April 17-18, 2009
Randolph College, Martin Science Building

"From Galileo to Geophones:
Celebrating the International Year of Astronomy and Beyond"

• Post Conference Summary and Pictures
  • Summary
  • Agenda
• Speakers and Abstract List
• General Information/Invitation
  • All are welcome to attend the Zone 4 Meeting at Randolph College in Lynchburg, VA. Students are encouraged to present research. You do not have to be in Zone 4, or even in SPS, to attend. It is a great opportunity to try presenting your research in a low-key setting, and to hear some great things about what others in the area are doing in physics. Our featured speakers and events are pretty exciting, too! We have Robert Loughman from Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences at Hampton U and Chris Hughes from the Center for Materials Science at JMU. Our very own Tom Michalik will puzzle you with time travel paradoxes, and Tatiana Toteva will educate you about earthquakes. And then of course we have all the student contributed talks and posters. We will have a special session of presentations to honor the Year of Astronomy. We will also have groups trek out to our observatory, and to our seismograph station. We challenge you to run on our Human-Sized Hamster Wheel (that generates electricity.) We will start on Friday evening, and end on Saturday afternoon. Limited free housing (flooring, really) is available for students. There are convenient hotels, and of course, you can just come for the day Saturday. Food, fun, t-shirts, and good physics will be had by all!
• Registration and Abstract Submission (click to go to form)
  • Any student (college or high school) may present research or outreach, any physics topic, as a poster or a talk. Abstract deadline HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO April 6. Limited post-deadline abstracts will be accepted, but may not make it into the program, or may not be scheduled ideally. We especially invite astronomy-related talks for a special session celebrating the Year of Astronomy.
  • Please register with the same form if you are attending and not presenting. Registration deadline is April 6. Late and walk-up registrations are accepted, but may not get a t-shirt.
  • $15 registration fee is due upon arrival, or can be mailed here. All pre-registrants receive a t-shirt, snacks, possibly lunch, and prizes will be awarded for various things!
  • POSTER SIZE: 4' tall by 6' or smaller. CONTRIBUTED ORAL: 12 minutes + 3 minutes questions
• Housing
  • There are a limited number of no-cost crash pads for students - please e-mail Dr. Sheldon (psheldon@randolphcollege.edu) if you would like to see if there is availability.
  • Hotel List (all listed have discounts for the College)
• Driving Directions and Parking
• Program of events
  • Agenda of Events is now Posted (PDF)
    • events begin with a Friday evening reception and end with Saturday afternoon field trips
  • Speakers and Abstract List is now Posted (PDF)
• Invited Speakers
  • Chris Hughes, Director, Center for Materials Science, James Madison U
  • Robert Loughman, Department of Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Hampton U
  • Tom Michalik, Randolph College (time travel paradoxes, and the observatory)
  • Tatiana Toteva, Randolph College (earthquakes, and the seismograph)
• Featured Events
  • Observatory viewing
  • Seismograph tour
  • Human-Sized, Power Generating Hamster Wheel
  • Friday night social events including Physics Jeopardy!
    • Have you ever seen a person fit their entire body into a latex balloon? You will see it here.
  • The Zone Meeting is held in conjunction with the College's Research Symposium, which showcases research in ALL disciplines
• Please e-mail psheldon@randolphcollege.edu for more information

We are looking forward to seeing you in April!!!