chapter
takes part in a list of community outreach and charity activities: Punkin
Chunkin, Festival of Lights Parade, Parade of Trees, Neutrino Day activities at
SURF, Dark Matter Day, Rocker Night at Main Street Square, Go to Mines, MLK
Food Drive, Trick or Treat for canned goods, Engineering Week, Conference for
Undergraduate Women in Physics, Women in Science & Engineering Conference, Mines
Day at the Capitol and Charity Pig Wrestling.