The American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) has announced that Jill, A. Marshall, Ph.D. has assumed the role of AAPT President. Marshall, an associate professor in the Science and Mathematics Education group and Graduate Studies Committee Chair at the University of Texas, will serve as President in 2012, and Past President in 2013.

Gay Stewart will serve as President-Elect in 2012.

The President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology released a report today on undergraduate STEM education. One of the report's recommendations (1-1) focuses on STEM faculty workshops and recognizes (page 19) the Physics and Astronomy New Faculty Workshop, sponsored by AAPT/APS/AAS, as an example of how to train college and university faculty in enhanced teaching methods.

Graduating? Congratulations. Post your resume and search for a physics teaching position at http://careers.aapt.org/jobs/

AAPT wishes a happy holiday season to all.

An international team of astronomers using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope have found the fastest spinning star ever discovered.

The AAPT membership has elected the following to the AAPT Executive Board.

* Vice President -- Mary Beth Monroe, Southwest Texas Junior College, Uvalde, TX

* Two-Year College Member at Large -- Paul Williams, Austin Community College, Austin, TX

* Treasurer -- Paul Zitzewitz, University of Michigan, Dearborn, MI

They will begin their terms following the AAPT Winter Meeting, February 9, 2012. Please join us in welcoming them to the Board!

The registration for the 2012 F=MA Contest will open on November 1, 2011.

The registration for the Physics Bowl Contest will open on December 1, 2011.

December 1 is the application deadline for the following scholarships and grants:
-The Frederick and Florence Bauder Endowment for the Support of Physics Teaching (Bauder Fund)
-Barbara Lotze Scholarships for Future Teachers
-The High School Physics Teacher Grant

The post deadline for 2012 Winter Meeting abstracts is December 9.

AAPT has announced that Elizabeth Chesick will receive the association's Distinguished Service Citation during the 2012 Winter Meeting in Ontario, California.

AAPT has announced that Peter Hopkinson will be recognized with the association's Distinguished Service Citation during the 2012 Winter Meeting in Ontario, California.

AAPT has announced that Jan Tobochnik will be recognized with the association's Distinguished Service Citation during the 2012 Winter Meeting in Ontario, California.

The American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) announced today that Brian Greene, Ph.D., has been selected to receive The Richtmyer Memorial Lecture Award. Greene, is recognized with the Award for outstanding contributions to physics and effectively communicating those contributions to physics educators.

The American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) announced today that the 2012 AAPT John David Jackson Excellence in Graduate Physics Education Award winner is Kip Thorne. This prestigious award will be presented to Thorne at a Ceremonial Session of the 2012 AAPT Winter Meeting at the Ontario Convention Center in Ontario, CA.

For more than forty years Charles H. Holbrow has made significant and innovative contributions to physics education and physics research. The Oersted Medal, presented by the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT), recognizes these contributions by naming him as the 2012 recipient of this prestigious Medal.

Saul Perlmutter, Brian Schmidt, and Adam Reiss share the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery of the accelerating expansion of the universe through observations of distant supernovae.

The American Institute of Physics has made available free of charge a selection of research papers by these Nobel Laureates. To view any of these materials go to http://journals.aip.org/Nobel2011.html.

The American Physical Society (APS), in coordination with the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) and the APS Forum on Education (APS FEd), is conducting a search for a successor to the current Editor of Physical Review Special Topics - Physics Education Research (PRST-PER).

The initial appointment is for three years with renewal possible after review. Salary is negotiable. The desired starting date is 1 January 2012. The APS is an equal employment opportunity employer and specially encourages applications from or nominations of women and minorities. The search is not limited to residents of the United States. Inquiries, nominations, and applications should be sent by 15 November 2011 to: Paula Heron, Search Committee Chair, edsearch-per@aps.org.

AAPT has joined a growing multi-sector movement currently composed of more than 80 partners committed to working to recruit, develop, and retain 100,000 excellent STEM teachers over the coming 10 years. The movement is being led by Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Opportunity Equation.

AAPT today received the GuideStar Exchange Seal, a leading symbol of transparency and accountability provided by GuideStar USA, Inc., the premier source of nonprofit information.

A major physics announcement out of CERN was broadcast on September 23. The OPERA experiment at Gran Sasso has detected neutrinos that may travel faster than the speed of light. This may be one of the most important and surprising physics developments in over a hundred years. For more see http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15017484.

Robert Beichner, Professor of Physics at North Carolina State University was one of three winners of the 2011 Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education..

The 2011 winners are being honored for pioneering digital education approaches. As part of the award Beichner collaborated with the other prize winners, Mitchel Resnick and Julie Young, to author a white paper citing how education technology can cultivate human connections. With an introduction by Dr. Steven Paine, vice president of CTB/McGraw-Hill and the former State Superintendent of Schools in West Virginia, the paper draws on the collective insights and perspectives of the Prize winners spanning across elementary, secondary and post-secondary education.

A few months after September 11, 2001 the Director of the National Science Foundation, Rita Colwell, delivered a speech to the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars entitled "Science: Before and After September 11".

The election of officers for Executive Board service beginning in 2012 will begin on September 19, 2011. Instructions on how to access the ballot and vote in this electronic election will arrive via your email box. If you don't have an email address, watch the mail for instructions on how to vote electronically! The candidate information is now online.

Nominations are open for the 2013 election. Information on positions up for the 2013 election, including a link to the Nomination Form, is available at http://aapt.org/aboutaapt/nominate.cfm.

The American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) announced today that Robert "Bob" C. Hilborn, Ph.D., has joined the National Office as Associate Executive Officer. In this role, Dr. Hilborn will work closely with Dr. Beth Cunningham, Executive Officer, to support AAPT's educational programs.

The traveling members of the US Physics team competed with 393 of the most talented young physicists on the global stage, representing 84 countries, during the 42nd International Physics Olympiad and they brought home two gold and three silver medals. The Olympiad, held July 10-17, was sponsored by the Promotion of Academic Olympiads and Development of Science Education Foundation (POSN), under the patronage of Her Royal Highness Princess Galyani Vadhana Krom Luang Naradhiwas Rajanagarindra, and Chulalongkorn University (CU), in Bangkok, Thailand.

AAPT joined over 140 organizations and universities in signing a AAAS letter that went to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee urging "strong support for the federal research and development budget of the National Science Foundation (NSF), and its mission to advance research across a broad spectrum of disciplines, research that has fueled American economic growth for decades." Copies were also sent to all members of the House Appropriations Committee.

See the letter and the story.

The US Physics Team is in Thailand at the International Physics Olympiad. The IPhO2011 Opening and Closing Ceremonies will be streamed live on the official website. Watch these events:

Opening Ceremony: Monday 11 July 2011 at 10.00 hrs local time (GMT+7) which is Sunday, July 10, 2011 at 11:00:00 PM (EDT).

Closing Ceremony: Sunday 17 July 2011 at 17.00 hrs local time (GMT+7) which is Sunday, July 17, 2011 at 6:00:00 AM (EDT).

AAPT has announced that David P. Jackson will assume the position of Editor for the American Journal of Physics in 2012.

AAPT is currently advertising for an Associate Executive Officer. The candidate will be involved with many aspects of AAPT including many of the grant funded programs (the New Faculty Workshop, ComPADRE, PhysTEC, etc.), monitoring state and federal policies that affect STEM education to alert membership about important legislation, communicating with appropriate bodies about AAPT's priorities on education issues, raising funds for existing and new programs, serving as AAPT's representative to other science and education associations as well as a number of other responsibilities. The position description is available on the AAPT Careers website.

In 1949 Enrico Fermi was asked to select items for a time capsule. The capsule was housed in the Research Institute at University of Chicago where Fermi worked after World War II. The time capsule has now been opened. Can you guess what was found inside the capsule?

The 2011 US Physics Team Travelers were announced as training camp came to an end. The team members who will represent the team in Bangkok, Thailand at the 42nd International Physics Olympiad are Lucy Chen, Andrew Das Sarma, Ante Qu, Eric Spieglan, and Brian Zhang with coaches Paul Stanley and Warren Turner. Read the press release.

The 2011 PhysicsBowl winners have been posted at http://aapt.org/Programs/contests/physicsbowl.cfm. Congratulations to the top students, teams, and teachers.

The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair is the world's largest international pre-college celebration of science. The 2011 Fair was held in Los Angeles and included 1,543 student Finalists who competed for over $4 million in total awards. The Finalists came from affiliate fairs in 65 countries, regions, and territories. AAPT and APS have been active participants in ISEF for many years, sponsoring prizes and providing judges.

The AAPT/APS First Place Winner, Yimeng Shi from Beijing, China, and Honorable Mention Awardee, Benjamin Mathias Clark from Millersville, PA, were also Grand Prize Winners in this year's fair.

The members of the 2011 US Physics Team have been selected.

Hubble 21st Anniversary Photo

Awards to be presented during the AAPT Summer Meeting:
James E. Hansen - Klopsteg Memorial Award
Brian Jones - Millikan Medal
Edward Prather - Halliday and Resnick Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Physics Teaching
Stacy McCormack - Zitzewitz Award for Excellence in Pre-College Teaching
Andrew Isola - Distinguished Service Citation
Todd Leif - Distinguished Service Citation
John Roeder - Distinguished Service Citation
Steven Turley - Distinguished Service Citation

At its November meeting, the American Physical Society Council elected to Fellowship five members of AAPT. Congratulations to Bruce Mason, John Mateja, Jose Mestre, David Van Baak, and Gary White.

Dr. Beth Cunningham is participating in the WIP conference in South Africa. Follow her blog at http://bethacunningham.wordpress.com/

For useful up-to-date information on the Fukushima nuclear power plant and other technical information see the following links: http://mitnse.com/, http://ansnuclearcafe.org/, and http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/.

The American Physical Society announced that the AAPT Physics Teaching Resource Agents Program has been awarded the 2011 Excellence in Physics Education Award. George Amann, Lawrence Bader, Robert Clark, Jan Mader, Karen Jo Matsler, and Jim Nelson have been invited to represent PTRA and receive the award during the April 2011 APS meeting.

AAPT joined other leaders in the scientific community in writing a letter of opposition to the House continuing resolution for FY2011 (H.R. 1) that would make deep cuts to the budgets of science agencies. AAPT members are urged to take action by contacting their Congressional representatives.

The American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) has announced that an endowment has been established for the Excellence in Pre-college Teaching Award through a generous gift from Paul W. and Barbara S. Zitzewitz.

The American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) has announced that David R. Sokoloff, Ph.D. has assumed the role of AAPT President. Sokoloff, Professor of Physics, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, will serve as President in 2011, and Past President in 2012.

During the Presidential Transfer ceremony at the AAPT 2011 Winter Meeting in Jacksonville, FL, David M. Cook reported on the accomplishments of the Association during his term as President.

Dr. Cunningham was introduced by former President, Lila Adair, at the beginning of the first plenary session of the 2011 Winter meeting. The full text of Dr. Cunningham's remarks is addressed to all AAPT members.

Dr. Cunningham's Opening Remarks