In his Guest Editorial (November 2006), “What happened to the Advanced Lab,” Jonathan Reichert makes compelling arguments for AAPT to work toward achieving a “resurgence of advanced labs across the nation.” He calls for “predictable sessions at major meetings, and on-line forums that create and sustain efficient lines of professional communication among those involved in the advanced lab.” Based in part on earlier suggestions by Reichert and others, AAPT has taken two first steps in these directions.
First, a new line of communication was opened by establishment of a listserv on Advanced Physics Laboratories, whose purpose is to (1) facilitate communication between people who teach or are otherwise interested in undergraduate advanced physics laboratories and (2) foster improved teaching by the sharing of information on successes and failures. Lab topics include condensed matter physics, optics, atomic and molecular physics, electronics, nuclear physics, equipment critiques, specific teaching techniques, and other subjects...
