With APOGEE just around the corner, the APOGEE English Press sat down with the coordinator of the Physics Association, Shubhranshu Shrivastava, to learn more about the workings of the association in the days leading up to the fest.

Shubranshu stated that this year, the association would be conducting three events. The primary event would be called the Room of Amusements—a collection of experimental demonstrations. He mentioned that it would ideally be in collaboration with the Tinkering Lab, which would also display their projects. He added that while the event tended to focus on engineering, they have tried to include an increased physics component this year. He said that they would also be conducting a two-day Quantum Computing workshop, emphasising the basic concepts and terminology used in the field. This would be conducted by the students who are active researchers in the association. The third event would be called SciFlix, which would task the participants with explaining the physics behind a science-fiction movie or show of their choice.

Shubhranshu stated that his work as the coordinator mainly involved ensuring that his juniors were able to coordinate amongst themselves to organise the events. He said that the Room of Amusements proved to be the biggest challenge due to ‘the logistical nightmare that [it was]’. He noted that due to the scope of the projects involved, it was difficult to estimate the exact budget required beforehand, and the association needed to spend out-of-pocket for the expenses of buying inventory. 

In terms of participation, Shubhranshu said that they expect a larger crowd of people visiting the exhibit as they had included ‘flashier’ experiments this year. He also added that SciFlix as an event was focused more on ensuring that the participants had fun than increasing footfall. 

He explained that the association would also create a nuclear fusion reaction in collaboration with the Tinkerer’s Lab. Describing it as a ‘high scope experiment’, Shubhranshu clarified that while this sounded complicated, the principle of it was simply a vacuum tube and plates supplied with extremely high voltage, and that the main task was solving the engineering problems that came with building it. 

Shubhranshu mentioned that CoStAA had been accommodating in allotting the budget, especially for the Room of Amusements due to its popularity in the previous edition of APOGEE. 

In his final remarks, Shubranshu requested  attendees to visit the Room of Amusements and the workshop, promising them to have a great experience.