Here are a list of the current offices, with the people holding those positions, and brief descriptions of their jobs.
President
Member:- Nathan Kuwada
The president basically makes his own job. For example, he can be a liason between the physics graduate students and the physics department head, helping communicate and resolve issues for the graduate students. He also runs the elections and controls the Binney Lounge fund.
You must have passed the qualifiers to hold this office.
Vice President
Member:- Timothy Sweeney
Nobody is really sure what this office is for. The only official duty is recording who gets elected to what office.
You must have passed the qualifiers to hold this office.
Computer Controller
Member:- Dashiell Vitullo
Deals with all things pertaining to the computers in the Binney Lounge. Includes maintenance, replacement, and removal.
Lounge Lord
Member:- Peter Erslev
Arranges to have newspapers delivered to their house (under the name Binney Lounge), and then delivers them to the Binney Lounge. Must face the wrath of disgruntled comic addicts whenever delivery is not accomplished in a timely fashion.
List Master
Member:- Jeremy Thorn
Maintains physgradlist, the email list for the physics graduate students. This involves list configuration and maintenance, adding/removing new members, moderating (if desired), and handling bounced messages. Also responsible for seeking out new member addresses for adding to the list.
Curriculum Committee
Members:- Carey Phelps
- Andrew Cook
2 members
Supposedly, they are to be consulted before changes to the curriculum are made, but that has not happened for several years.
You must have passed the qualifiers to be on this committee.
Graduate Studies Committee
Member:- Hayden McGuinness
1 member
Works with the faculty on the graduate education committee. Went to one meeting with faculty with no obvious results.
You must have passed the qualifiers to be on this committee.
Faculty Committee
Members:- Mick Davis
- Nima Dinyari
2 members
Sits in on faculty meetings, offering input when requested. Records what happens in the meetings (especially any entertaining faculty outbursts) and reports back to the graduate students.
You must have passed the qualifiers to be on this committee.
Admissions Committee
Members:- Kathryn Hadley
- Timothy Sweeney
- Yan Guo
3 members
Only works during the few weeks that new graduate student applications are being reviewed. Members spend several hours per week reviewing applications, and have some input over who gets admitted during weekly meetings. These meetings typically last a few hours.
You must have passed the qualifiers to be on this committee.
Colloquium Lunch Committee
Members:- Yongjun Wang
- Brian Long
- David Reeb
3 members
Arranges the lunches with colloquium speakers. The faculty usually arrange for the speaker to have lunch with graduate students, but it doesn't hurt to check. This committee makes sure a room is reserved for the event, sets the room up beforehand if necessary, cleans up afterwards, makes sure the speaker gets on to the next meeting in a timely fashion, advertises the lunch (sends out an email beforehand), and is responsible for food (typically ordering pizza and buying drinks beforehand), cups, plates, etc. Food may be billed to a personal credit card, and the department will reimburse afterwards.
Graduate Student Seminar (GSS) Committee
Members:- Jeremy Thorn
- Andrew Cook
- Shannon O'Leary
3 members
Schedules and runs the GSS's. Responsible for getting speakers, reserving a room and time, advertising (email, posters, and running the webpage), and room setup/cleanup. This includes getting snacks, for which the department will reimburse you.
Refreshments Committee
Members:- Jason Matthews
- Emelie Harstad
2 members
Responsible for getting everything but the coffee and cookies (like drinks and fruit) for the pre-colloquium refreshment period. They are reimbursed for their purchases.
GTFF Stewards
Members:- Elizabeth Schoene
- Hayden McGuinness
2 members
These are physics graduate students selected to represent the physics department in the graduate students' union.
Recruiting Committee
Members:- Jeremy Thorn
- Mary Robinson
- David Reeb
- Chuck Rohde
- Jacob Searcy
- Jason Matthews
- Paul Martin
Many members
Works with the faculty recruiting committee to plan and run the recruiting weekend in the spring. Involves a few planning meetings before the event, and typically takes a lot of work during the actual weekend, ferrying prospective students around, talking to them, and making sure things run smoothly and that they have fun. Members get a lot of free food and drinks. At least two members need to get certified to drive vans.
Fall Picnic Planning Committee
Members:- Emelie Harstad (head)
- Elizabeth Schoene
- Hayden McGuinness
- Christopher Leishman
- Peter Hugger
- David Reeb
The more the merrier.
Plans the annual Fall Picnic held at the beginning of the fall term.
Holiday Party Planning Committee
Members:- Elizabeth Schoene (head)
- Christopher Leishman
- David Reeb
- Geoff Lott
- Mick Davis
- Aiqing Chen
- Daniel Parks
The more the merrier.
Plans the annual Holiday Party held at the end of fall term.
Wanton Mechanics Planning Comittee
Members:- Billy Scannell (head)
- Jeremy Thorn
- Anthony Clark
- Megan Ray
- Peter Erslev
- Eryn Cook
- Nathan Kuwada
The more the merrier.
Plan the annual physics department anti-talent show held near the beginning of spring term, usually after the qualifiers are taken but before the results are in. Need to reserve the space (usually Agate Hall) early.
Physics Family Fun Day Planning Committee
Members:- Ryan Quitzow-James (head)
- Chris Harland
- Elizabeth Schoene
- Eryn Cook
- Preeti Mani
The more the merrier.
Plans the annual Physics Family Fun Day picnic during the summer.
Previous committees: