Oersted Medal
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The Oersted Medal recognizes notable contributions to the
teaching Teaching is the practice implemented by a ''teacher'' aimed at transmitting skills (knowledge, know-how, and interpersonal skills) to a learner, a student, or any other audience in the context of an educational institution. Teaching is closely re ...
of
physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
. Established in 1936, it is awarded by the
American Association of Physics Teachers The American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) was founded in 1930 for the purpose of "dissemination of knowledge of physics, particularly by way of teaching." There are more than 10,000 members in over 30 countries. AAPT publications includ ...
. The award is named for
Hans Christian Ørsted Hans Christian Ørsted ( , ; often rendered Oersted in English; 14 August 17779 March 1851) was a Danish physicist and chemist who discovered that electric currents create magnetic fields, which was the first connection found between electricity ...
. It is the Association's most prestigious award. Hans Christian Ørsted Well-known recipients include
Nobel laureates The Nobel Prizes ( sv, Nobelpriset, no, Nobelprisen) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make ou ...
Robert Andrews Millikan Robert Andrews Millikan (March 22, 1868 – December 19, 1953) was an American experimental physicist honored with the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1923 for the measurement of the elementary electric charge and for his work on the photoelectric e ...
,
Edward M. Purcell Edward Mills Purcell (August 30, 1912 – March 7, 1997) was an American physicist who shared the 1952 Nobel Prize for Physics for his independent discovery (published 1946) of nuclear magnetic resonance in liquids and in solids. Nuclear magne ...
,
Richard Feynman Richard Phillips Feynman (; May 11, 1918 – February 15, 1988) was an American theoretical physicist, known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics, the physics of the superflu ...
,
Isidor I. Rabi Isidor Isaac Rabi (; born Israel Isaac Rabi, July 29, 1898 – January 11, 1988) was an American physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1944 for his discovery of nuclear magnetic resonance, which is used in magnetic resonance im ...
, Norman F. Ramsey,
Hans Bethe Hans Albrecht Bethe (; July 2, 1906 – March 6, 2005) was a German-American theoretical physicist who made major contributions to nuclear physics, astrophysics, quantum electrodynamics, and solid-state physics, and who won the 1967 Nobel ...
, and
Carl Wieman Carl Edwin Wieman (born March 26, 1951) is an American physicist and educationist at Stanford University, and currently the A.D White Professor at Large at Cornell University. In 1995, while at the University of Colorado Boulder, he and Eric All ...
; as well as
Arnold Sommerfeld Arnold Johannes Wilhelm Sommerfeld, (; 5 December 1868 – 26 April 1951) was a German theoretical physicist who pioneered developments in atomic and quantum physics, and also educated and mentored many students for the new era of theoretica ...
,
George Uhlenbeck George Eugene Uhlenbeck (December 6, 1900 – October 31, 1988) was a Dutch-American theoretical physicist. Background and education George Uhlenbeck was the son of Eugenius and Anne Beeger Uhlenbeck. He attended the Hogere Burgerschool (High S ...
,
Jerrold Zacharias Jerrold Reinach Zacharias (January 23, 1905 – July 16, 1986) was an American physicist and Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as an education reformer. His scientific work was in the area of nuclear physics ...
,
Philip Morrison Philip Morrison (November 7, 1915 – April 22, 2005) was a professor of physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He is known for his work on the Manhattan Project during World War II, and for his later work in quantum physi ...
,
Melba Phillips Melba Newell Phillips (February 1, 1907 – November 8, 2004) was an American physicist and pioneer science educator. One of the first doctoral students of J. Robert Oppenheimer at the University of California, Berkeley, Phillips completed her Ph. ...
,
Victor Weisskopf Victor Frederick "Viki" Weisskopf (also spelled Viktor; September 19, 1908 – April 22, 2002) was an Austrian-born American theoretical physicist. He did postdoctoral work with Werner Heisenberg, Erwin Schrödinger, Wolfgang Pauli, and Niels Boh ...
,
Gerald Holton Gerald James Holton (born May 23, 1922) is an American physicist, historian of science, and educator, whose professional interests also include philosophy of science and the fostering of careers of young men and women. He is Mallinckrodt Profes ...
,
John A. Wheeler John Archibald Wheeler (July 9, 1911April 13, 2008) was an American theoretical physicist. He was largely responsible for reviving interest in general relativity in the United States after World War II. Wheeler also worked with Niels Bohr in e ...
,
Frank Oppenheimer Frank Friedman Oppenheimer (August 14, 1912 – February 3, 1985) was an American particle physicist, cattle rancher, professor of physics at the University of Colorado, and the founder of the Exploratorium in San Francisco. A younger brother ...
,
Robert Resnick Robert Resnick (January 11, 1923 – January 29, 2014) was a physics educator and author of physics textbooks. He was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on January 11, 1923"Robert Resnick." ''Marquis Who's Who''. Marquis Who's Who, 2008. Reproduced in ...
,
Carl Sagan Carl Edward Sagan (; ; November 9, 1934December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, planetary scientist, cosmologist, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, author, and science communicator. His best known scientific contribution is research on ext ...
,
Freeman Dyson Freeman John Dyson (15 December 1923 – 28 February 2020) was an English-American theoretical physicist and mathematician known for his works in quantum field theory, astrophysics, random matrices, mathematical formulation of quantum m ...
,
Daniel Kleppner Daniel Kleppner, born 1932, is the Lester Wolfe Professor Emeritus of Physics at MIT and co-director of the MIT-Harvard Center for Ultracold Atoms. His areas of science include Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics, and his research interest ...
, and
Lawrence Krauss Lawrence Maxwell Krauss (born May 27, 1954) is an American theoretical physicist and cosmologist who previously taught at Arizona State University, Yale University, and Case Western Reserve University. He founded ASU's Origins Project, now cal ...
, and
Anthony French Anthony Philip French (November 19, 1920 – February 3, 2017) was a British professor of physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was born in Brighton, England. French was a graduate of Cambridge University, receiving his ...
,
David Hestenes David Orlin Hestenes (born May 21, 1933) is a theoretical physicist and science educator. He is best known as chief architect of geometric algebra as a unified language for mathematics and physics, and as founder of Modelling Instructio ...
,
Robert Karplus Robert Karplus (February 23, 1927 – March 20, 1990) was a theoretical physicist and leader in the field of science education. Early life Robert Karplus was born in Vienna, where he lived until the German occupation of Austria in 1938. He emigrate ...
,
Robert Pohl Robert Wichard Pohl (10 August 1884 – 5 June 1976) was a German physicist at the University of Göttingen. Nevill Francis Mott described him as the "father of solid state physics". See also: "Components of the solid state", Nevill Mott, New Sci ...
, and
Francis Sears Francis Weston Sears (October 1, 1898 – November 12, 1975) was an American physicist. He was a professor of physics at MIT for 35 years before moving to Dartmouth College in 1956. At Dartmouth, Sears was the Appleton Professor of Physics. He i ...
. The 2008 medalist,
Mildred S. Dresselhaus Mildred Dresselhaus''Mildred Dresselhaus'' was elected in 1974
, is the third woman to win the award in its 70-plus-year history.


Medalists

* William Suddards Franklin – 1936 *
Edwin Herbert Hall Edwin Herbert Hall (November 7, 1855 – November 20, 1938) was an American physicist, who discovered the eponymous Hall effect. Hall conducted thermoelectric research and also wrote numerous physics textbooks and laboratory manuals. Biograp ...
– 1937 * Alexander Wilmer Duff – 1938 * Benjamin Harrison Brown – 1939 *
Robert Andrews Millikan Robert Andrews Millikan (March 22, 1868 – December 19, 1953) was an American experimental physicist honored with the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1923 for the measurement of the elementary electric charge and for his work on the photoelectric e ...
– 1940 * Henry Crew – 1941 * ''not awarded in 1942'' * George Walter Stewart – 1943 * Roland Roy Tileston – 1944 * Homer Levi Dodge – 1945 * Ray Lee Edwards – 1946 * Duane Roller – 1947 * William Harley Barber – 1948 *
Arnold Sommerfeld Arnold Johannes Wilhelm Sommerfeld, (; 5 December 1868 – 26 April 1951) was a German theoretical physicist who pioneered developments in atomic and quantum physics, and also educated and mentored many students for the new era of theoretica ...
– 1949 * Orrin H. Smith – 1950 * John Wesley Hornbeck – 1951 * Ansel A. Knowlton – 1952 * Richard M. Sutton – 1953 * Clifford N. Wall – 1954 * Vernet E. Eaton – 1955 * George E. Uhlenbeck – 1956 * Mark W. Zemansky – 1957 * Jay William Buchta – 1958 * Paul Kirkpatrick – 1959 * Robert W. Pohl – 1960 * Jerrold R. Zacharias – 1961 * Francis W. Sears – 1962 * Francis L. Friedman – 1963 * Walter Christian Michels – 1964 *
Philip Morrison Philip Morrison (November 7, 1915 – April 22, 2005) was a professor of physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He is known for his work on the Manhattan Project during World War II, and for his later work in quantum physi ...
– 1965 * Leonard I. Schiff – 1966 *
Edward M. Purcell Edward Mills Purcell (August 30, 1912 – March 7, 1997) was an American physicist who shared the 1952 Nobel Prize for Physics for his independent discovery (published 1946) of nuclear magnetic resonance in liquids and in solids. Nuclear magne ...
– 1967 * Harvey E. White – 1968 *
Eric M. Rogers Eric M. Rogers (15 August 1902 – 1 July 1990) was a British writer and physics educator. He wrote the 1960 textbook ''Physics for the Inquiring Mind''. The book, subtitled ''The Methods, Nature, and Philosophy of Physical Science'', was based on ...
– 1969 *
Edwin C. Kemble Edwin Crawford Kemble (January 28, 1889 in Delaware, Ohio – March 12, 1984) was an American physicist who made contributions to the theory of quantum mechanics and molecular structure and spectroscopy. During World War II, he was a consul ...
– 1970 * Uri Haber-Schaim – 1971 *
Richard P. Feynman Richard Phillips Feynman (; May 11, 1918 – February 15, 1988) was an American theoretical physicist, known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics, the physics of the superflu ...
– 1972 * Arnold Arons – 1973 * Melba N. Phillips – 1974 *
Robert Resnick Robert Resnick (January 11, 1923 – January 29, 2014) was a physics educator and author of physics textbooks. He was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on January 11, 1923"Robert Resnick." ''Marquis Who's Who''. Marquis Who's Who, 2008. Reproduced in ...
– 1975 *
Victor F. Weisskopf Victor Frederick "Viki" Weisskopf (also spelled Viktor; September 19, 1908 – April 22, 2002) was an Austrian-born American theoretical physicist. He did postdoctoral work with Werner Heisenberg, Erwin Schrödinger, Wolfgang Pauli, and Niels Boh ...
– 1976 * H. Richard Crane – 1977 * Wallace A. Hilton – 1978 *
Charles Kittel Charles Kittel (July 18, 1916 – May 15, 2019) was an American physicist. He was a professor at University of California, Berkeley from 1951 and was professor emeritus from 1978 until his death. Life and work Charles Kittel was born in New Yo ...
– 1979 * Paul E. Klopsteg – 1979, ''Extraordinary Oersted Medal Award'' *
Gerald Holton Gerald James Holton (born May 23, 1922) is an American physicist, historian of science, and educator, whose professional interests also include philosophy of science and the fostering of careers of young men and women. He is Mallinckrodt Profes ...
– 1980 *
Robert Karplus Robert Karplus (February 23, 1927 – March 20, 1990) was a theoretical physicist and leader in the field of science education. Early life Robert Karplus was born in Vienna, where he lived until the German occupation of Austria in 1938. He emigrate ...
– 1981 *
I. I. Rabi Isidor Isaac Rabi (; born Israel Isaac Rabi, July 29, 1898 – January 11, 1988) was an American physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1944 for his discovery of nuclear magnetic resonance, which is used in magnetic resonance ima ...
– 1982 *
John A. Wheeler John Archibald Wheeler (July 9, 1911April 13, 2008) was an American theoretical physicist. He was largely responsible for reviving interest in general relativity in the United States after World War II. Wheeler also worked with Niels Bohr in e ...
– 1983 *
Frank Oppenheimer Frank Friedman Oppenheimer (August 14, 1912 – February 3, 1985) was an American particle physicist, cattle rancher, professor of physics at the University of Colorado, and the founder of the Exploratorium in San Francisco. A younger brother ...
– 1984 *
Sam Treiman Sam Bard Treiman (; May 27, 1925 – November 30, 1999) was an American theoretical physicist who produced research in the fields of cosmic rays, quantum physics, plasma physics, and gravity physics. He made contributions to the understanding of ...
– 1985 * Stanley S. Ballard – 1986 * Clifford E. Swartz – 1987 * Norman F. Ramsey – 1988 * Anthony P. French – 1989 * Carl E. Sagan – 1990 *
Freeman Dyson Freeman John Dyson (15 December 1923 – 28 February 2020) was an English-American theoretical physicist and mathematician known for his works in quantum field theory, astrophysics, random matrices, mathematical formulation of quantum m ...
– 1991 * Eugen Merzbacher – 1992 * Hans A. Bethe – 1993 * E. Leonard Jossem – 1994 * Robert Beck Clark – 1995 * Donald F. Holcomb – 1996 *
Daniel Kleppner Daniel Kleppner, born 1932, is the Lester Wolfe Professor Emeritus of Physics at MIT and co-director of the MIT-Harvard Center for Ultracold Atoms. His areas of science include Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics, and his research interest ...
– 1997 * Edwin F. Taylor – 1998 * David L. Goodstein – 1999 * John G. King – 2000 * Lillian C. McDermott – 2001 *
David Hestenes David Orlin Hestenes (born May 21, 1933) is a theoretical physicist and science educator. He is best known as chief architect of geometric algebra as a unified language for mathematics and physics, and as founder of Modelling Instructio ...
– 2002 * Edward W. Kolb – 2003 *
Lawrence Krauss Lawrence Maxwell Krauss (born May 27, 1954) is an American theoretical physicist and cosmologist who previously taught at Arizona State University, Yale University, and Case Western Reserve University. He founded ASU's Origins Project, now cal ...
– 2004 * Eugene D. Commins – 2005 *
Kenneth W. Ford Kenneth William Ford (born May 1, 1926) is an American theoretical physicist, teacher, and writer, currently residing near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the first chair of the physics department at the University of California, Irvine, and l ...
– 2006 *
Carl Wieman Carl Edwin Wieman (born March 26, 1951) is an American physicist and educationist at Stanford University, and currently the A.D White Professor at Large at Cornell University. In 1995, while at the University of Colorado Boulder, he and Eric All ...
– 2007 *
Mildred S. Dresselhaus Mildred Dresselhaus''Mildred Dresselhaus'' was elected in 1974
– 2008 *
George Smoot George Fitzgerald Smoot III (born February 20, 1945) is an American astrophysicist, cosmologist, Nobel laureate, and the 2nd contestant to win the $1 million prize on '' Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?''. He won the Nobel Prize in Physics i ...
– 2009 * ''Not Awarded'' – 2010 * F. James Rutherford – 2011 * Charles H. Holbrow – 2012 * Edward F. Redish – 2013 * Dean Zollman – 2014 * Karl C. Mamola – 2015 * John Winston Belcher – 2016 * Jan Tobochnik - 2017 * Barbara L. Whitten - 2018 * Gay Stewart - 2019 * David Sokoloff - 2020


See also

*
List of physics awards This list of physics awards is an index to articles about notable awards for physics. The list includes lists of awards by the American Physical Society of the United States, and of the Institute of Physics of the United Kingdom, followed by a lis ...


References

{{Reflist


External links


AAPT site
Physics education Physics awards Teacher awards Awards established in 1936 American education awards