Beverley Ann P. Taylor is an American physicist and physics educator known for her physics books for children. She is a

professor emerita ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

at Miami University Hamilton in

Hamilton, Ohio Hamilton is a city in and the county seat of Butler County, Ohio, United States. Located north of Cincinnati, Hamilton is the second largest city in the Greater Cincinnati area and the 10th largest city in Ohio. The population was 63,399 at th ...

Education and career

Taylor graduated

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

in 1973 from East Tennessee State University, and completed a Ph.D. in physics in 1978 at Clemson University. Her dissertation concerned

quantum field theory In theoretical physics, quantum field theory (QFT) is a theoretical framework that combines classical field theory, special relativity, and quantum mechanics. QFT is used in particle physics to construct physical models of subatomic particles and ...

. After working as a visiting assistant professor at Denison University, she became an assistant professor at Jackson State University in 1979, also working as a visiting scientist at the

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is a federal research facility in Livermore, California, United States. The lab was originally established as the University of California Radiation Laboratory, Livermore Branch in 1952 in response ...

. She moved to Miami University Hamilton in 1984, and retired as a professor emerita in 2018.

Books

Taylor's books include: *''Santa's Scientific Christmas: A School Play with Music for Grades K-6'' (play by Ann Veith, illustrated by Susan Gertz, with activities by Mickey Sarquis, Dwight Portman, and Beverley Taylor, Terrific Science Press, 1993) *''Teaching Physics with Toys: Activities for Grades K-9'' (with James Poth and Dwight J. Portman, Terrific Science Press, 1995) *''Let's Build Airplanes & Rockets!'' (with Ben P. Millspaugh, Learning Triangle Press, 1996) *''Exploring Energy with Toys: Complete Lessons for Grades 4-8'' (Terrific Science Press, 1998)

Recognition

Taylor was named a

Fellow of the American Physical Society The American Physical Society honors members with the designation ''Fellow'' for having made significant accomplishments to the field of physics. The following lists are divided chronologically by the year of designation. * List of American Physic ...

(APS) in 1999, after a nomination from the APS Forum on Education, "for designing educational materials used effectively by K-12 science teachers, and particularly for developing and publicizing the physics of toys". In 1997 the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) gave her their Homer L. Dodge Distinguished Service Citation, and in 2014 she was named to the inaugural class of AAPT Fellows.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Beverley Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American physicists American women physicists East Tennessee State University alumni Clemson University alumni Jackson State University faculty Miami University faculty Fellows of the American Physical Society