2 November 2022

AIP Benefits and Services for AAS Members

James Taylor American Institute of Physics

American Institute of Physics (AIP) logoAAS is a long-standing member of the American Institute of Physics (AIP), a federation of 10 scientific Member Societies representing a broad spectrum of the physical sciences.

But how do you as an individual AAS member benefit from AAS’s association with AIP?

You receive monthly issues of Physics Today, the most widely read physics magazine in the world. AAS members are invited to apply for paid AIP Science Policy Fellowships to work in Congress or the US State Department. AIP supports projects, such as the AAS’s Engaging America in the Solar Eclipses of 2023 & 2024 via the AIP Venture Grants Program.  And, every year, AIP’s Society of Physics Students (SPS), introduces hundreds of undergraduates to the AAS community through membership, fellowship, and travel grants. A connection recently reinforced by SPS and Sigma Pi Sigma revising their foundational documents to include astronomy and the latter officially becoming the “physics and astronomy honor society.” SPS is also expanding its events for astronomy students and faculty attending AAS meetings. So, whether you’re trying to stay connected to developments throughout the physical sciences, expand the reach of the astronomical community, or grow the next generation of astronomers, AIP’s resources can help you.

As an independent institute, where research connects you to the past, present, and future of the physical sciences, AIP runs the Center for History of Physics and maintains archives on AAS’s history as part of its Niels Bohr Library & Archives. AIP’s federal science policy reporting in FYI: Science Policy News reveals how federal actions impact the physical sciences enterprise. AIP’s Statistical Research team produces the most complete view of the demographics and career outcomes of the physics and astronomy communities, helping illustrate the opportunities available to physical scientists.

AAS is also a Lead Partner in TEAM-UP Together, a collective action initiative of the AIP federation that aims to double the number of African American students earning physics and astronomy bachelor’s degrees annually by 2030. This program addresses long-term systemic issues within the physics and astronomy communities that contribute to the underrepresentation of African Americans in these fields and complements AAS’s mission “to enhance and share humanity's scientific understanding of the universe as a diverse and inclusive astronomical community.”

More generally, AIP provides the means for its Member Societies to pool, coordinate, and leverage their diverse expertise and contributions in the pursuit of the shared goal of advancing the physical sciences in the research enterprise, in the economy, in education, and in society. Through their partnership in AIP, Member Societies broaden their impact and achieve results beyond their individual missions and mandates. Together, AIP and its Member Societies convey a unifying message for stakeholders in government, academia, the nonprofit and private sectors, the student and teacher communities, and the general public.

To learn more about how AIP partners with AAS, click here. Any questions and comments about AIP can be sent to membersocieties@aip.org.

AIP is proud of its decades-long relationship with AAS in support of the astronomical community AAS brings together.