Kimberly Cushman Wins Grant for Physics Outreach Project

2015 May 14

Kimberly Cushman of Baldwinsville, NY, is part of a team of five SUNY Oneonta students that was awarded $2,043 by the New York section of the American Physical Society for an outreach project called O-SNAP! (Oneonta Sparking New Attitudes in Physics).

Under the direction of Professor Sunil Labroo of the college's Department of Physics & Astronomy, the students will visit four Upstate New York middle schools during the 2015-16 academic year to generate interest in physics and engineering fields, particularly among female and minority students. Through hands-on physics demonstrations in 7th- and 8th-grade science classrooms, the SUNY Oneonta students will share their enthusiasm for science with 200 to 300 middle school students across New York. In addition to the outreach experience, the students gained valuable insight about the grant-writing process by working with the college's Grants Development Office during the proposal development phase.

Cushman is majoring in Physics at SUNY Oneonta.