Robert A. Millikan award


The Robert A. Millikan award is a medal given to individuals who provide notable contributions to the teaching of physics. The award was established in 1962 and is awarded by the American Association of Physics Teachers. The winner receives a monetary award and certificate and delivers an address at an AAPT summer meeting.

Award Winners

YearNameInstitutionAddress
2019Tom GreensladeKenyon College, Gambier, OH
2018Kyle Forinash IIIIndiana University Southeast, New Albany, IN"Breaking out of the Physics Silo"
2017Kenneth HellerUniversity of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN"Can We Get There from Here?"
2016Stephen M. PompeaNational Optical Astronomy Observatory, Tucson, AZ"Knowledge and Wonder: Reflections on Ill-Structured Problem Solving"
2015Robert A. MorseSt. Albans School, Washington, DC"Facets of Physics Teaching-Pedagogical Engineering in the High School Classroom"
2014Eugenia EtkinaRutgers University"Students of Physics: Listeners, Observers, or Collaborative Participants?"
2013Harvey GouldClark University"New Challenges for Old Physics Departments"
2012Philip M. SadlerHarvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics"Separating Facts From Fad: How Our Choices Impact Students' Performance and Persistence in Physics"
2011Brian JonesColorado State University"All I Really Need to Know About Physics Education I Learned in Kindergarten"
2010Patricia M. HellerUniversity of Minnesota"Guiding the Future: Developing Research-based Physics Standards"
2009Arthur EisenkraftUniversity of Massachusetts Boston"Physics for All: From Special Needs to Olympiads"
2008Eric MazurHarvard University"The Make-Believe World of Real-World Physics"
2007David SokoloffUniversity of Oregon"Building a New, More Exciting Mouse Trap is Not Enough"
2006Art HobsonUniversity of Arkansas"Thoughts on Physics Education for the 21st Century"
2005John S. RigdenWashington University in St. Louis, MO"The Mystique of Physics: Relumine the Enlightment"
2004Kenneth S. KraneOregon State University"The Challenges of Teaching Modern Physics"
2003Fred M. GoldbergSan Diego State University"Research and Development in Physics Education: Focusing on Students' Thinking"
2002Simon GeorgeCalifornia State University"Global Study of the Role of the Laboratory in Physics Educations"
2001Sallie A. WatkinsUniversity of Southern Colorado"Can "Descriptive" End with "A"?"
2000Thomas D. RossingNorthern Illinois University"Beauty in Physics and the Arts"
1999Alan Van HeuvelenThe Ohio State University"Research About Physics Learning, Linguistics, Our Minds, and the Workplace"
1998Edward F. RedishUniversity of Maryland"Building a Science of Teaching Physics: Learning What Works and Why"
1997David GriffithsReed College"Is there a Text in This Class?"
1996Priscilla W. LawsDickinson College"Promoting Active Learning Based on Physics Education
Research in Introductory Physics Courses"
1995Dean ZollmanKansas State University"Do They Just Sit There? Reflections on Helping Students Learn Physics"
1994Frederick ReifCarnegie-Mellon University"Understanding and Teaching Important Scientific Thought Processes"
1993James A. MinstrellMercer Island High School"Creating an Environment for Reconstructing Understanding and Reasoning about the Physical World"
1992Robert G. FullerUniversity of Nebraska at Lincoln"Hypermedia and the Knowing of Physics Standing Upon the Shoulders of Giants"
1991Don HerbertMr. Wizard Studios"Behind the Scenes of Mr. Wizard"
1990Lillian C. McDermottUniversity of Washington"What We Teach and What Is Learned Closing the Gap"
1989Peter LindenfeldRutgers University"The Einsteinization of Physics"
1988Robert G. GreenlerUniversity of Wisconsin–Milwaukee"Beetles, Bubbles, and Butterflies Iridescence in Nature"
1987Donald Glenn IveyUniversity of Toronto"Educational Television An Oxymoron?"
1986Mario IonaUniversity of Denver"Why Johnny Can't Learn Physics from Textbooks I have Known"
1985James GerhartUniversity of Washington"Handling Numbers"
1984Earl F. ZwickerIllinois Institute of Technology"Life, Learning, and the Phunomenological Approach"
1983Gerald F. WheelerMontana State University"The Emerging Telecommunications Network: New Conduit to Learners"
1982Paul G. HewittCity College of San Francisco"The Missing Essential A Conceptual Understanding of Physics"
1981Albert A. BartlettUniversity of Colorado at Boulder"Are We Overlooking Something?"
1980Thomas D. MinerGarden City High School"Prides and Prejudices of a Physics Teacher"
1979Alexander CalandraWashington University"The Art of Teaching Physics"
1978Alfred BorkUniversity of California at Irvine"Interactive Learning"
1977C. Luther AndrewsState University of New York at Albany"Microwave Optics"
1976Tung Hon JeongLake Forest College"Holography"
1975Harold A. DawNew Mexico State University"Physics Instructional Apparatus and Things"
1974Harald JensenLake Forest College"A Retired Physics Teacher Reminisces"
1973Frank OppenheimerThe Exploratorium"Teaching and Learning"
1972Arnold A. StrassenburgState University of New York at Stony Brook"The Evolution of Physics Teaching"
1971Harry F. MeinersRensselaer Polytechnic Institute"Problems of Science Education in Underdeveloped Countries"
1970Franklin Miller, Jr.Kenyon College"A Long Look at the Short Film"
1969John M. FowlerUniversity of Maryland"Content and Process in Physics Teaching"
1968Alan HoldenBell Telephone Laboratories"Artistic Invitations to the Study of Physics"
1967Gerald HoltonHarvard University"Oildrops and Subelectrons"
1966Alan M. PortisUniversity of California, Berkeley"Electrons, Photons, and Students"
1965John G. KingMassachusetts Institute of Technology"The Undergraduate Physics Laboratory and Reality"
1964H. Victor NeherCalifornia Institute of Technology"Millikan: Teacher and Friend"
1962Paul E. KlopstegNorthwestern University"The Early Days of the American Association of Physics Teachers"