Events » LA 2025 Workshop

LA Area PICUP Workshop 2025

Date

Saturday, May 17, 2025

Registration is now open below!

Location

  • Riverside City College, Math and Science Building, Room MTSC 106
  • Address: 4800 Magnolia Avenue, Riverside, CA 92506
  • Coordinates: 33°58'16"N 117°23'00"W
  • Parking Permit This parking permit can be used in any lot. Please print it and place it so it is visible through the front windshield of your vehicle. We will have some printed permits available on the day of the workshop.

    

                  

The pic above on the right is a participant tunneling into the Riverside City College's Math and Science building, and getting trapped at the workshop!

Who Should Attend

Any physics educators from around the LA area (or anywhere else if you're willing to travel!) that want to energize their physics courses! The scope of this workshop is appropriate for physics teachers from high schools, 2-year colleges, and 4-year colleges and universities. 

The workshop will include demonstrations and discussions about various aspects of integrating computational activities into physics courses at all levels from introductory to advanced. There will also be guided working time wherein participants will explore tested exercises, and will build an outline that will serve as the beginning of a plan for integrating computational activities into their specific courses. Finally, by participating in this workshop participants will become plugged into a growing and supportive community of like-minded physics educators dedicated to improving the physics curriculum. The support system includes a repository of developed computational materials as well as dedicated online and personal community support.

The workshop is intended to be the first in a series of annually occurring PICUP workshops in the LA area. We are looking to develop a community of like-minded instructors who teach computation in their physics classes. 

Registration

Early Bird
(Deadline: May 1, 2025)

Standard
(after May 1, 2025, including walk-in on May 17)
$10 $15

Click the Big Green Button to register.

Begin Registration Here

Workshop Schedule

Schedule for Saturday, May 17

8:30-9:00 Arrival, Check-In, and Continental Breakfast

9:00-9:10 Welcome and Introductions

Please sign in: https://forms.gle/z2JbNcJHLkuLaoJt7

9:10-9:30 PICUP and Vision for Annual LA Area Workshop

9:30-10:15 Session I: Introductory Kinematics and Dynamics with Excel

10:15-10:30 Break

10:30-11:15 Session II: An introduction to vPython / web-vPython

11:15-12:00 Session III: Approaches to Computation in Sophomore and Upper-Level Physics Courses

12:00-1:00 Lunch (And Workshop Photo)

1:00-3:45 Small Groups: 
                Excel, vPython, Python
                Tutorials
                Exercise Sets
                Exchange of ideas about integrating computation into your courses

3:45-4:00 Feedback for Future Meetings and Wrap Up
                Engage with PICUP: Summer SLICE, Summer Virtual Workshop, Webinars

For anyone Interested in attending the 2025 SLICE (time is running out!)

Here is the important timeline regarding registering for the SLICE workshop:
 
- The host site (UWRF) needs housing information by next Friday, 5/23.  So there isn’t a lot of time…
 
- I suggest applying for the SLICE now so that you are in the system.  That is not committing you to anything:  https://www.compadre.org/PICUP/events/SLICE2025
 
- After you apply, I will send you the link to register.  This is the step where you would pay the $300 registration fee (which includes housing and all meals for the week!)
 
- Hopefully next week you can find out if you are able to receive enough travel funding to attend, and if so, you can complete the registration process during the week next week so that we can include you in the numbers that we provide to UWRF.

Resources shared in the workshop

Web Vpython (aka Glowscript)

Trinket

Bouncing ball energy conservation template

Questions/Need Help?

If you have any questions, or would like more information, please do not hesitate to contact one of the workshop coordinators:

Tony Musumba, Physics, Riverside City College, Tony.Musumba@rcc.edu

Kelly Roos, Department of Economics and Finance, Bradley University rooster@bradley.edu

Andrew Morrison, Department of Natural Sciences, Joliet Junior College amorriso@jjc.edu