Joseph A. Giaime Recognized as 2027 Recipient of the Richtmyer Memorial Lecture Award

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

College Park, Maryland, United States, September 28, 2026—The American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) announced today that Joseph A. Giaime has been selected to receive the 2027 Richtmyer Memorial Lecture Award. Giaime currently serves as Professor of Physics and Astronomy, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA and Observatory Head, Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) in Livingston, Louisiana, which is operated by Caltech & MIT for the National Science Foundation (NSF). The award will be presented at a Ceremonial Session of the AAPT 2027 Winter Meeting.

Giaime is recognized “For his exceptional ability to communicate physics to broad and diverse audiences through public lectures, articles, and other media, for his tireless outreach efforts on behalf of the LIGO Science Education Center (LIGO SEC) Partnership, and for his leadership as Observatory Head, Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) in Livingston, Louisiana.”

Regarding his selection to receive this award Giaime said, “It has been a great privilege during the past two decades to lead the fine work of LIGO’s staff and its science education partners. The partnership, brought together by my LIGO predecessors and funded by the NSF, has reached hundreds of thousands of Louisianans, who have learned from hands-on exhibits, met working researchers, and learned about gravitational waves at a place where they were first observed. With partners at Southern University in Baton Rouge and the San Francisco Exploratorium, and close collaborators in Louisiana, we have brought LIGO science to teachers, undergraduate docents, and K–12 students in classroom fieldtrips. It is fitting to tell the young about some of the newest discoveries.”

Giaime completed his PhD at MIT in 1995, where his research focused on laser interferometer design and vibration isolation systems for interferometric gravitational wave detectors. He worked for three years at JILA/University of Colorado before going back to MIT to spend a year working on initial Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) installation. He then joined the faculty of Louisiana State University in 1999, where he now holds the position professor of physics and astronomy. With Caltech, he is currently the observatory head of the LIGO Livingston Observatory. Giaime was elected a fellow of the American Physical Society in 2009 for his contributions to gravitational wave physics, in particular key aspects of LIGO, and became a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 2023. LSU named him a distinguished research master in 2020. He has been a member of the American Astronomical Society (AAS), the International Society on General Relativity & Gravitation (ISGRG), and the International Astronomical Union (IAU).

About the Award
The Richtmyer Memorial Lecture Award is given in memory of Floyd K. Richtmyer, distinguished physicist, teacher, and administrator. Professor Richtmyer was one of the founders of AAPT and served as its president. As a teacher, author, research worker, and dean, he was the guide for many young physicists who became leaders of American science and has had a wide influence on the development of physics in the United States. The award has been given since 1941 to a person who has made outstanding contributions to physics and effectively communicated those contributions to physics educators.

About AAPT
The American Association of Physics Teachers (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.

For more information contact David Wolfe, Director of Communications, dwolfe@aapt.org, (301) 209-3327, (301) 209-0845 (Fax), www.aapt.org.