Committee on Careers & Professional Development

The Committee on Careers and Professional Development (CCPD) provides guidance for APS activities related to careers and professional development for physicists. CCPD members also have the option to both participate in activities and lead activities related to this topic. The CCPD actively works to help APS support the career development of early career physicists, including developing work-life balance skills, and to build connections that help physicists transition between careers in academia, government, industry, and other sectors.

The membership of CCPD includes nine (9) persons nominated by the Committee on Council Committees (CCC) and appointed by the President-Elect to staggered three (3) year terms. The committee also has one (1) member representing each of the Forum on Graduate Student Affairs (FGSA), the Forum on Early Career Scientists (FECS), and the Forum on Industrial and Applied Physics (FIAP) executive committees. The Forum representatives are recommended by the respective Chair of each Forum, in consultation with the executive committee of the Forum, and they are appointed by the President-Elect as voting members to staggered three (3) year terms.

The President-Elect appoints the Vice Chair, after consulting with the current committee members. The Vice Chair serves a one (1) year term, followed subsequently by a one (1) year term as Chair, and then a one (1) year term as Past Chair. The Vice Chair’s committee membership term is automatically extended to cover their service in the Chair line.

The CCPD is a Council Committee.