AAPT Announces Winter 2009 Distinguished Service Awardees

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

College Park, Maryland, United States, December 15, 2008

Established in 1953, the Distinguished Service Citations are presented to members in recognition of their exceptional contributions (e.g., committee, section, or editorial work) to physics teaching. The Winter 2009 Distinguished Service Awards will be presented at the Winter 2009 meeting in Chicago, Illinois:

Paul Hickman has had a distinguished career as an optical engineer, a high school physics teacher and associate professor of education. His long years of service to AAPT include leadership in PTRA, PhysTEC, the Teacher Preparation Committee, and being the first recipient of AAPT’s Excellence in Pre-College Physics Education award.

Charles Holbrow, Dana Professor of Physics Emeritus at Colgate University and Adjunct Professor at MIT, has had a distinguished career as a physics teacher, textbook author, nuclear physics researcher, and physics historian. He served as Associate Editor of Physics Today, AAPT President, AAPT Senior Staff Physicist and AAPT Interim Executive Officer.

Bob Shurtz has been a distinguished physics teacher at the Hawken School for many years, and served as Academic Director of the US Physics Olympiad Team. Other service to AAPT contribution to PTRA , serving as Ohio Section President, and chairing the High School Committee. One of his many awards includes the Tandy Prize.

Gary White is Director of the Society of Physics Students and Sigma Pi Sigma, and Assistant Director of the Education Division of the American Institute of Physics. Prior to his post at AIP, he taught at Northwestern State University, Natchitoches, Louisiana, where he was voted 1996 Outstanding Teacher of the Year.

Courtney Willis teaches at the University of Northern Colorado, after having a distinguished career as a high school teacher. He served as AAPT Examinations Director, Chair of the High School Committee, presented AAPT workshops, contributed frequently to The Physics Teacher, and as the President and Secretary-Treasurer of the Colorado-Wyoming Section.

About AAPT AAPT is the leading organization for physics educators--with more than 10,000 members worldwide. Our mission is to advance the greater good through physics teaching. We provide our members with many opportunities for professional development, communication, and student enrichment. We serve the larger community through a variety of programs and publications. AAPT was founded in 1930 and is headquartered in the American Center for Physics in College Park, Maryland.

For more information: Contact Linda Dylla, AAPT Communications Department, ldylla@aapt.org, (301)209-3622, (301)209-0845 (Fax)Established in 1953, the Distinguished Service Citations are presented to members in recognition of their exceptional contributions (e.g., committee, section, or editorial work) to physics teaching. The Winter 2009 Distinguished Service Awards will be presented at the Winter 2009 meeting in Chicago, Illinois: