Texas A&M physics and astronomy students and staff are preparing to connect with the public at the upcoming spring Physics & Engineering Festival, returning for its 22nd free annual event in April.
The festival was created in 2003 by physics professor Edward Fry, who invited the world-renowned physicist Stephen Hawking to view work at the A&M physics department. Over the years, it has received thousands of attendees and typically features lectures, hundreds of hands-on demonstrations and a science circus.
With 400 volunteers usually taking part, there are many opportunities for students to volunteer at the festival, from setting up and organizing to running demonstrations and engaging with the public.
Physics professor Tatiana Erukhimova, Ph.D., helps organize the flagship festival. However, Erukhimova is widely known as “Dr. Tatiana” for hosting exciting physics demonstrations online.
From posting some of her presentations, TAMU Physics & Astronomy has over 2.4 million subscribers on YouTube and 1.5 million followers on TikTok. Both contain 60-second videos of her performing experiments garnering hundreds of millions of views.
Erukhimova said scientists should share their research with the general public and get involved in outreach.
“If we rely just on these rockstar physicists who can go on the big stage and give superb presentations, we will lose a lot of talent,” Erukhimova said.
Erukhimova said the flagship physics festival underwent significant changes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This was a tradition and then the pandemic hit,” Erukhimova said. “We didn’t give up. We switched … We had a very small team who learned basically how to run a TV station during a very short period of time. Our team put together a virtual festival, a very successful virtual festival [where] people around the country joined us.”
Erukhimova said if scientists share talking about their passions, or what excites them most, people will listen. Physics and math senior Kennedi Hatcher is the president of the A&M chapter of the Society of Physics Students, or SPS. Hatcher had Erukhimova as a professor for introductory electricity and magnetism, and Hatcher said Erukhimova’s fun teaching style encouraged her to get into physics.
Hatcher said that Erukhimova teaches classes the same way as she does her shows and outreach, and Hatcher plans to continue her own involvement in outreach and spreading physics to the community.
“I have learned a lot just from explaining the demos and interacting with people,” Hatcher said. “I’ve gained so much with public speaking.”
Physics senior Jacob Bohreer serves as the outreach director of SPS, helping connect the public with the “magic” of physics.
“I think physics to someone who doesn’t know much about physics, is like the closest thing to magic,” Bohreer said.
Every month, SPS travels to Downtown Bryan to participate in First Friday, bringing activities to demonstrate for the public while passing out flyers to advertise upcoming physics festivals.
“[We] get people interested and excited for physics, and just have a good time,” Bohreer said.
Erukhimova said there is another program at A&M, the Mitchell Institute Physics Enhancement Program, which “trains the trainer.” The two-week-long program aims to teach fundamental physics concepts through problem-solving, hands-on demonstrations and in-lab experiences.
“We invite the teachers who didn’t have a chance to learn physics when they were students,” Erukhimova said.
Erukhimova said she sees the programs she organizes as beneficial in many different ways, including for students.
“It’s crucially important for our students,” Erukhimova said. “What’s the best way to learn something? To explain it to others. By explaining these physics concepts to the general public and building new demonstrations, our students get invaluable experience. They develop conceptual understanding, build their professional identity, improve their communication skills and learn to work in teams on common projects.”
The A&M Physics and Engineering Festival will be held on Saturday, April 13 from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
