Her roots are deep in the heart of Texas, Austin to be exact. Her academic home is the University of Texas, a perfect place to express her intellectual pursuits, her call to teaching, and her lifelong dedication to sharing her love of physics with students, with colleagues in various departments across campus, and with pre-college teachers. Jill A. Marshall, AAPT's new President, exemplifies a physicist who can speak two academic languages fluently and effectively, physics and education—a highly valued skill in a time when the boundaries between disciplines are becoming less important and education policy dialog, both local and national, is centered on student learning.
Jill's interest in understanding natural phenomena emerged as a young child. When she asked her fourth-grade teacher why water boils, the answer didn't satisfy Jill—after all, things don't boil just because they're hot. However, when her teacher continued the explanation by telling her about atoms,...
