Homer L. Dodge Citations for Distinguished Service to AAPT
The Homer L. Dodge Citation for Distinguished Service to AAPT is presented to members in recognition of their exceptional contributions to the association at the national, sectional, or local level.
Arlisa Richardson
Regarding her selection to receive this citation, Richardson said, “What an honor! I appreciate the opportunities to serve AAPT.” Professor Richardson obtained her BS in physics from the Grambling State University, her first MS in Physics at the University of Texas at Dallas, and a second MS in Engineering of Materials at the Arizona State University. She worked as an engineer in the semiconductor manufacturing industry before returning to graduate school, and in 2008, she completed a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction specializing in Science Education at Arizona State University. In 2011, she accepted a physics faculty position at Chandler Gilbert Community College. She has served on the AAPT Board as a Member-at-Large, and she also served on a number of AAPT committees as the ex officio At-Large Two-Year College Board representative (e.g., Audit, Venture, and COGS). Additionally, she has provided valuable service on other AAPT Committees: Committee on Physics in Two-Year Colleges (2016–2018), Programs Committee (2019-present), and Lotze Scholarship Committee (2018-present). She joined The Physics Teacher editorial board in July 2021 for a three-year term. She is very committed to reducing the barriers and improving the representation of marginalized students in physics. She represented the US delegation to the 6th International Conference on Women in Physics (ICWIP) in Birmingham UK in 2017. She was also part of the AIP TEAM-UP Task Force (see https://www.aip.org/diversity-initiatives/team-up-taskforce), which investigated why the proportion of undergraduate degrees earned by African Americans remains low. The Task Force prepared a report that was released in early 2020, which laid the groundwork for the physics community to increase physics degrees by African Americans. She writes, “AAPT has provided the extra support, resources, and networking needed specifically for two-year college faculty. The AAPT Two-Year College group promotes successful pedagogical practices that are also beneficial to four-year colleges and universities. The exchange of knowledge and experiences is invaluable. I welcome the opportunity to be a voice for two-year college faculty within AAPT.”
Dimitri Dounas-Frazer
Regarding his selection to receive this citation, Dounas-Frazer said, “I'm deeply grateful to the people who nominated me for this award. Volunteering for AAPT and organizing for change in physics education has been a rewarding—and often challenging—experience. Doing so has provided me the opportunity to work with and learn from diverse groups of students, staff, faculty, and other stakeholders in secondary and post-secondary contexts. I hope that the efforts I've been part of ultimately do more good than harm. Sadly, physics education has a long way to go when it comes to eradicating systemic and interpersonal ableism, racism, cis-hetero-sexism, and commitments to capitalism and colonialism.” Dounas-Frazer earned his Bachelors and Masters Degrees from the Colorado School of Mines and his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. He has been a member of AAPT since 2012 and has served in various leadership positions, including as the AAPT representative to the AIP Liaison Committee on Under-represented Minorities and as the At-large Four-Year College representative of the AAPT Colorado-Wyoming Section. He has also volunteered for AAPT as the Vice Chair and then Chair for the Committee on Diversity in Physics from 2015 to 2017 and for the Committee on Laboratories from 2018 to 2020. He currently serves on the AAPT Nominating Committee.
Dave McCachren
Regarding his selection to receive this citation, McCachren said, “AAPT & PTRA were an important asset to my high school teaching career. I was totally surprised when notified of this prestigious award. I am humbled to be included with the recipients who continue to promote physics and teaching at the section and national levels. Thank you!” McCachren earned his Bachelors and Masters Degrees at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and has his Teaching Certification in Pennsylvania in Instructional II Physics and Mathematics. He joined AAPT and the Central Pennsylvania Section of AAPT in 1973 and became a PTRA in 1995, participating in the Summer Workshops each year since then. He served as Workshop Leader for National PTRA Training Sessions in 2012 and 2017. He co-authored the PTRA learning resource “Electromagnetic Spectrum: Window to the Universe” a workshop written in conjunction with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Since 1995 he has led PTRA workshops for High School and Middle School teachers in Central Pennsylvania, Baltimore, Maryland.
Steve Henning
Regarding his selection to receive this citation, Henning said, “It has been an honor and pleasure to serve AAPT as a PTRA and in other capacities. I look forward to continuing to serve the physics teaching community, especially when we will meet again in person.” Henning has had a very successful career as a High School Physics Teacher, teaching all levels of physics in New York state. Additionally, he served two years as an adjunct professor of introductory physics at Concordia College in Bronxville NY. What makes his career so celebrated is he was among the early innovators who brought technology into the physics classroom as early as 1985 and shared his expertise as a leader of many workshops with his colleagues. His allegiance to his profession outside of his classroom has been focused on being active in AAPT locally, regionally, and nationally. He became a PTRA in 1986 and attended training sessions for 23 years and plans to continue attending PTRA training sessions. He not only served his students but also fellow teachers in his school district with the PTRA materials. He also carries out the mission of the PTRA program by conducting workshops in New Jersey, New York City, New York State, and New England with fellow PTRAs utilizing PTRA Manuals and materials. He remains active on the national level in the PTRA program as a member of the PTRA Oversight Committee. From 2006 to 2009, he served as the Lead PTRA for the AAPT-PTRA Rural Physics Teachers Workshops at Colgate University in NY. From 2016 to present, he served on the Physics Master Teacher Leader Task Force. His committee service in AAPT includes the Committee on Physics in High Schools (2013–2014), Committee on Teacher Preparation (2016–2018, 2022-), Nominating Committee (2018), and the Committee for Design and Implementation of High School Video Contest (2011). He has served on the Executive Board of New York State AAPT Section from 2011 to present and also is a member of the New England Section of AAPT.
One new fellow of AAPT was announced in the Winter 2022 meeting:
Bree Barnett Dreyfuss, Pleasanton, CA
Chandralekha Singh
Past-President, AAPT