Conferences for Undergraduate Women in Physics (CUWiP) are three-day regional conferences for undergraduate physics majors. The goal of CUWiP is to help undergraduate women continue in physics by providing them with an opportunity to experience a professional conference, information about graduate school and professions in physics, and access to other women in physics of all ages with whom they can share experiences, advice, and ideas. For more information on the American CUWiP, visit their website.
In 2006 and 2007, the University of Southern California held the first and second CUWiP. In 2008, three universities in the USA hosted the conference, and the popularity has continued to grow. In fact, in 2018 eleven universities across the US hosted the conference as well as Queen’s University in Canada.
In 2011, the American Physical Society (APS) was invited by CUWiP leaders to become the institutional home of CUWiP. APS provides organizational support, institutional memory, and a home for external financial support necessary to operate and continually improve CUWiP events.
In 2014 McGill University hosted the first Canadian Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics (CCUWiP). The conference has continued annually and grows stronger every year, gaining recognition by the APS in 2017 as a part of CUWiP.