The Physics Frontier Center at JQI supports Summer Girls, an intensive, hands-on program that brings 9th- and 11th-grade girls to the University of Maryland's Department of Physics for two weeks of instruction, exploration and experiment. Since its inception, approximately 1,000 rising ninth graders have attended this program. Past participants have gone on to become engineers, doctors, computer specialists and, of course, physicists. Summer Girls have come from Maryland, Virginia and Washington DC as well as Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New Hampshire and foreign countries. The program is free to selected students who share a keen desire to learn more about physics. This year, the program drew a total of 68 students over the course of four weeks.

9th Grade Program

11th Grade Program

Owing to increased popularity and demand for the Summer Outreach Program for rising 9th-grade girls, the program has been extended to rising 11th-grade girls. While the 9th-grade program focuses on traditional physics, the 11th-grade program jumps into the world of modern physics. The program runs daily from 9 AM to 3 PM. In the mornings, girls are introduced to the exciting world of modern physics. They will learn about Relativity, Antimatter, Quantum Mechanics, Physical Uncertainty, Quantum Computing and more. The afternoons are filled with hands-on lab activities, visits to labs working on modern physics, discussions with professors currently doing work in modern physics, and a project designed to make discussions of modern topics tangible. Students are introduced to topics that they will likely not be offered in their high school classes, from the thought experiments of Einstein to current applications in code-breaking.

 

Students measure electromagnetic effects with sensors and resistive paper. Students tour one of the Joint Quantum Institute laboratories. Careful data collection is an important part of the program. PFC Co-Director Luis Orozco explains an experiment. Hands-on experiments make physical laws tangible. PFC Co-Director Luis Orozco with a class. A student examines a cloud chamber for evidence of particles. A group works on problems at their computers. Building a roller-coaster means understanding the physics of mass and motion. For some projects, each student works alone. Students take turns learning the physics of flying thanks to the Young Eagles program (Chapter 4, College Park). A group prepares to tour a University of Maryland nuclear reactor. Group projects, such as this roller-coaster, are judged by JQI staff and graduate students. Students measure electromagnetic effects with sensors and resistive paper. Students tour one of the Joint Quantum Institute laboratories. Careful data collection is an important part of the program. PFC Co-Director Luis Orozco explains an experiment. Hands-on experiments make physical laws tangible. PFC Co-Director Luis Orozco with a class. A student examines a cloud chamber for evidence of particles. A group works on problems at their computers. Building a roller-coaster means understanding the physics of mass and motion. For some projects, each student works alone. Students take turns learning the physics of flying thanks to the Young Eagles program (Chapter 4, College Park). A group prepares to tour a University of Maryland nuclear reactor. Group projects, such as this roller-coaster, are judged by JQI staff and graduate students.