William P. Hogan Recognized with 2010 AAPT Excellence in Undergraduate Physics Teaching Award

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

College Park, Maryland, United States, April 22, 2010--The American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) announced today William P. Hogan is the recipient of the 2010 AAPT Excellence in Undergraduate Physics Teaching Award. Hogan is Professor of Physics at Joliet Junior College, Joliet, IL. This award is in recognition of contributions to undergraduate physics teaching and awardees are chosen for their extraordinary accomplishments in communicating the excitement of physics to their students. This prestigious award will be presented to Hogan during the AAPT Summer Meeting in Portland, Oregon where he will also present a paper.

When informed of his selection for this award, Hogan said, “I’m honored to be chosen. I’m not sure I deserve this award but I love teaching introductory physics and feel very fortunate to make my living doing something I enjoy.”

Hogan received a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering physics, a Masters of Science in physics, and a Ph.D. in experimental high energy physics all from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He accepted an appointment as a post-doctoral research associate with Rutgers University stationed at Fermi National Acceleration Laboratory after finishing his graduate studies. While working at Fermilab, he began teaching physics as an adjunct faculty member at several Chicago-area two-year colleges and decided to pursue a career teaching physics.

In 1997, he joined the physics faculty at Joliet Junior College where he has taught introductory physics at all levels including conceptual physics, technical physics, college physics with a trigonometry pre-requisite, and university physics with a calculus prerequisite. He believes strongly in making students active participants in the learning process in all parts of the course. In addition to teaching his classes, Hogan has been active in the Joliet Junior College Faculty Union and has served as its treasurer since being first elected in 2003.

Hogan has been active in physics teaching organizations throughout his career as a teacher. He is a member of both the Illinois Section and the Chicago Section of the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) and has presented many papers at Illinois Section meetings. He has served as President-Elect (2005), President (2006), and Past-President of the Illinois Section of AAPT. In 2007, he received the Distinguished Service Citation Award from the Illinois Section of the AAPT. Currently, he serves on the Executive Board of ISAAPT as one of the Two-Year College representatives.

He was instrumental in the success of TYC21 (an NSF sponsored project to build networks among two- year college physics teachers) in Illinois. Hogan has represented Illinois at the national meetings of TYC21 and spoken at national meetings about the success of the network of Illinois teachers. He has previously served a term as a member of the AAPT Committee on Physics in Two-Year Colleges and is currently serving another term, this time as chair of the committee. Hogan was Editor for the AAPT Guidelines for Two-Year College Physics Programs (2001) and is currently serving as editor of a revision.

Hogan was a key member of the SPIN-UP/TYC Project during 2002-2004, attending the Training and Planning Conference held July 24-28, 2002 at Trinity University in San Antonio, TX. He was the team leader for a site visit to Lord Fairfax Community College in Middletown, VA in 2003 and helped write the Case Study for Lord Fairfax Community College which was selected as an “Exemplary Two-Year College Physics Program” by this Project.

One of his former students, expressing his experience with Hogan said, “Dr. Hogan has the empathy, the vocabulary, and the skills to express criticism and critique in ways that create an open and nurturing environment in which students of all levels can appreciate physics. He is not only interested in helping students learn physics but also takes interest in his students as human beings and helps them beyond the classroom.”

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 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 .

The American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) announced today William P. Hogan is the recipient of the 2010 AAPT Excellence in Undergraduate Physics Teaching Award. Hogan is Professor of Physics at Joliet Junior College, Joliet, IL. This award is in recognition of contributions to undergraduate physics teaching and awardees are chosen for their extraordinary accomplishments in communicating the excitement of physics to their students. This prestigious award will be presented to Hogan during the AAPT Summer Meeting in Portland, Oregon where he will also present a paper. When informed of his selection for this award, Hogan said, “I’m honored to be chosen. I’m not sure I deserve this award but I love teaching introductory physics and feel very fortunate to make my living doing something I enjoy.”