Greetings fellow COPUS participants! The Society of Physics Students is happy to announce the creation of a COPUS Student Hub, a nationally distributed peer community interested in building bridges between their members, the national Coalition, and regional hubs to increase student understanding of and engagement in science. Your organization is invited to participate in this hub.

The idea for this hub was seeded a few months ago when I attended a meeting of COPUS participants that had started or were thinking of starting COPUS hubs, peer communities interested in building bridges between their members and the national Coalition. Some active hubs were represented, such as the Tampa Bay area regional hub, and others of us were still in the exploratory phase.

During that weekend-long experience I caught a glimpse of the potential of this Coalition. In discussions with representatives from science museums, science cafes, schools, and a variety of other organizations, I realized that there were many opportunities for collaborations and resource sharing between our members and these other organizations, opportunities that weren’t even on my radar!

We are optimistic that the Student Hub will foster this same spirit of collaboration. There are many student-focused organizations working toward similar goals of advancing science and science literacy, and this hub is a great way to bring them together.

At its core, the hub is about facilitating communication among organizations focused on students and enhancing their science experience. As in the national Coalition, there is no cost to participate in the hub, and the level of involvement is up to you. In fact, it is up to the hub participants to define what the hub will look like and its priorities.

For more information about the COPUS Student Hub and its’ plans, as well as the Society of Physics Students, please contact me, my information is:

Kendra Rand, Program Coordinator
Society of Physics Students
One Physics Ellipse
College Park, MD 20740-3843
Tel: 301.209.3047
Fax: 301.209.0839
E-mail: krand@aip.org
www.spsnational.org

I hope you will take some time to explore this opportunity and contact me with your questions, ideas, and interest.

Sincerely,
Kendra Rand

Relevant Links:
COPUS: www.copusproject.org
Hubs: www.copusproject.org/thematic_hubs.php
Society of Physics Students: www.spsnational.org