Troy, N.Y. - Two hundred undergraduate and graduate students from around the country will be at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute from April 3-6 for the 17th annual National Conference of Black Physics Students (NCBPS).

Students gather each year at a world-class university to interact with other African American graduates, undergraduates, and working physicists.

To Inspire and To Learn
A main goal of the three-day conference is to assemble black physics students to learn about and discuss myriad research and career options, and allow them to draw inspiration from each other. Attending students will tour Rensselaer facilities including the physics lab, the microelectronics clean room, and the Hirsch Observatory. Members of Rensselaer's faculty will lead academic sessions on a variety of modern physics-related disciplines including nanotechnology, plasma wave electronics, solid state lighting, and computer technology.

Rensselaer President Shirley Ann Jackson and Cynthia McIntyre, Jackson's chief of staff and founder of the NCBPS, will be keynote speakers.

"Rensselaer offers excellent research opportunities for students who are considering graduate-level physics programs," says McIntyre. "The Institute is searching for the best and brightest young faculty, and this visit presents a wonderful opportunity for black doctoral students in physics to consider positions at Rensselaer."

Industry, Academia, and Corporate Speakers
Lectures will cover topics such as the importance of mentoring, opportunities for professional development, and how passion can affect a career in physics.

Presenters include Peter J. Delfyett Jr., university distinguished professor of optics, electrical and computer engineering, and physics at the University of Central Florida; Julian M. Earls, deputy director of NASA's Glenn Research Center; Isom H. Herron, professor of mathematical sciences at Rensselaer; Colin Hill, president and CEO of Gene Network Sciences; Alfred Phillips Jr., professor of physics at Cornell University; Lynwood P. Randolph, president and CEO of LES Associates Inc.; and James H. Stith, vice president of physics resources at the American Institute of Physics.

About the National Conference of Black Physics Students
The NCBPS was started in 1986 as an effort by a small group of black physics graduate students to address the paucity and isolation of African Americans in physics. The conference aimed to develop a network within the black physics community, and to make black physics students, particularly at the graduate level, aware of academic and professional opportunities. The conference has grown from participation by 32 students in 1986 to nearly 200 today.

Contact: Theresa Bourgeois
Phone: (518) 276-2840
E-mail: bourgt@rpi.edu