The Physics Student Union (PhySU) kickstarted this academic year with the annual First Year Orientation, giving incoming students a chance to experience the vibrant physics community at U of T. The orientation featured a week-long program filled with academic and social events, including a tour of the McLennan Building, movie night, game night, Prof Talks, and more. For additional details, please visit our website under ‘Past Orientations.’

This semester, PhySU has been quite active, hosting events such as Undergraduate Colloquia—a weekly event hosted every Friday from 5 to 6 PM—where undergraduate students can present short talks on their research or topics, they are passionate about, recordings of past Colloquia can also be found on PhySU’s YouTube channel. We also have two upcoming Professor Talks planned for this semester, where professors share insights into their research fields along with advice for students. More information about the Prof Talks can be found on our Instagram page or Discord server.

Looking ahead, we’re excited to announce our upcoming "PhySU HallAUween" party on October 25th and a Knitting Night in November, where you can unwind and get creative. During the semester, we’ll also be hosting workshops covering essential skills like Python and LaTeX, along with a beloved foosball tournament, Reading Week game night, study sessions, and much more—stay tuned for more information! Be sure to join our Discord server and follow us on Instagram for the latest updates!

By Shivangi Aneja, PhySU VP Communications

The inaugural PhySU Undergraduate Colloquium featured our very own PhySU Exec, Edgar Ma, and the focus of his talk was Density Functional Theory. There were cookies, and the event ended on a sweet note!

One of PhySU’s signature events is the Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream Fundraiser, held during Orientation Week. This fun and frosty celebration welcomes new and returning students to the academic year! The highlight? Mixing liquid nitrogen into the ice cream batter for an exciting, physicist-approved twist on making ice cream! To top it all off, we put on a little show with the remaining liquid nitrogen at the end of the event.

Throughout the year, we host a variety of social events because it’s always nice to take a break from studying and unwind. During Orientation Week, we kicked things off with a board game night—a fantastic way for students to make new friends while bonding over puzzles and board games! Keep an eye out for more fun events like trivia night and knitting night coming your way!