The Oersted Medal recognizes notable contributions to the

teaching Teaching is the practice implemented by a ''teacher'' aimed at transmitting skills (knowledge, know-how, and interpersonal skills) to a learner, a student, or any other audience in the context of an educational institution. Teaching is closely ...

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

. Established in 1936, it is awarded by the American Association of Physics Teachers. The award is named for Hans Christian Ørsted. It is the Association's most prestigious award. Hans Christian Ørsted Well-known recipients include Nobel laureates Robert Andrews Millikan, Edward M. Purcell,

Richard Feynman Richard Phillips Feynman (; May 11, 1918 – February 15, 1988) was an American theoretical physicist, known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics, the physics of the superfl ...

, Isidor I. Rabi, Norman F. Ramsey,

Hans Bethe Hans Albrecht Bethe (; July 2, 1906 – March 6, 2005) was a German-American theoretical physicist who made major contributions to nuclear physics, astrophysics, quantum electrodynamics, and solid-state physics, and who won the 1967 Nobel ...

, and Carl Wieman; as well as Arnold Sommerfeld,

George Uhlenbeck George Eugene Uhlenbeck (December 6, 1900 – October 31, 1988) was a Dutch-American theoretical physicist. Background and education George Uhlenbeck was the son of Eugenius and Anne Beeger Uhlenbeck. He attended the Hogere Burgerschool (High S ...

, Jerrold Zacharias,

Philip Morrison Philip Morrison (November 7, 1915 – April 22, 2005) was a professor of physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He is known for his work on the Manhattan Project during World War II, and for his later work in quantum physi ...

Melba Phillips Melba Newell Phillips (February 1, 1907 – November 8, 2004) was an American physicist and pioneer science educator. One of the first doctoral students of J. Robert Oppenheimer at the University of California, Berkeley, Phillips completed her Ph. ...

Victor Weisskopf Victor Frederick "Viki" Weisskopf (also spelled Viktor; September 19, 1908 – April 22, 2002) was an Austrian-born American theoretical physicist. He did postdoctoral work with Werner Heisenberg, Erwin Schrödinger, Wolfgang Pauli, and Niels Boh ...

Gerald Holton Gerald James Holton (born May 23, 1922) is an American physicist, historian of science, and educator, whose professional interests also include philosophy of science and the fostering of careers of young men and women. He is Mallinckrodt Profes ...

, John A. Wheeler, Frank Oppenheimer,

Robert Resnick Robert Resnick (January 11, 1923 – January 29, 2014) was a physics educator and author of physics textbooks. He was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on January 11, 1923"Robert Resnick." ''Marquis Who's Who''. Marquis Who's Who, 2008. Reproduced in ...

, Carl Sagan,

Freeman Dyson Freeman John Dyson (15 December 1923 – 28 February 2020) was an English-American theoretical physicist and mathematician known for his works in quantum field theory, astrophysics, random matrices, mathematical formulation of quantum m ...

Daniel Kleppner Daniel Kleppner, born 1932, is the Lester Wolfe Professor Emeritus of Physics at MIT and co-director of the MIT-Harvard Center for Ultracold Atoms. His areas of science include Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics, and his research interest ...

, and Lawrence Krauss, and

Anthony French Anthony Philip French (November 19, 1920 – February 3, 2017) was a British professor of physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was born in Brighton, England. French was a graduate of Cambridge University, receiving his ...

David Hestenes David Orlin Hestenes (born May 21, 1933) is a theoretical physicist and science educator. He is best known as chief architect of geometric algebra as a unified language for mathematics and physics, and as founder of Modelling Instructio ...

Robert Karplus Robert Karplus (February 23, 1927 – March 20, 1990) was a theoretical physicist and leader in the field of science education. Early life Robert Karplus was born in Vienna, where he lived until the German occupation of Austria in 1938. He emigrate ...

, Robert Pohl, and

Francis Sears Francis Weston Sears (October 1, 1898 – November 12, 1975) was an American physicist. He was a professor of physics at MIT for 35 years before moving to Dartmouth College in 1956. At Dartmouth, Sears was the Appleton Professor of Physics. He i ...

. The 2008 medalist,

Mildred S. Dresselhaus Mildred Dresselhaus''Mildred Dresselhaus'' was elected in 1974

, is the third woman to win the award in its 70-plus-year history.

Medalists

* William Suddards Franklin – 1936 * Edwin Herbert Hall – 1937 * Alexander Wilmer Duff – 1938 * Benjamin Harrison Brown – 1939 * Robert Andrews Millikan – 1940 * Henry Crew – 1941 * ''not awarded in 1942'' * George Walter Stewart – 1943 * Roland Roy Tileston – 1944 * Homer Levi Dodge – 1945 * Ray Lee Edwards – 1946 * Duane Roller – 1947 * William Harley Barber – 1948 * Arnold Sommerfeld – 1949 * Orrin H. Smith – 1950 * John Wesley Hornbeck – 1951 * Ansel A. Knowlton – 1952 * Richard M. Sutton – 1953 * Clifford N. Wall – 1954 * Vernet E. Eaton – 1955 * George E. Uhlenbeck – 1956 * Mark W. Zemansky – 1957 * Jay William Buchta – 1958 * Paul Kirkpatrick – 1959 * Robert W. Pohl – 1960 * Jerrold R. Zacharias – 1961 * Francis W. Sears – 1962 * Francis L. Friedman – 1963 * Walter Christian Michels – 1964 *

– 1965 * Leonard I. Schiff – 1966 * Edward M. Purcell – 1967 * Harvey E. White – 1968 * Eric M. Rogers – 1969 * Edwin C. Kemble – 1970 * Uri Haber-Schaim – 1971 * Richard P. Feynman – 1972 * Arnold Arons – 1973 * Melba N. Phillips – 1974 *

– 1975 * Victor F. Weisskopf – 1976 * H. Richard Crane – 1977 * Wallace A. Hilton – 1978 *

Charles Kittel Charles Kittel (July 18, 1916 – May 15, 2019) was an American physicist. He was a professor at University of California, Berkeley from 1951 and was professor emeritus from 1978 until his death. Life and work Charles Kittel was born in New Yo ...

– 1979 * Paul E. Klopsteg – 1979, ''Extraordinary Oersted Medal Award'' *

– 1980 *

– 1981 * I. I. Rabi – 1982 * John A. Wheeler – 1983 * Frank Oppenheimer – 1984 *

Sam Treiman Sam Bard Treiman (; May 27, 1925 – November 30, 1999) was an American theoretical physicist who produced research in the fields of cosmic rays, quantum physics, plasma physics, and gravity physics. He made contributions to the understanding of ...

– 1985 * Stanley S. Ballard – 1986 * Clifford E. Swartz – 1987 * Norman F. Ramsey – 1988 * Anthony P. French – 1989 * Carl E. Sagan – 1990 *

– 1991 * Eugen Merzbacher – 1992 * Hans A. Bethe – 1993 * E. Leonard Jossem – 1994 * Robert Beck Clark – 1995 * Donald F. Holcomb – 1996 *

– 1997 * Edwin F. Taylor – 1998 * David L. Goodstein – 1999 * John G. King – 2000 * Lillian C. McDermott – 2001 *

– 2002 * Edward W. Kolb – 2003 * Lawrence Krauss – 2004 * Eugene D. Commins – 2005 *

Kenneth W. Ford Kenneth William Ford (born May 1, 1926) is an American theoretical physicist, teacher, and writer, currently residing near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the first chair of the physics department at the University of California, Irvine, and l ...

– 2006 * Carl Wieman – 2007 *

Mildred S. Dresselhaus Mildred Dresselhaus''Mildred Dresselhaus'' was elected in 1974

– 2008 *

George Smoot George Fitzgerald Smoot III (born February 20, 1945) is an American astrophysicist, cosmologist, Nobel laureate, and the 2nd contestant to win the $1 million prize on '' Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?''. He won the Nobel Prize in Physics i ...

– 2009 * ''Not Awarded'' – 2010 * F. James Rutherford – 2011 * Charles H. Holbrow – 2012 * Edward F. Redish – 2013 * Dean Zollman – 2014 * Karl C. Mamola – 2015 * John Winston Belcher – 2016 * Jan Tobochnik - 2017 * Barbara L. Whitten - 2018 * Gay Stewart - 2019 * David Sokoloff - 2020

References

{{Reflist

External links

AAPT site
Physics education Physics awards Teacher awards Awards established in 1936 American education awards

Medalists

See also

References

External links