American Physical Society

The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of knowledge of physics. The society publishes more than a dozen scientific journals, including the prestigious "Physical Review" and "Physical Review Letters", and organizes more than twenty science meetings each year. APS is a member society of the American Institute of Physics. Since February 2015 the organization is led by chief executive officer Kate Kirby.
History.
The American Physical Society was founded on May 20, 1899, when thirty-six physicists gathered at Columbia University for that purpose. They proclaimed the mission of the new Society to be "to advance and diffuse the knowledge of physics", and in one way or another the APS has been at that task ever since. In the early years, virtually the sole activity of the APS was to hold scientific meetings, initially four per year. In 1913, the APS took over the operation of the "Physical Review," which had been founded in 1893 at Cornell University, and journal publication became its second major activity. The "Physical Review" was followed by "Reviews of Modern Physics" in 1929 and by "Physical Review Letters" in 1958. Over the years, "Phys. Rev." has subdivided into five separate sections as the fields of physics proliferated and the number of submissions grew.
In more recent years, the activities of the Society have broadened considerably. Stimulated by the increase in Federal funding in the period after the Second World War, and even more by the increased public involvement of scientists in the 1960s, the APS is active in public and governmental affairs, and in the international physics community. In addition, the Society conducts extensive programs in education, science outreach (specifically physics outreach), and media relations. APS has 14 divisions and 11 topical groups covering all areas of physics research. There are 6 forums that reflect the interest of its 50,000 members in broader issues, and 9 sections organized by geographical region.
In 1999, APS Physics celebrated its centennial with the biggest-ever physics meeting in Atlanta. In 2005, APS took the lead role in United States participation in the World Year of Physics, initiating several programs to broadly publicize physics during the 100th anniversary of Albert Einstein's annus mirabilis. Einstein@Home, one of the projects APS initiated during World Year of Physics, is an ongoing and popular distributed computing project.
Name change proposal.
During the summer of 2005, the society conducted an electronic poll, in which the majority of APS members preferred the name "American Physics Society". The poll became the motivation for a proposal of a name change promised in the leadership election that year. However, because of legal issues, the planned name change was eventually abandoned by the APS Executive Board.
To promote public recognition of APS as a physics society, while retaining the name American Physical Society, the APS Executive Board adopted a new logo incorporating the phrase ""APS Physics"." General use of "APS Physics" to refer to APS or the American Physical Society is encouraged. The new "APS Physics" logo was designed by Kerry G. Johnson. Marvin Cohen, who was then APS President, said, "I like the logo. At least now when you are in an elevator at an APS meeting and someone looks at your badge, they won't ask you about sports."
APS journals.
The American Physical Society publishes 13 international research journals and an open-access on-line news and commentary website "Physics".
All members of APS receive the monthly publication "Physics Today", published by the American Institute of Physics (AIP).
The Society also publishes "Inside Science", part of a news service launched in 1999 to place more science stories in the media. Aimed at both introducing the public to new scientific research and at correcting public misconceptions about science, the publication has editorial independence from APS itself.
APS units.
The American Physical Society has 47 units (divisions, forums, topical groups and sections) that represent the wide range of interests of the physics community.
Topical groups.
APS has the following topical groups:
Programs.
Physics Teacher Education Coalition.
The "Physics Teacher Education Coalition (PhysTEC)" is a joint project of the American Physical Society and the "American Association of Physics Teachers", which helps universities transform their physics teacher education programs into national models. PhysTEC Supported Sites develop their physics teacher preparation programs by implementing a set of Key Components that project leaders have identified as critical to success in physics teacher preparation. The broader Coalition is a national network of institutions committed to developing and promoting excellence in physics and physical science teacher preparation.
APS Bridge Program.
The "APS Bridge Program" aims to increase the number of underrepresented minority students that earn doctoral degrees in physics. The program names doctoral and master's degree-granting institutions as Bridge Sites and awards them National Science Foundation funding to prepare post-baccalaureate students for doctoral studies through additional coursework, mentoring, research, application coaching, and GRE preparation.
The APS Scholarship for Minority Undergraduate Physics Majors.
Formerly called the APS Corporate Sponsored Scholarship Program for Minority Undergraduate Students Who Major in Physics, this scholarship was established in 1980 with the goal of increasing the number of underrepresented minorities receiving bachelor's degrees in physics. The program provides funding and mentoring to talented students.
Conferences for Undergraduate Women in Physics.
"APS Conferences for Undergraduate Women in Physics (APS CUWiP)" are three-day regional conferences for undergraduate physics majors. The conferences aim to help undergraduate women continue in physics by providing them with the opportunity to experience a professional conference, information about graduate school and professions in physics, and access to other women in physics of all ages with whom they can share experiences, advice, and ideas.
Career Center.
The "APS Careers in Physics" website is a gateway for physicists, students, and physics enthusiasts to obtain information about physics jobs and careers. APS Careers in Physics has an award-winning job board, offers professional development advice through its website and blog, and provides links to workshops, grants, and career resources.
New Faculty Workshop.
APS co-sponsors a set of workshops for new physics and astronomy faculty with the American Association of Physics Teachers and the American Astronomical Society. These workshops reach nearly half of all new physics and astronomy faculty, and introduce them to current pedagogical practices, results of physics education research, and time management skills to help them begin and improve their academic careers.
CSWP/COM site visits.
The APS has had a long-standing interest in improving the climate in physics departments for underrepresented minorities and women. The Committee on the Status of Women in Physics (CSWP) and the Committee on Minorities (COM) both sponsor site visit programs to universities as well as national labs. 
Education conferences.
APS is a leading voice for physics education and the society sponsors a variety of conferences dedicating to helping physics education leaders stay on top of the trends in the field. Conferences include the annual Physics Department Chair Conference, a Graduate Education in Physics Conference, and a Distance Education & Online Learning in Physics Workshop.
Physics Outreach.
The APS Physics Outreach program focuses on "Communicating the excitement and importance of physics to everyone." As part of this effort, it maintains an educational website, PhysicsCentral; offers grants to help APS members develop educational programs; and runs the Historic Physics Sites Initiative, which identifies and commemorates important historic physics sites in the United States.
Prizes and awards.
The American Physical Society gives out a number of awards for research excellence and conduct; topics include outstanding leadership, computational physics, lasers, mathematics, and more.