Physics GRE Discussion Forums

Any Stanford, Berkeley, or other Bay Area students: I've been made aware of a great opportunity to beef up that pesky Broader Impacts section of the NSF application. It involves going into low-income kindergartens and elementary schools and supervising hands-on physics demonstrations - the work would involve doing these demonstrations around once a month, plus some curriculum development. This would be unpaid volunteer work, but it's exactly the kind of thing the NSF is looking for. Shoot me a PM with some details (where you're a student, what your field is, etc.) if you're interested, and I'll put you in touch with the relevant people. I'm also cross-listing this to the Prospective Grads forum.

this matter has nothing to do with the current GRAD students. so it would be better you continue it in the Prospective forum-- Funding -.
good news

I open this thread since YF17A said its related to grad that I don't think so. explain it more.

Well it is very relevant for current grad students--they are the ones who would be interested in the program. However I don't see how it is related to NSF applications, since the "broader impact" section is about the broader impact of your research, not your volunteer activities.

Eh, that's relative Grae. From my understanding this is the sort of thing the NSF is looking for. If it really was the 'broader impact' of your particular research project I bet many people would have a lot of trouble coming up with a statement that wasn't complete bullshit. Sometimes there is no broader impact of a research project.

Anyway, first year grad students can apply for the NSF fellowship, so this certainly works in this forum.

Exactly right nathan. For us theorists, especially HEP theorists, we have no chance of making a persuasive argument that our research has Broader Impacts beyond the normal wonder of the universe, blah blah. I was actually told by a referee that my application was rejected because I have "not done some of the same kinds of work focused on the less privileged as some of the other applicants read during this review." He/she also said "Further, one cannot make the same kinds of broader impact evaluations of the research itself as we did in other applications" because my proposed research was on string theory, which I plan to pursue during my Ph.D. So I found this opportunity, and am just trying to open it up to others in my situation (and my geographic area) who might need it. Besides, science is fun!

Interesting! I never knew that. Perhaps it's different in the experimental world--all of the people I spoke with (some successful applicants, I might add) wrote about the broader impact of their research. Anyways, good to know, thanks.