PSI* students from CU Denver and MSU Denver solicit ideas from the community about how to use physics and various technologies to manage wildfires. This community outreach was done at a booth at the March for Science in April 2017. PSI* members also ran a workshop on physics and innovation for more than 1000 physics majors from around the country at Physcon 2016: http://www.sigmapisigma.org/sigmapisigma/congress/2016/articles/workshop-highlight-physics-driving-innovation (Photo courtesy of Alex Leith.)
Physics Student Innovators (*and alumni), or PSI*, is an organization for physics majors, minors, graduate students, alumni, and anyone else interested in pursuing the application of physics to improve human well-being through innovation. Physics is a powerful discipline for integrating deep fundamental knowledge with technologies such as electronics, optics, control systems, plasmas, micro/nano devices, etc. to create objects and processes of use to individuals, to industry, to research labs, and to communities. Indeed, basic research and applied innovation are two sides of the same coin of active, creative exploration and invention - inspiring one another and enriching the world in the process. PSI* meets regularly to encourage students to develop new innovations, provide resources for prototyping, pursue group projects, and connect with industry and community groups. The “star” of PSI* refers to alumni, whose real-world experience is brought back to campus to advise and inspire student members. A website for PSI* is maintained here: https://sites.google.com/site/psistarorg/physics-student-innovators-and-alumni