Sam Sampere Honored for Outstanding Contributions with the AAPT Distinguished Service Citation

For Immediate Release

Sam Sampere - PR Photo

College Park, MD, October 7, 2010—The American Association of Physics Teachers has announced the selection of Sam Sampere, a member of the physics department at Syracuse University, as a recipient of the AAPT Distinguished Service Citation. These prestigious awards are presented to AAPT members in recognition of their exceptional contributions to AAPT at the national, sectional or local level.

Sampere earned his B.S. at LeMoyne College and his M.S. at State University of New York- Binghamton. For the last 16 years, he has been the Demonstration and Laboratory Manager at Syracuse University. He is also an Adjunct Physics Instructor at LeMoyne College, and manages the Syracuse University Surface Imaging Laboratory.

A member of AAPT since 1995, Sampere has been Co-leader or presenter of Lecture Demonstration Workshops (1996-pres.), emcee of numerous AAPT Demonstration Shows, host of the Summer Meeting (2006), and served as an Apparatus Competition judge. He has served as Chair of Committee on Apparatus (2008-09), as a member of the Committee on Apparatus (2007-08), Nomination Committee (2002-03), Committee on Laboratories (2001-02), and the Bauder Fund Committee (2001).

He is also a member of PIRA, which includes a term as President from 2005-06, and vice president of the New York State Section AAPT. Additionally, Sampere is Co-organizer of the Syracuse University Saturday Morning High School Physics Teacher Workshops. He was awarded a Physics 2005 Outreach grant.

About AAPT

AAPT is an international organization for physics educators, physicists, and industrial scientists—with more than 10,000 members worldwide. Dedicated to enhancing the understanding and appreciation of physics through teaching, AAPT provides awards, publications, and programs that encourage teaching 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.

For more information: Contact Marilyn Gardner, Director of Communications, mgardner@aapt.org, (301) 209-3306, (301) 209-0845 (Fax), www.aapt.org.