Blake Lilly Prize

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Established by the parents of the late Blake Lilly and given in his memory

Recipients:
2018-19 | 2017-18 | 2016-17 | 2015-16 | 2014-15 | 2013-14 | 2012-13

Proposals due June 15

Program Overview

Blake Lilly (center) with lab team at Georgia Tech, 1989.The Blake Lilly Prize, named after the late Blake Lilly and given in his honor, recognizes SPS chapters and individuals who make a genuine effort to positively influence the attitudes of school children and the general public about physics. For example, many chapters perform something like a "Physics Circus," conduct classroom demonstrations, offer tutoring services for grades K-12, or assist with school science fairs. The Blake Lilly Prize is an opportunity to be publicly recognized for these types of physics outreach efforts.

Award at a Glance

  • Several awards may be made each year
  • Winners receive two books to inspire their chapter and assist with growing their chapter, such as the Feynman Lectures
  • Awarded to chapters or individuals that engage in physics outreach activities and submit a report about the activity

Eligibility

  • Applicants must be SPS chapters in good standing with the SPS national organization or individual members of the SPS national organization
  • Chapter applicants must have a student project leader that is a member of the SPS national organization

Application Procedure

  • The individual applicant or project leader should complete the section of the SPS Chapter Report template related to the Blake Lilly Prize and submit it no later than June 15 (if this date falls on a weekend, the application is due the following Monday)
  • The application consists of three parts including:
    • General information about the applicant or project leader
    • A brief report of not more than two pages describing your outreach efforts, audience, and interaction with the audience
    • Optional: You may attach supporting material, such as photographs, programs, or newspaper articles, but they must be compiled into one document for uploading

What to Include in the Report?

Sometimes those who participate in your outreach event write thank you notes that are amusing and thought-provoking. Sometimes they will ask you profound questions—the very questions that drive science. Sometimes they will show their curiosity about the natural world in amazing and beautiful ways. Consider the feedback you received from your outreach efforts. What questions did they ask you? What anecdotal evidence exists that their interest in science was improved by your visit? What positive synergies developed between your physics department and the participants that may lead to fruitful collaborative efforts in the future? Please provide us with this kind of information, in addition to general information about who you interacted with, when, and how.

Award Selection

From among the submissions, the National Council selects several of the most meritorious to receive a Blake Lilly Prize.

Details for Awardees

  • Because SPS may wish to use all or portions of entries in SPS publications, all entries become the property of the Society of Physics Students. When used in SPS publications, authorship of the entries will be cited

Questions

Please address questions related to this award to SPS-Programs [at] aip.org.