NC State’s Beichner Honored With UNC System Teaching Award

Dr. Robert J. Beichner, Alumni Distinguished Undergraduate Professor of Physics at North Carolina State University and founding director of the STEM Education Initiative, has been honored with an Award for Excellence in Teaching from the University of North Carolina (UNC) Board of Governors.

One educator from each UNC system campus wins the award, which comes with a prize of $7,500 and a bronze medallion.

The Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching is the most prestigious award given to faculty for teaching excellence and was created in 1994 to underscore the importance of teaching and encourage, recognize and reward outstanding teaching. Nominees for the award must be tenured professors who have spent at least seven years at the nominating institutions and who have “demonstrated excellent or exceptional teaching ability over a sustained period of time.”

Beichner joined the NC State faculty in 1992. His research focuses on increasing our understanding of student learning and the improvement of physics education. Working from a base of National Science Foundation and computer industry support, Beichner developed the popular “video-based lab” approach for introductory physics laboratories. His biggest current project is the creation and study of a learning environment supporting a new way to teach called SCALE-UP: Student-Centered Activities for Large Enrollment Undergraduate Programs. The approach is currently being adopted at more than 100 universities around the world. The SCALE-UP project is part of Beichner’s efforts to reform physics instruction at a national level.

“I’ve been fortunate to work in an environment and with people who encourage and often inspire my best efforts at teaching, research and service,” Beichner says. “As the world around us changes, and with technology putting information at our fingertips and global markets challenging America’s traditional economic leadership, it is important that higher education adapts and helps the nation’s workforce keep pace. I’m proud that NC State is taking on today’s challenges and making a difference in the world around us.”

Beichner earned his undergraduate degrees in physics and mathematics from Pennsylvania State University, his master’s degree in physics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his doctoral degree in science education from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

-barnhill-