Ryan Bowns-Kamphuis Received Robert L. Lipton Memorial Award

College Park, MD, February 4, 2026—Ryan Bowns-Kamphuis is the recipient of the 2026 Robert L. Lipton Memorial Award. The award was presented by the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) at the AAPT 2026 Winter Meeting in Las Vegas, NV.

Bowns-Kamphuis is Physics Teacher and Robotics Co-Coach at Wolcott College Preparatory High School in Chicago, IL.

"I'm incredibly grateful to have received this award and proud of the faith in my professional practice that it represents", he said regarding this honor. "Through this investment in my career and the quality of physics instruction I can provide, I hope to not only have a positive effect on my students and their learning of physics, but also on the broader physics education community in Chicago and the Chicagoland region.

I am most looking forward to the opportunity to network and connect with other educators and researchers who are doing work at the intersection of physics education and learning differences. As a physics teacher at a school that only serves students with learning differences, I have quickly become aware at how little research has been done about physics-specific pedagogy for students with learning differences. However, in preparation for the Winter Meeting, I met physics education researchers specifically exploring this field. The opportunity to connect with these researchers, learn from them, and potentially partner with them to not only improve what I'm able to do with my students but to also help improve the quality of physics education for neurodiverse learners is really exciting.

Just two years ago, I wasn't sure if I would ever teach physics again. After teaching physics in Chicago Public Schools for seven years, I left the field after feeling unsupported, unappreciated, and burnt out. Finding AAPT helped reinvigorate my love of physics teaching and improving my practice. It shows me that there are other teachers out there who feel the same way I do, and broader communities of supportive educators I can connect with and collaborate with. There are so many reasons why physics teaching is hard, just as there are many ways it is rewarding. Getting involved in AAPT has helped mitigate those challenging experiences and increase the frequency of those rewarding experiences."

About the Award
Robert L. Lipton, served as Assistant Director of High School Science Programs for the New York City Public Schools from 1960 –1975, covering approximately 100 high schools. In this role he supervised numerous teams of teachers developing science curriculum projects. He coordinated the citywide Science Fairs for high school students, and developed guidelines for participants. He often accompanied local Science Fair winners as they competed on state and national levels.

This fund is intended to help physics teachers new to teaching high school physics whether they recently graduated with teaching credentials, crossed over from another subject area, or changed careers. Grantees receive funding to two AAPT National Meetings.

About AAPT
AAPT is the premier professional society established to advance the greater good through physics education. With the support of members worldwide, AAPT is an action-oriented organization designed to develop, improve, and promote best practices for physics education as part of the global need for qualified Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics teachers who will inspire tomorrow's leaders and decision makers. AAPT was founded in 1930 and is headquartered in the American Center for Physics in College Park, Maryland.

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