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AAPT Named Chandralekha Singh as the 2024 J D Jackson Excellence in Graduate Physics Education Awardee

Chandralekha Singh Named 2024 John David Jackson Excellence in Graduate Physics Education Awardee

Chandralekha Singh

The American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) has announced that the John David Jackson Excellence in Graduate Physics Education Award for 2024 will be awarded to Chandralekha Singh, Distinguished Professor of Physics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This award will be presented at the 2024 Summer Meeting of the AAPT to be held in Boston, MA on July 6-10. The John David Jackson Award for Excellence in Graduate Physics Education is presented to physicists and physics educators who, like John David Jackson after whom the award is named, have made outstanding contributions to curriculum development, mentorship, or classroom teaching in graduate physics education.

Singh is recognized for education research work that has profoundly impacted graduate physics education and scholarship in support of graduate physics education at the national and international level, born from her own prolific demonstration of skilled teaching and mentoring practices.

Singh earned her B.S. and M.S. in Physics at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur and her M.A. and Ph.D. in Physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

A Life Member of AAPT, Singh has served as a member of the various AAPT Committees, e.g., Committee on International Physics Education, Committee on Graduate Education in Physics, Committee on Women in Physics, Committee on Science Education for the Public and the Programs Committee. Her work in physics education research has produced high quality papers that have been published in journals such as the American Journal of Physics, Physics Today, and Physical Review. Singh co-edited three Physics Education Research Conference (PERC) proceedings and the May 2010 theme issue of American Journal of Physics focusing on the Gordon Conference on Experimental Research and Labs in Physics Education.

Elected to the Presidential chain of AAPT in 2018, she served as Vice-President, President-elect, President, and Past-President through 2022. As part of those roles she served as Chair of AAPT committees: Governance Structure, Review Board Committee, and Awards Committee. She was co-organizer of the first National Conference for all of the Past US Team Members to the International Conferences on Women in Physics, Provo (2019), and Chair, Program Committee, Summer AAPT National Meeting, Provo (2019), the Winter AAPT National Meeting, Houston (2019).

Regarding her selection to receive this award Singh commented. “I am truly honored and humbled to get this award. I have been a member of AAPT since the late nineties and I am incredibly grateful to AAPT for providing this stimulating community of educators who are passionate about improving the teaching and learning of physics at all levels.”

Singh’s pioneering research in the teaching and learning of quantum mechanics has played a significant role in advancing physics education research in advanced courses. In addition to educational research in advanced courses, she has conducted research on cognitive issues in learning physics, improving student problem solving and reasoning skills as well as improving equity and inclusion in physics learning environments. For a decade, she conducted workshops at the national AAPT meetings on “What every physics teacher should know about cognitive research” and on “Strategies to help women succeed in physics related professions.” She has conducted workshops at the national and regional AAPT meetings on “Research-based approaches to improving student understanding of Quantum Physics.” Singh has conducted workshops on teaching quantum mechanics during New Faculty workshops. She is also the co-organizer of the first conference on Graduate Education in Physics and chair of the second conference on Graduate Education in Physics.

About the Award
Named in honor of outstanding physicist and teacher, John David Jackson, this award recognizes physicists and physics educators who, like John David Jackson, have made outstanding contributions to curriculum development, mentorship, or classroom teaching in graduate physics education. This award recognizes that great teaching CAN be done and should be expected of great scientists at leading institutions, not only from people whose primary or entire focus is on teaching. Previous winners of this award are Mehran Kardar, David Pines, Kip Thorne, and Eugene Commins. Additional information about the award is available at http://www.aapt.org/Programs/awards/jackson.cfm.

About AAPT
AAPT is an international organization for physics educators, physicists, and industrial scientists—with members worldwide. Dedicated to enhancing the understanding and appreciation of physics through teaching, AAPT provides awards, publications, and programs that encourage practical application of physics principles, support continuing professional development, and reward excellence in physics education. AAPT was founded in 1930 and is headquartered in the American Center for Physics in College Park, Maryland.