Downloadable versions of the
Sigma Pi Sigma motto,
key,
insignia,
and
seal.
This years inductee into the
Sam Houston State University chapter of Sigma Pi Sigma is Paul
Mauer
Quick Links
What
is Sigma Pi Sigma?
Membership
Affiliation
With Other Organizations
What
Sigma Pi Sigma Membership Means
How
Much does it Costs
Physics
Honor Society
Sigma Pi Sigma was founded
as a local honor organization at Davidson college, North Carolina, on December
11, 1921. The local society was so successful that a movement for nationalization
was started in 1925. By 1968, there were 170 chapters. On April 22, 1968,
Sigma Pi Sigma joined with the American Institute
of Physics (AIP) Student Sections to form the Society of Physics Students
(SPS). It continues to operate as a fully recognized honor society within
SPS, a unique arrangement in student organizations. The society is national
in scope with chapters located at colleges and universities across the
country. Over 400 of the 613 SPS chapters now include an active Sigma Pi
Sigma chapter. The total membership is more than 58,000.
Membership
Sigma Pi Sigma chapters are
restricted to colleges and universities of recognized standing that offer
a strong physics major. The chapters receive into membership undergraduate
and graduate students, faculty members, and a few others in closely related
fields. Students elected to membership must attain high standards of general
scholarship and outstanding achievement in physics.
Certain high numerical standards
for admittance are established by chapter bylaws and the national constitution.
Undergraduate candidates must be in the upper one-third of their class
in general scholarship to meet the minimum standard that chapters may use.
A higher minimum average is often established for physics courses. Undergraduate
candidates must have completed at least three semesters of full-time college
work and at least three semester courses in physics that can be credited
toward a physics major. Graduate students and faculty members may be elected
at any time. Students who are not physics majors can be elected, provided
that they meet the standards and have demonstrated an interest in physics.
A chapter can elect to active
membership qualified students and faculty members in nearby colleges that
do not have a Sigma Pi Sigma chapter. Physicists in industry and government
laboratories, as well as secondary school physics teachers, can be elected
on the basis of their professional record.
Affiliation
With Other Organizations
In 1945 Sigma Pi Sigma became
a member of the Association of College Honor Societies (ACHS). The ACHS
is the coordinating organization of the recognized collegiate honor societies
that are regarded as having suitable, high standards.
Sigma Pi Sigma is an affiliated
society of Section B (Physics) of the American Association for the Advancement
of Science (AAAS). The AAAS, composed of more than three hundred societies
with an aggregate of seven million scientists, is the largest group of
related scientific societies in the world.
In 1951, Sigma Pi Sigma was
elected an affiliated society of the AIP. The AIP was founded in 1931 as
a membership corporation of leading societies in the field of physics.
Its purpose is the advancement and diffusion of knowledge of physics and
its applications to human welfare. It is a major publisher of scientific
journals.
What
Sigma Pi Sigma Membership Means
-
HONOR: Sigma Pi Sigma is the official
honor society of the physics profession. Through election to Sigma Pi Sigma,
distinctive achievement and high scholarship in physics is recognized and
celebrated.
-
ENCOURAGEMENT: By honoring high
achievement in physics and upholding high standards for election into Sigma
Pi Sigma, the Society provides an incentive for all physics students to
rise to excellence. The Society also encourages physics interest and science
literacy in the general public.
-
SERVICE: With the recognition of
accomplishment comes a responsibility to service. As persons who earned
our Sigma Pi Sigma insignia pins by midnight oil, we appreciate the struggles
of fellow students and colleagues who are facing similar challenges. When
our experience and resources are placed at their service, then Sigma Pi
Sigma touches more lives than may be counted by the number of its members.
Because we respect the struggle for excellence, we support the generations
of students that follow us.
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FELLOWSHIP: Sigma Pi Sigma members
cut across generational lines. The first members were inducted in 1921.
New members are added every year. This represents many generations of experience
and wisdom that can be brought to bear on matters of common interest to
all members.
Sigma Pi Sigma
members cut across professional lines. Besides physicists, many members
of other professions also enrich our ranks, uniting a diverse group of
people who have shared in the culture and traditions of physics, and have
demonstrated that they could excel in it.
With this common thread of a
shared background in physics running through so rich a diversity of generations
and professions, and with the publications and meetings of the society
available for communication instruments, Sigma Pi Sigma nurtures a spirit
of professional community among its members, and encourages them to offer
their collective wisdom and perspectives in the service of society.
Cost
of Membership
Even though the new member
pays dues only once, Sigma Pi Sigma membership is for a lifetime. Each
new member pays to the National Office an entrance fee of $30.00 at the
time of their reception into Sigma Pi Sigma. If already a member of SPS,
the Sigma Pi Sigma fee is only $17.00. The fee includes the cost of the
official lapel pin, a certificate of membership, and a membership card.
There are no annual dues to Sigma Pi Sigma or special assessments other
than the original entrance fee. The entrance fee must paid prior to reception
into membership.
Sigma Pi Sigma fees pay a portion
of the cost of operations of the society. The remainder comes from SPS
dues, alumni contributions, and AIP funds.
Voluntary contributions of Sigma
Pi Sigma members fund three annual programs that support undergraduate
physics: 1) the SPS Scholarships; 2) the Marsh White Awards, given to SPS
chapters for science outreach projects to the local community; and 3) the
Sigma Pi Sigma Undergraduate Research Award, which funds SPS chapter research
projects.
