Barbara Lu Whitten (also published as Barbara Lu Whitten Wolfe) is a retired American physics educator and professor emerita of physics at Colorado College. [1] She is known for encouraging women in physics, for studying the factors that lead to the success of women in physics, and for promoting inclusive teaching strategies in physics; she has also worked in computational environmental physics. [2]
Whitten "fell madly in love" with physics at age 16, [3] and graduated from Carleton College in 1968. [1] She received a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Rochester in 1977, [3] with the dissertation On Mechanical Quantum Measuring Processes, supervised by Gérard G. Emch. [4] Her doctoral research applied algebraic statistical mechanics to computational atomic physics, [3] [1] a combination of topics she continued to study for many years. [3]
After teaching at Miami University and working as a researcher at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, [2] she joined the Physics Department at Colorado College as the first woman in its faculty. She retired in 2017. [1]
Whitten is the 2018 recipient of the Oersted Medal of the American Association of Physics Teachers. [2]
Carl Edwin Wieman 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 Allin Cornell produced the first true Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC) and, in 2001, they and Wolfgang Ketterle were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics. Wieman currently holds a joint appointment as Professor of Physics and Professor in the Stanford Graduate School of Education, as well as the DRC Professor in the Stanford University School of Engineering. In 2020, Wieman was awarded the Yidan Prize in Education Research for "his contribution in developing new techniques and tools in STEM education".
The Oersted Medal recognizes notable contributions to the teaching of physics. Established in 1936, it is awarded by the American Association of Physics Teachers. The award is named for Hans Christian Ørsted. It is the Association's most prestigious award.
George Eugene Uhlenbeck was a Dutch-American theoretical physicist, known for his significant contributions to quantum mechanics and statistical mechanics. He is most famous for co-developing the concept of electron spin, alongside Samuel Goudsmit, in 1925. The formalization of Langevin equation for the Brownian motion as a stochastic process, is known as the Ornstein–Uhlenbeck process, derived in 1930 from his work with Leonard Ornstein.
David Louis Goodstein was an American physicist and educator. From 1988 to 2007 he served as Vice-provost of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), where he was also a professor of physics and applied physics, as well as the Frank J. Gilloon Distinguished Teaching and Service Professor.
Melba Newell Phillips was an American physicist and a pioneer science educator. One of the first doctoral students of J. Robert Oppenheimer at the University of California, Berkeley, Phillips completed her PhD in 1933, a time when few women could pursue careers in science. In 1935, Oppenheimer and Phillips published their description of the Oppenheimer–Phillips process, an early contribution to nuclear physics that explained the behavior of accelerated nuclei of radioactive hydrogen atoms. Phillips was also known for her refusal to cooperate with a U.S. Senate judiciary subcommittee's investigation on internal security during the McCarthy era which led to her dismissal from her professorship at Brooklyn College, where she was a professor of science from 1938 until 1952.
Mildred Dresselhaus, known as the "Queen of Carbon Science", was an American physicist, materials scientist, and nanotechnologist. She was an institute professor and professor of both physics and electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She also served as the president of the American Physical Society, the chair of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, as well as the director of science in the US Department of Energy under the Bill Clinton Government. Dresselhaus won numerous awards including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the National Medal of Science, the Enrico Fermi Award, the Kavli Prize and the Vannevar Bush Award.
Anthony Philip French was a British physicist. At the time of his death he was professor emeritus of physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Robert Resnick was a physics educator and author of physics textbooks.
Eugen Merzbacher was an American physicist.
Esther Marley Conwell was a pioneering American chemist and physicist, best known for the Conwell-Weisskopf theory that describes how electrons travel through semiconductors, a breakthrough that helped revolutionize modern computing. During her life, she was described as one of the most important women in science.
Edwin Floriman Taylor is an American physicist known for his contributions to the teaching of physics. Taylor was editor of the American Journal of Physics, and is author of several introductory books to physics. In 1998 he was awarded the Oersted Medal for his contributions to the teaching of physics.
Angela K. Wilson is an American scientist and former (2022) President of the American Chemical Society. She currently serves as the John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, associate dean for strategic initiatives in the College of Natural Sciences, and director of the MSU Center for Quantum Computing, Science, and Engineering (MSU-Q) at Michigan State University.
Mary Lura Sherrill was recognized for her achievements in chemical research, particularly the synthesis of antimalarial compounds, and for her teaching at Mount Holyoke College. In 1947, she received the Garvan Medal, an award for women in chemistry.
Robert Frederick Tinker was an American physicist, science educator, and education technology innovator, who pioneered constructivist approaches to education, particularly novel uses of educational technology in science. He is known for leading the initiation of probeware for education. He was also the creator, with Monica Bradsher of the National Geographic Society, of the first global kids online science network, the National Geographic Kids Network,. He created one of the first virtual high schools, working with Dr. Shelley Berman, then Principal of Hudson Schools in Massachusetts. He served as a co-founder and president of the Concord Consortium from 1994 to 2009.
Geraldine Lee Richmond is an American chemist and physical chemist who is serving as the Under Secretary of Energy for Science in the US Department of Energy. Richmond was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate to her role on November 5, 2021. In this position, she oversees the Office of Science, the Applied Energy offices, and 13 of the 17 Department of Energy national laboratories. Before this appointment, Richmond served as a Professor of Physical Chemistry and held the Presidential Chair in Science at the University of Oregon. Her research has focused on understanding the chemistry and physics of complex surfaces and interfaces, using laser-based experimental and theoretical computational methods. These understandings are most relevant to energy production, atmospheric chemistry and remediation of the environment. Throughout her career she has also worked to increase the number and success of women scientists in the U.S. and in many developing countries through the COACh program that she founded in 1999. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In recognition of her scientific achievements and contributions to women in science, she received the National Medal of Science from President Obama in 2013.
Claudia Maria Neuhauser is a mathematician whose research focuses on mathematical biology and spatial ecology. She also investigates computational biology and bioinformatics. Neuhauser is currently Vice President/Vice Chancellor for Research at the University of Houston, where she has been employed since 2018.
Donald Frank Holcomb was an American physicist.
Barbara Ann Williams is an American radio astronomer who was the first African-American woman to earn a PhD in astronomy. Her research largely focused on compact galaxy groups, in particular observations of their emissions in the H I region in order to build up a larger scale picture of the structure and evolution of galaxies. Williams was named as the Outstanding Young Woman of America in 1986. She is a retired associate professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Delaware.
Gay Bernadette Stewart is an American physics educator who directs the West Virginia University Center for Excellence in STEM Education, where she is a professor of physics and Eberly Professor of STEM Education. She is a former president of the American Association of Physics Teachers.
Mabel Augusta Chase was an American physicist and university professor.