American Institute of Physics appoints new Associate V.P. of Physics Resources

College Park, MD (May 10, 2010) — The American Institute of Physics (AIP) has appointed Philip (“Bo”) Hammer its new Associate Vice President of Physics Resources, a position he will fill beginning on May 17, 2010.

Dr. Hammer comes to AIP from the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) where he has been Associate Executive Officer. Previously, he served for eight years as Vice President for the Franklin Center at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. Hammer has also worked for AIP before. From 1996 to 2000, he served as Director of the Society of Physics Students and assistant manager of AIP’s education division. Prior to that, he was the assistant to the executive director and CEO of AIP.

In his new role at AIP, Hammer joins the Physics Resources Center, which serves the public and the scientific community through educational programs, media and government relations, AIP’s Physics Today magazine, statistical research, a history center and the Niels Bohr Library & Archives. He will help manage these programs as well as oversee AIP’s Industrial Outreach and development programs.

“We are excited to welcome Dr. Hammer to the Institute, where he will take a leadership role serving the broad physics community and helping to advance physics as a discipline and a profession,” says Catherine O’Riordan, AIP Vice President, Physics Resources.

Hammer currently serves on the Council and Executive Board of the American Physical Society (APS). He was an APS Congressional Fellow during 1993-94 and has served on numerous APS committees and units, including the Forum on Physics and Society (serving as chair), the Committee on Informing the Public (as chair), and the Prizes and Awards Committee (chair). Hammer also served on the Haddon Heights, NJ Board of Education from 2003-09 and was Board President from 2007-09.

He received the Outstanding Service Commendation of The Franklin Institute’s Committee on Science and Arts in 2009 and was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 2003.

Born in Washington, D.C. and raised in San Jose, CA, Hammer holds a B.S. in Physics from Humboldt State University in Arcata, CA. He received his Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Oregon in Eugene, OR, and he did a postdoctoral fellowship at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Silver Spring, MD.