Students Present in Las Vegas

Maine School of Science and Mathematics (MSSM) sent two juniors to the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) Winter Meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada, from January 17 to 19, 2026. The trip gave them a chance to show that high school researchers can do real, precise measurements, and it helped to spread their ideas so other teachers and labs could try them. The AAPT is a professional group for physics teachers and physics education researchers. They coordinate national and regional meetings where educators can share teaching methods, labs, and research. They also publish journals and teaching resources to support physics education programs and advocacy. The trip was made possible with the support of the Michael P. Fabio Exploration and a grant through the MSSM Foundation.

Abhi Reddy, a junior from Augusta, and Samuel Pike, a junior from Jay, explained their class project to college students and physics professors. They showed how their work measured the speed of light using a microwave oven and laser diffraction to measure tiny sizes like a wire’s diameter and paper thickness. Dr. Kwang Rim, MSSM Chemistry Instructor, represented Maine School of Science and Mathematics at the conference with the two students he mentored. His oral presentation revealed how the class used light from discharge tubes and simple optics to show that certain solutions absorb specific colors of light, which connects directly to how a UV-Visible spectrometer works.

Samuel Pike was most impressed that there were only four high school students at this college-level conference. He noted that he mostly spoke with physics professors and a few college students who asked, “Could we take pictures of your poster to show it to our professors and try it in a lab?” Abhi Reddy, who wants to go into mechanical engineering or medicine, said, “It was so interesting to see how this connects to the real world, not just schoolwork.” Dr. Rim had previously worked at Columbia University using lasers to reshape silicon, specifically morphing silicon for flat-panel displays. Dr. Rim said that he was pleased to hear feedback that, “people were excited to see his creative and clever way of finding the absorption spectrum using two solutions.” Upon their return to MSSM, Dr. Debbie Eustis-Grandy, STEM Division Leader, said she was happy MSSM was able to send them because, “presenting at a national conference gives our students real exposure and shows they are learning professional science skills.”