Physics Outreach
Not just in a lab
Jump to High School Lecture Series
Physics isn’t just in a lab—it’s everywhere and it’s for everyone! Our faculty and instructors give presentations for local schools and groups and even bring science to the dance floor. We sponsored a screening of the documentary Particle Fever at Central Cinema to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Higgs Boson discovery. With UT’s Humanities Center we hosted a series of events called Quantum Canvases, where the arts, the humanities, and physics collided in a mix of electronic music, science fiction, and an update on the science of CERN.
Our Society of Physics Students has a strong outreach mission, as evidenced through their physics demos at Market Square in downtown and their work with the MUSE Knoxville. The People of Color in Physics Organization has worked with the Knoxville Regal Boys and Girls Club to promote interest in science among young students from underrepresented backgrounds.
If you’re interested in science across the board, please check out UT’s Science Forum!
High School Lecture Series
The West High School & L&N STEM Physics Academy program is dedicated to creating communication between UT Physics faculty and high school teachers and students. As part of the program, interested physics faculty members present lectures in school classrooms. This creates a great opportunity for high school students to interact with physicists and to learn more about their research, and STEM fields in general. We hope that this program will motivate enough interest in students to join the UT undergraduate physics program.
Quarks, Leptons, and Bosons: Understanding the Building Blocks of the Universe
Speaker: Tova Holmes
Research on the Origin of the Elements, in Your Own Back Yard
Speaker: Anthony Mezzacappa
Understanding the Origins of Our Solar System Through Studies of Comets and Asteroids
Speaker: Sean Lindsay
The Strange World of Quantum Physics: the Dual Particle and Wave Nature of Matter
Speaker: Cristian D. Batista