Summer 2009 Distinguished Service Citation Awardees

College Park, Maryland, United States, March 25, 2009

Distinguished Service Citations are presented to AAPT members in recognition of their exceptional contributions (e.g., committee, section, or editorial work) to physics teaching. The Summer 2009 Citations will be presented during AAPT’s Summer Meeting in Ann Arbor, MI.

Alan Gibson is a selfless and tireless warrior in the ongoing war against ignorance, a model educator-citizen, a loyal friend, and an outstanding leader in the MI AAPT as well as the Detroit Metro Area Physics Teacher groups in the past 30 years. He has served for the MI Section Representative, as Vice Chair of the Section Representatives from 2005-2007, as Chair of the Section Representatives from 2007-2009, and as a member of the AAPT Executive Board 2005-2009. Al was in the original PTRA program of 1985 and has been active in the Rural PTRA program. He has served as chair of the International Education Committee and the High School Committee as well as a member of several other committees. In addition to all of his contribution at the local, state, and national levels, Al has served as an ambassador on Physics ‘missions’ to the Far East.”

Al was recognized as a Technology Scholar by Radio Shack. He is recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching (1988) and was a finalist for the Michigan Science Teacher of the Year. He has received the highest awards of Outstanding Leadership/Service from the DMAPT and the MI AAPT where they recognized him saying, “Al has inspired thousands of students and teachers by his dedication to his profession. His amazing talents as an educational leader are only surpassed by his humbleness.”

David Maiullo is best known for the many public physics demo shows he performs in his community, both in the usual locations (libraries, schools, senior centers, science fairs, etc.) and in the unusual (bars, outdoors before rock bands play, street fairs, Coney Island). These efforts led to his recognition with the Ernest E. McMahon Award for Public Outreach from Rutgers University in 2000 and Rutgers University’s President’s Staff Excellence in Service award in 2006.

David plays an invaluable role in the preparation of physics teachers in New Jersey and in the greater physics teaching community. He leads workshops for New Jersey teachers and his efforts are integral to the NJAAPT and Rutgers relationship. David was the 2006 recipient of the, NJAAPT Lifetime Achievement Award.

He has served as Past-president and as a member of the Physics Instructional Resource Association (PIRA), an AAPT affiliate, and continues his work at the Summer Meeting with the Lecture Demo Workshop(s), which he led for 5 years. Additionally, David has provided outstanding service as an Apparatus Committee Chair, as well as serving on the committee for years.

Bruce Mason is a faculty member of the Homer L. Dodge Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Oklahoma. He received a BA degree in Physics from Oberlin College and MS and PhD degrees from the University of Maryland. He also held a postdoctoral research position at the University of Illinois in condensed matter theory before coming to Oklahoma. In the mid-1990’s, Bruce became interested in the potential for technology to engage students in new ways and in the possibility of encouraging faculty to make use of these new tools. Through this interest, he became the founding editor of the MERLOT-Physics resource collection and the director of the ComPADRE Digital Library, a collaboration of the AAPT, APS, AIP, and AAS. ComPADRE is part of the National STEM Digital Library funded by the US National Science Foundation. The editors and staff of the ComPADRE project have developed a network of resource collections to provide, online, resources and information to support communities of instructors and students in physics and astronomy. Bruce serves on the AAPT Publications Committee and the Educational Technologies Committee. He has given numerous workshops, tutorials, and talks at AAPT national and section meetings and at other local, national, and international conferences. Bruce is also the Secretary/Treasurer of the American Physical Society’s Forum on Education.

Mary Winn taught high school physics for 30 years (20 of them as Science Department Chair) after earning her BS in physics at Tulane University and her MA in Physics Education at University of South Florida. Mary has been an active Physics Teacher Resource Agent (PTRA) since 1992, regularly gives workshops to high school teachers in her state, and co-authored the PTRA workshop manual “The Role of Demonstrations in Physics.”

Mary Co-authored AAPT’s popular book, “Teaching Physics for the First Time” and has presented several PTRA workshops on this topic. She has, also, served on the Committee on Minorities in Physics, the Committee on Membership and Benefits, and the Committee on Physics in Pre-High School. Mary has been a member of Florida AAPT for more than 30 years. Additionally she is a mentor for new physics teachers in Hillsborough County, FL.

Perhaps her most unique and respected contribution to AAPT is her heroic work for the annual High School Photo Contest. She has worked tirelessly, promoting and submissions, arranging viewing times, and determining awards each spring since 2001 and her success is easily measured in the growth of the contest from 35 to over 800 photos.

Mel Steinberg , conducted the first training for Comprehensive Conceptual Curriculum Project (C3P) developers in the use of the project he designed and spearheaded called CASTLE. CASTLE a powerful curriculum that helps students and teachers understand electricity in a concrete way. Over the years CASTLE became a cornerstone of the training for the AAPT/PTRA program as well as the C3P workshops. It is one of the most requested AAPT/PTRA teacher workshops. Mel made an overwhelming difference in physics education. (This award will be presented posthumously.)

About AAPT

AAPT is an international organization for physics educators, physicists, and industrial scientists--with more than 10,000 members worldwide. Dedicated to enhancing the understanding and appreciation of physics through teaching, AAPT provides awards, publications, and programs that encourage teaching practical application of physics principles, support continuing professional development, and reward excellence in physics education. AAPT was founded in 1930 and is headquartered in the American Center for Physics in College Park, Maryland.

For more information: Contact Marilyn Gardner, Director of Communications, mgardner@aapt.org, (301) 209-3306, (301) 209-0845(Fax), www.aapt.org.

Technorati Profile Distinguished Service Citations are presented to AAPT members in recognition of their exceptional contributions (e.g., committee, section, or editorial work) to physics teaching. The Summer 2009 Citations will be presented during AAPT’s Summer Meeting in Ann Arbor, MI.