The 129th Topical Symposium of the New York State Section of the APS will be held in-person at the University at Albany on Saturday, April 6, 2024.  The theme of the symposium is Structure of the Universe.  Several topics related to this theme will be covered at the symposium, including dark matter detection, galaxy formation, supernova physics, and gravitational waves.  The keynote speaker for the symposium is Heidi Jo Newberg, who is a Physics Professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.  She will give the presentation entitled The Milky Way Galaxy is in Disequilibrium.

On Monday, April 8, 2024 a total eclipse of the sun will pass through Upstate New York.  This is a rare event.  In fact the next total solar eclipse that will pass through North America will not occur until Aug. 23, 2044.  In preparation for this event, Mindy Townsend, who is the Dudley Astronomer at Siena College, will give a talk about eclipses and will give further details about the April 8th eclipse.  The title of her presentation is Under the Shadow of the Moon: Eclipses (Then and Now), and Why They Are Still Worth Dropping Everything For.  Each attendee at the symposium will receive a pair of eclipse glasses.

If you have not done so already, please register for the symposium as soon as possible so that the coordinators of the event can plan accordingly (see “Register HERE” link at the top of the page).  You do not need to be a member of the APS to register for the symposium. Awards will be given for the best poster presentations at the graduate student, undergraduate student, and high-school student levels.

Local Organizing Committee:

Susan DiFranzo
Department of Biology, Chemistry, and Physics, Hudson Valley Community College
Email: s.difranzo@hvcc.edu

Carl A. Ventrice, Jr.
Department of Nanoscale Science & Engineering, University at Albany
Email: cventrice@albany.edu