The American Institute of Physics (AIP) promotes science and the profession of physics, publishes physics journals, and produces publications for scientific and engineering societies. The AIP is made up of various member societies. Its corporate headquarters are at the American Center for Physics in College Park, Maryland, but the institute also has offices in Melville, New York, and Beijing.
A new set of member societies was added beginning in the mid-1960s.
The organization restructured in 2013, creating a new subsidiary, AIP Publishing LLC, to manage physical publications of its journals with a smaller board.
The AIP has a subsidiary called AIP Publishing (wholly owned non-profit) dedicated to scholarly publishing by the AIP and its member societies, as well on behalf of other partners.
AIP created a manual of style first introduced in 1951, called AIP style, which also includes the AIP citation format. It is the most commonly used style and citation format in physics publications.
Awards and prizes bestowed by the AIP
Andrew Gemant Award – "Recognizes significant contributions to the cultural, artistic, or humanistic dimension of physics"
John T. Tate Medal for International Leadership in Physics – "Presented for distinguished service to the profession of physics by a non-U.S. national." The award is given biennially on odd-numbered years, and was first given in 1960.
Karl T. Compton Medal for Leadership in Physics – "Presented for distinguished statesmanship in science." The award is given biennially on even-numbered years, and was established in 1957.
Dannie Heineman Astrophysics Prize – "Recognizes accomplishments in theoretical astrophysics." Established in 1978, awarded jointly by the AIP and the American Astronomical Society, and funded by the Heineman Foundation.
Abraham Pais Award for History of Physics – "Recognizes outstanding scholarly achievements in the history of physics." Established in 2005, awarded jointly by the AIP and the American Physical Society.
Meggers Project Award – "Awarded biennially for projects designed to improve high school physics"
Prize for Industrial Applications of Physics – "Sponsored by General Motors and awarded biennially to publicize the value of physics research in industry"
Fluid Dynamics Prize – "Recognizes outstanding achievement in research with demonstrated major impact on the discipline, jointly sponsored with the American Physical Society's Division of Fluid Dynamics"
Science Communication Awards – "Awarded for excellence in Science Communication in Physics and Astronomy for the general public in four categories: Science Writing: Books; Science Writing: Articles; Writing for Children; and Broadcast and New Media"