REU Sites – REU stands for Research Experiences for Undergraduates. This is a fabulous program funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Typically, a student will do an REU in the summer between the junior and senior years, though some advanced students will do them in the summer after the sophomore year. An REU gives an undergraduate student the opportunity to work in a real scientific laboratory (or related facility) doing real research. With a little luck and a lot of hard work, a student’s work could end up as a publication. REU’s usually last about ten weeks in the summer and in addition to providing free living quarters, stipends as high at $4,000 are paid. Be prepared! REU’s are reasonably competitive and your GPA should be above 3.0 to ensure a position.
Graduate Record Exam (GRE) – Students interested in going to graduate school will most likely have to take the GRE. There are two types of exams: general and subject. Most people going to graduate school, regardless of area of study, will take the general test. Keep track of the registration dates!
Graduate School Shopper – This site allows you to search for graduate school programs. You can search by discipline and geography.
American Physical Society (APS) – This is the main society for physicists. Click on “careers & employment” on the APS web page to get a sense of some of the positions available for physicists. Check out the APS’s Committee on Minorities in Physics (COM) for information on underrepresented groups in physics.
National Society of Black Physicists (NSBP) – This organization is devoted to the black physicist community. The NSBP routinely names Science Ambassadors who encourage students at all grade levels to give physics a serious look when considering a career in science. The organization also offers various scholarships that help to improve the number of black physicists.
American Institute of Physics (AIP) – This is a great site which contains job information and Statistics that demonstrate the successes of those with physics degrees. Check out the journal information, especially Physics Today which is read by most physicists.
Physical Review Focus – If you are interested in the hot research topics in physics and astronomy, check out this site. The idea behind this page is to take articles from the journals Physical Review and Physical Review Letters (probably the most prestigious journals in which to have a publication) and present them at a level appropriate for students as well as physicists with all backgrounds.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) – Check out all of the interesting things that NASA is up to these days.
American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) – Those interested in teaching physics (on any level) will find this site quite interesting. Even those of you who do not wish to pursue a teaching career will find items of interest. Check out AAPT’s Committee on Diversity in Physics for more information on underrepresented groups in physics.
American Astronomical Society (AAS) – This is the main society for astronomers and astrophysicists. Click on “Career Services” if you want to find out job information for astronomers.
Contributions of 20th Century Women to Physics (CWP) – This site is maintained by UCLA and highlights the amazing contributions to physics made by women. Even today, women make up too small a percentage of all physicists. We hope to improve the current imbalance here at Lynchburg! If you are interested in reading more about contributions to science made by women, check out 4000 Years of Women in Science.
National Institute of Standards (NIST) – Check out this site for some of the cutting-edge work that is done at one of the world’s best research labs. You may find NIST’s site on Fundamental Constants to be quite useful when doing some of your physics work here at Lynchburg.
PhysLink.com – This is a fun site with all kinds of interesting physics stuff! There are stories about modern physics and astronomy research; there are physics items you can buy; you can even sign up for a FREE newsletter. You may find the Reference page to be quite useful for some of your course work.
Physics.org – This is a neat site which will help you find many interesting items dealing with physics. It is especially useful for finding other physics sites.
Los Alamos National Laboratory e-print Server – You will find a list of the most current and hottest research papers in physics, mathematics, and computer science. Be warned that many of the articles you will see there are quite sophisticated! However, after going through a physics major, you will be able to publish papers like those you see here once you get into graduate school research.
MCAT Information – You will find information dealing with the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT). The site is produced by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC).
