The BC Association of Physics Teachers will be holding a professional development day at TRIUMF on October 20, 2023.  The day will consist of interactive workshops and lectures delivered by TRIUMF scientists (on topics such as machine learning and the new Institute for Advanced Medical Isotopes).  The full schedule and registration information will be announced in early September 2023.  The program is designed for secondary physics teachers but will also be of interest to post-secondary educators and secondary teachers in other areas of science.  If you have any questions, please contact BCAPT President, Dr. Michael Harder.

Interested in being among the first to know when a new supernova lights up the night sky? The SNEWS (Super Nova Early Warning System) Events App can help with that. The app (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/snews-events/id1635008227), which can be downloaded from the App Store, isn’t just for bragging rights, but to help amateur astronomers and multi-messenger astronomy collect observations of the earliest phases of a supernova. Supernovae are unpredictable and could occur at any time. But don’t hold your breath: a new supernova appears in the sky on average only a few times per century. For more information, contact Dr. Barry Pointon, convener of the SNEWS Outreach Taskgroup.

BCIT’s modern physics class concluded their term with a tour of D-Wave, a leader in quantum computing.  Thank you to D-Wave and Tim Duty for the opportunity!

The BC Association of Physics Teachers recently held a professional development day at SFU (co-organized by BCIT physics instructor Michael Harder).  To learn more about the event, visit bit.ly/3IPbNgH.

This term the physics department has added a new course, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Physics (https://www.bcit.ca/outlines/mimg1110/).  MRI is a critical branch of medical imaging testing and is only possible because of remarkable physics achievements over the past 50 years.  To provide our students with clinically relevant, physically broad training, this course is co-taught by an MRI technician and a physicist whose research is in magnetic resonance.  MRI Physics is part of a new magnetic resonance diploma program at BCIT, the only program of its kind in BC, and one of only three similar programs in Canada.  For more information on how you could enter this exciting field, visit bit.ly/42jjRNW.

Glenn Lewis retires after decades with the physics department as head laboratory technician. Congratulations on your retirement, Glenn! Ryan Lee joins the department as a laboratory technician. Welcome to the department, Ryan! 

BCIT physics instructor Michael Harder was elected president of the BC Association of Physics Teachers.  Congratulations Michael!  The BCAPT strives to advance the teaching of physics in BC by supporting elementary, secondary and post-secondary educators through professional development opportunities and by providing educator and student awards.  To learn more about the BCAPT’s work, visit bcapt.ca.

The 2022 Nobel Prize in physics goes to Alain Aspect, John Clauser and Anton Zeilinger for experiments in quantum entanglement. Interested in learning more about quantum entanglement? Check out Michael Harder’s modern physics class. 

Jim Booth retires after a long teaching and research career at BCIT, and as the only member of the physics department to have inspired an oil painting (that we know of). Congratulations on your retirement, Jim!