2024 AAPT award citations at the winter meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana

Laura H. Greene is the 2024 recipient of the prestigious Hans Christian Oersted Medal. The Oersted Medal recognizes her outstanding, widespread, and lasting impact on the teaching of physics and cites “her significant contributions to physics in the area of novel quantum materials and her ongoing passionate commitment to physics education, diversity, equity and inclusion with her work to engage curious young scientists and physics educators at all levels in the wonders of quantum materials.”

Greene is the Chief Scientist at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory and the Marie Krafft Professor of Physics at Florida State University. She was previously a Swanlund and Center for Advanced Study Professor of Physics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her undergraduate studies were at The Ohio State University, and after receiving her Ph.D. at Cornell University, she was a postdoc at Bell Labs then a member of staff at Bellcore.

In September 2021, Greene was appointed by President Joseph R. Biden to serve as a member of the President's Council of Advisors for Science and Technology (PCAST), which directly advises him on matters of science and technology including STEM education.

As a leading advocate for diversity in science and a champion for women in science and engineering, science diplomacy, ethics, and human rights, she has held leadership roles in many science organizations nationally and internationally, including serving as the 2017 president of the American Physical Society (APS) and on the Board of Directors for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and is currently the Vice President for Ethics and Outreach of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP). She has been a member of the U.S. Department of State supported COACh team, and continues to promote the success and impact of women and minority scientists, particularly in developing countries, through their workshops which include negotiation, leadership, networking, publishing, and communication skills.

Greene's own research is on quantum materials, focusing on the fundamental studies of novel materials and their synthesis, and the mechanisms of unconventional superconductivity. She has co-authored over 200 publications and has presented over 700 invited talks. The scientific community has recognized Greene's scientific excellence with many awards and honors. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and is a fellow of the Institute of Physics (U.K.), the AAAS, and the APS. She received the Tallahassee Scientific Society Gold Medal Award and the American Physical Society Five Sigma Physicist Award for Advocacy in Science Policy, has been a Guggenheim Fellow, and was awarded the E.O. Lawrence Award for Materials Research from the U.S. Department of Energy, the APS Maria Goeppert-Mayer Award, and the Bellcore Award of Excellence.

Katherine (Katie) Mack has been selected to receive the 2024 Richtmyer Memorial Lecture Award. She is recognized with the award for outstanding contributions to physics and for effectively communicating those contributions to physics educators. The award citation reads:

Mack is a theoretical astrophysicist who studies a range of questions in cosmology, the study of the universe from beginning to end. She currently holds the position of the Hawking Chair in Cosmology and Science Communication at the Perimeter Institute. Throughout her career, she has placed an emphasis on sharing science with the broader public. A scientist whose research relies on public funding, she considers it part of her job to share her knowledge and expertise with people outside the world of science and academia. As part of her role, she frequently takes part in outreach activities (public lectures, school visits, mentoring events, videos, podcasts, etc.) and makes herself available for interviews.

One of Mack's nominators noted, “[Dr. Mack] deftly breaks down complex topics and uses simple wording and analogies to help [students] understand. Because of this, many physics teachers (both high school and post-secondary) and physics students follow her on Twitter.” As @AstroKatie, she has amassed a Twitter following of more than 400 000. Her popular writing (https://www.astrokatie.com) has appeared in major publications including Scientific American, Slate, Sky and Telescope, Cosmos, BBC Science Focus, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. In 2020, she released her first book, The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking), which examines five ways the universe could end and the mind-blowing lessons each scenario reveals about the most important concepts in cosmology. It was named a New York Times Notable Book of 2020.

Tatiana Erukhimova received the AAPT's Homer L. Dodge Citation for Distinguished Service to AAPT during the 2024 Winter Meeting. A member of AAPT since 2015, Erukhimova has served in various roles on the Committee on Science Education for the Public and chaired this committee in 2020. She is an Instructional Professor and inaugural holder of the Marsha L. and Ralph F. Schilling Endowed Chair in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX. Erukhimova exudes the AAPT enthusiasm for the study of physics through her numerous avenues of informal science outreach, including most recently being a TikTok and YouTube physics video maven. Her videos have attracted over 500 million views on departmental social media. She has supported the AAPT mission through her efforts to make physics accessible to all those interested in learning. As a physics education researcher, she has made efforts to quantify the impact of student engagement in physics educational outreach programs and has developed a robust set of course materials and student resources. Nominators noted “[she] has shown incredible enthusiasm and dedication to educating Texas A&M undergraduate students and providing them opportunities to grow outside of the classroom. These efforts also have had immeasurable benefits for graduate students, those in the surrounding community of Texas A&M, and beyond.”

Jennifer Blue received the AAPT's Homer L. Dodge Citation for Distinguished Service to AAPT during the 2024 Winter Meeting. She has been a member of AAPT since 1995; she has served on the Committee on Women in Physics, the Nominating Committee, the Committee on Professional Concerns, the Programs Committee, and as a leader of the Southern Ohio AAPT Section. Regarding her selection to receive this citation, Blue said, “This is a great honor. AAPT has been my professional home since I was in graduate school, and I'm happy to be part of the great work the organization is doing.” Blue is currently an Associate Dean, College of Arts and Science, and Professor of Physics at Miami University, Oxford, OH. Her work has impacted physics education and physics educators for over three decades. As a physics education researcher, she has supported the mission of AAPT by working diligently to enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in physics education with her research work and in service on AAPT committees. She is also active in the AAPT Southern Ohio section. Her work has been pivotal in inviting physicists in all stations to examine the state of DEI in the physics community.

Juan Burciaga received the AAPT's Homer L. Dodge Citation for Distinguished Service to AAPT during the 2024 Winter Meeting A member of AAPT since 1992, Burciaga has served on the Committee on Physics in Undergraduate Education, the Publications Committee as Book Editor, and the Books Committee. He is currently an adjunct at The Colorado College in Colorado Springs, CO, though this spring he is visiting at TCU in Fort Worth, TX. He has made significant contributions to the AAPT mission through his active engagement in moving forward the AAPT commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, with special attention to Hispanic Serving Institutions, as an active member of the National Society for Hispanic Physicists. Burciaga has also devoted much of his work in AAPT to working to build the Physics for the Life Sciences (IPLS) area with his strong interest in the scholarship of teaching and learning. Nominators noted “It is hard to capture all Juan has done for physics education. His efforts have had a major impact and have connected different organizations—most notably the National Society of Hispanic Physicists and AAPT.” “Juan truly embodied inclusive actions throughout this process [creation of inclusive curriculum in physics classes]. Students and significantly junior people were involved in the planning; throughout the workshop organizing, Juan worked to make sure these individuals were truly included in organizing the workshop without overburdening them.”

Tony Musumba received the AAPT's Homer L. Dodge Citation for Distinguished Service to AAPT during the 2024 Winter Meeting. Musumba is an Assistant Professor of Physics at Riverside City College in Riverside, California. He earned his B.Sc. and M.Phil. in Physics at Moi University and his Ph.D. in Physics at The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD). He has contributed to the mission of AAPT in a variety of areas aimed at professional development of physics educators around the country. A member of AAPT since 2008, Musumba became a member of the Committee on Diversity in Physics in 2014 and has been active in the Committee on Two Year Colleges. He is on the Editorial Board for The Physics Teacher through December 2025. He served as North Dakota Section Representative from 2013 to 2023 and served as a member of the AAPT Nominating Committee in 2017.