Since the program's inception in 2017, there have been two calls for student chapters applications each year; one in the fall, and another in spring. Following the 2019 fall Call for Student Chapters, the Education Committee, who oversees the student chapter review process, approved four student chapters to be recognized into the BPS Student Chapter Program.
The first new chapter is the University of Alabama/Mississippi State University. The officers for this joint student chapter include Courtney Petersen (President), Skye Travis (Vice President), Maddie Shay (Secretary), and Ethan Gunn (Treasurer). The two chapter sponsors are Matthew Thompson, University of Alabama, and Nicholas Fitzkee, Mississippi State University.
The second school is the University of Buffalo in New York. The chapter sponsor is Arnd Pralle. Chapter officers include Michael Zucker (President), Taranpreet Kaur (Vice President), Akansha Sharma (Secretary), and Ibraheem Alshareedah (Treasurer).
The third school to be accepted into the program is UMASS Lowell, located in Massachusetts. Jeffrey Moore serves as the chapter sponsor, while SaiLavanyaa Sundar (President), Meaghan Barry (Vice President), Lindsey Howland (Secretary), and Pabodha Hettige (Treasurer) serve as the officers.
The fourth new chapter is at the Istituto Italiano Di Tecnologia. The sponsor is Alberto Diaspro, and the officers include Isotta Cainero (President), Riccardo Marongiu (Vice President), Eleonora Uriati (Recording Secretary), Francesco Garzella (Corresponding Secretary), and Alberta Trianni (Treasurer).
BPS is excited to wecome these new student chapters and looks forward to seeing them grow!
If your local biophysics club would like to be nationally recognized as a BPS Student Chapter, consider applying to the program. The 2020 Spring Call for Student Chapters will open on Monday, March 16. For additional information on the application process and required documentation, please visit https://www.biophysics.org/membership-communities/communities/student-chapters/organizing-a-student-chapter or contact Joon Kwak at [email protected].