Physics Northwest: An Academic Alliance

It's a weekday in mid-October, late at night and with another teaching assignment not far below the horizon. Yet 40 teachers are laughing, joking, and sharing in the fun that is associated with physics teaching. The event: a Physics Northwest (PNW) meeting, an organization that is in its 20th year and thriving. “Physics Northwest meetings are not only interesting, educational, and a source of great ideas for physics demonstrations, they are also Phun,” says David Thiessen. David's response appears to be universal among PNW members and he continues to attend PNW meetings even though he is into his ninth year of retirement. Patti Sievert of Northern Illinois University tells us, “I'm here tonight to learn how to form a Physics Northwest in the Rock River Valley,” and immediately three people from PNW volunteer to be there to help with her first meeting. Yes, this happened and continues to happen monthly in many northwest Illinois suburban high schools. The history of this prosperous organization and its sister organization, the Illinois State Physics Project (ISPP),1 can be gleaned from the website in Ref. 2.