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Beth Parks to be Next Editor of the American Journal of Physics

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Mary Elizabeth The American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) announced that Beth Parks will assume the position of Editor for the American Journal of Physics (AJP) September 1, 2020.

Eugenia Ektina, Search Committee Chair, shared that the members of the committee "are very excited to have been able to select AAPT's first female journal editor from such a strong pool of highly qualified applicants".

Parks’s education includes an A.B. from Princeton University and a Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley, and she held a post-doctoral research appointment at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is currently Associate Professor of Physics at Colgate University, where she has also served as department chair. Additionally, she holds an appointment as a Visiting Professor at the Mbarara University of Science and Technology, where she was a Fulbright Scholar in 2015-16 and has supervised several undergraduate, master’s and Ph.D. theses. Her teaching spans the undergraduate physics curriculum, and also includes courses for non-majors such as Energy and Sustainability. Before beginning graduate school, she taught at the high school level and is currently a PhysTEC fellow, working to increase the number of students becoming certified to teach high school physics. 

The recipient of many grants, Parks is a frequent presenter at conferences and author in some of the most prestigious physics journals such as Physical Review Letters and Physical Review B. She has co-authored a textbook, Modern Introductory Physics, that allows students to learn about some of the most exciting ideas in physics in their first semester at college.

Regarding her selection for the position, Parks noted that, "I began subscribing to the American Journal of Physics before completing my Ph.D., and as a beginning physics teacher, I eagerly searched the issues for ideas that would enhance my teaching. AJP has made me a better teacher and a more informed physicist, and I hope in the coming years it will continue to present articles that will inform, instruct, and delight.”

About the American Journal of Physics
The American Journal of Physics is devoted to the instructional and cultural aspects of physics. The journal informs physics education globally with member subscriptions, institutional subscriptions, such as libraries and physics departments, and consortia agreements. It is geared to an advanced audience, primarily at the college level. Contents include novel approaches to laboratory and classroom instruction, insightful articles on topics in classical and modern physics, apparatus and demonstration notes, historical or cultural topics, resource letters, research in physics education, and book reviews.

About AAPT
AAPT is the premier 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.