Twelve Years and Counting!!!

Director: Bill Berner
berner@physics.upenn.edu

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2009 Program Description

What is PSSA?

PSSA Physics is a four-week program that focuses on modern physics with an emphasis on hands-on experience and laboratory work.  There is no requirement of a previous physics course, although typically about half of our students have taken one prior to attending PSSA.  To accommodate differences in preparation, we spend the first week learning mechanics in preparation for a field trip to a local amusement park.  On that trip each lab group selects one ride to fully analyze with the help of electronic data logging devices and computers that were used in the first week of the program.  Students choose the level at which they work on this project, and there is room for all levels of experience to grow.  Once everyone has a foundation in mechanics, we take advantage of the vast research facilities on Penn's campus to explore modern physics topics that are out of reach for most high school programs.

Students compiling data at Dorney Park. 

Bill Berner preparing students for lab. 

Students determining the speed of light. 

What is learned?

Each week of the PSSA program is devoted to one or two major topics.  The first week of the program is devoted to mechanics and optics.  In the second week, we begin with basic electricity and finish with a measurement of Planck’s constant using the knowledge and lab skills developed throughout the week.  In the third week students can choose to work in one of our research labs or to do some of the classic experiments of modern physics in the graduate lab.  Finally, in the fourth week each lab group will construct and use its own apparatus to measure the speed of light.

How does it work?

A typical day starts with several lectures.  These lectures will include preparation for the afternoon’s lab, discussion of topics related to upcoming field trips, and presentations of important ideas in physics.  Once or twice each week faculty members from Penn speak about their research work, and students present group reports on the work they have done while at PSSA.  Afternoons are typically spent in the lab.

PSSA student presenting research completed at Penn. 

Derek Pitts from the Franklin Institute taking time to
teach PSSA participants about sunspots and solar flares. 

What else should I know? 

The program is set up to allow students time to become familiar with all the hardware they use and to actually assemble and test some of it.  The goal is for students not just to leave the lab with data but also to understand that data and know how reliable it is.  Throughout the program, cooperative work and communication is emphasized. Lab groups change each week, and in the last week, lab groups present their reports orally to the entire program.  Field trips to an amusement park, the Franklin Institute, and other local museums will supplement the regular schedule. We also tour Penn’s research labs. The program closes with a career panel discussion in which professionals from research, education, and industry talk about the choices that got them to their current positions.

Program staff includes 6 members of Penn’s Department of Physics and Astronomy, a student teaching assistant, and an outstanding physics teacher from a local high school.

Where can I apply? 

Click on the link in the menu to get to the Summer Science Academy home page.  Through this page, you can find more information about the program in general as well as an online application.  All applicants should discuss their interests in math or science in their essay and specify the track in which they are interested.  

PSSA participants studying acceleration.