International Commission on Physics Education (ICPE) Newsletter, Issue 77

1 of 31 View this email in your browser !Number 77, May 2025 Chair’s Corner: Welcome to the first issue of the C14 Newsletter for the 2025-2027 term. Commissioners have kicked oS with a joint poster for the upcoming GIREP meeting and are keen to share information about IUPAP and C14 at various conferences and events.X We have met online once, and are meeting again late May to converge on key activities as we move forward. Watch this space for updates on where we are headed. We invite you to engage with us, C14 and IUPAP.XX I have great pleasure in introducing my team. Angela, Cristiano, Nam-Hwa and Arun were with us for the last term. As usual, we have depth and global coverage, a unique feature of C14. Read on for bios of the Commissioners. Elizabeth, Editor of our Newsletter deserves a special mention. Please send snapshots, images and stories of what is happening to be included. C14 Commission on Physics Education – 2025 to 2027 Role Name Institution Count ry Manjula D. Austral 2 of 31 Chair Sharma The University of Sydney ia Vice-Chair Angela Fösel Friedrich-AlexanderUniversität ErlangenNürnberg Germa ny Secretary Cristiano Mattos University of São Paulo Brazil Member Nam-Hwa Kang Korea National University of Education, Seoul South Korea Member Arun Kumar Grover Panjab University India Member Marián Kireš University of Pavol Jozef Šafárik, Košice, Slovakia Slovak Republ ic Member Anna Danielsson Stockholm University Swede n Member Marisa Michelini University of Udine Italy Member Sachiko Tosa Niigata University Japan Member Monika Stachura TRIUMF, Vancouver Canad a Member Andreas Müller University of Geneva Switze rland Member Nicolas Labrosse University of Glasgow Great Britain Member Geraldine L. Cochran The Ohio State University United States Member Cecilia Stari Universidad de la Urugu 3 of 31 República ay Associate Member, Editor, Newsletter Elizabeth Angstmann University of New South Wales Austral ia Associate Member, WG5 Rep Farida Fassi Mohammed V University in Rabat Moroc co Associate Member César Eduardo Mora Ley Instituto Politécnico Nacional Mexic o Outgoing Chair Tetyana Antimirova Toronto Metropolitan University Canad a Wishing you all the best manju Profiles of Commissioners: In this edition we will introduce the commissioners serving a first term from 2025-2027. Commissioners serving a second or subsequent term have been introduced in earlier newsletters and so will only be introduced briefly here. Professor Manjula Sharma The University of Sydney Australia Chair A leading science educator involved in school and university curriculum matters for several decades, Professor Sharma is the 4 of 31 current Chair of IUPAP Commission C14 on Physics Education. She is Director of the STEM Teacher Enrichment Academy, prior to which she led the Sydney University Physics Education Research (SUPER) group. With over 100 journal papers, she has co-founded the premier Australian Conference on Science and Mathematics Education (ACSME) and the International Journal of Innovation in Science and Mathematics Education (IJISME). Together with national awards and fellowships, she is a Principal Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy. Dr. Angela Fösel Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg Germany Vice-chair Photo: FAU/Giulia Iannicelli Dr. Angela Fösel completed her PhD in particle physics in 2000 at FriedrichAlexander-Universität (FAU) Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany. She is currently the Academic Director of the Section of Physics Education in the Department of Physics at FAU. Her academic journey began with studies in physics and mathematics from 1989 to 1995, originally with the goal of becoming a high school teacher in Germany. After two years of practical training, she paused to pursue doctoral studies. In 2000, she began her teaching career as a secondary school teacher of physics and mathematics in Eckental, Bavaria. Five years later, she returned 5 of 31 to FAU to teach students training to become physics teachers. Today, she teaches introductory physics education courses for undergraduates and leads seminars in physics and physics education for graduate students. Since 2018, Dr. Fösel has served as Head of the Erlangen Student Research Center (ESFZ) at FAU, which she co-founded in 2009. The ESFZ (www.esfz.nat.fau.de) provides school students with a space to explore scientific experimentation and develop independent research projects. In 2024, she and her colleagues expanded the ESFZ model internationally by establishing a student research center in Durban, South Africa (https://www.physics.nat.fau.eu/2024/11/05/renate-wittern-sterzel-prize-2024for-the-esfz-student-research-camps-for-all-kids-of-durban). A passionate advocate for youth engagement in science, Dr. Fösel is a jury member for the German Young Physicists’ Tournament (GYPT) and the German Physicists’ Tournament (GPT). For the past two years, she has also coordinated the regional round of Jugend forscht, Germany’s largest STEM competition, in the Erlangen-Nuremberg area. Her research focuses on the integration of microcontrollers (such as Arduino) and Raspberry Pi into physics education, as well as on designing engaging experiments that connect physics with technology, biology (especially bats), and sports. She has led numerous national and international programs for both in-service and pre-service teacher training. Since 2016, Dr. Fösel has contributed to accreditation commissions for physics education programs at institutions worldwide, including universities in Saudi Arabia, Mongolia, and Indonesia, through ASIIN e.V. She is also a member of the Council (Vorstandsrat) of the German Physical Society (DPG) and serves on the editorial board of the European Journal of Physics (EJP). Her second term as a member of the IUPAP C14 Commission on Physics Education has recently begun, now in the role of Vice-Chair. Associate Professor Cristiano Mattos University of São Paulo Brazil 6 of 31 Secretary Cristiano Mattos holds a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of São Paulo (USP), where he focused on artificial cognitive systems and the optimization of learning rules in Neural Networks. However, his primary research work is dedicated to science education. His academic interests encompass the history and epistemology of Physics, teaching and learning processes, and the philosophical foundations of education and science. He is an Associate Professor at the Institute of Physics at USP and leads the Research Group in Science and Complexity Education (ECCo). His experience spans teaching science at all educational levels, editing educational Physics textbooks, evaluating and coordinating Brazil’s Science Textbook Program, organizing the National Physics Education Research Meetings, and serving as a visiting professor at the University of Helsinki and the University of Bologna. Additionally, he has coordinated USP’s Graduate Program in Science Teaching and served as Editor-in-Chief of the Brazilian Journal of Research in Science Education. Mattos is an active member of several scientific societies, including the Brazilian Physics Society, ISCAR, IOSTE, and ESERA. His research focuses on the theoretical-methodological foundations of Physics Teaching, exploring dialogue, situated cognition, interdisciplinarity, and complexity within Freirean and Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) frameworks, aiming to promote citizenship and social equity through science education. Professor Nam-Hwa Kang Korea National University of Education, Seoul South Korea 7 of 31 Nam-Hwa Kang is a distinguished professor in the Department of Physics Education at Korea National University of Education (KNUE). She has been a member of IUPAP Commission C14 on Physics Education since 2021 and currently serves as the chair of the Physics Education Committee of Korean Physical Society. She has been involved in revising the national science and physics curriculum in South Korea for more than a decade. Before joining the KNUE, she held faculty positions at the University of Nevada and Oregon State University in the USA. Her work has been influential in shaping science education policies in South Korea, including integrated STEM education. Kang's research spans science and physics teacher education and professional development focusing on how teachers' understanding of science impacts their instructional approaches and how educational policies shape science learning in classrooms. Professor Arun Kumar Grover Panjab University India Arun Kumar Grover, a condensed matter physicist from TIFR, served as the 12th Vice Chancellor of Panjab University, Chandigarh (2012-18). He received Homi Bhabha Science and Technology Award of BARC in 1995 for his contributions in Magnetism and 8 of 31 Superconductivity. Elected (1997) Fellow of NASI as well as that of IASc., Bangalore, he served as the Vice President of IASc. from 201618. An initiative commenced in 2012 by him, which caught the national attention, has been the nucleation of Chandigarh Region Innovation and Knowledge Cluster (CRIKC), which brought together all the institutions in and around Chandigarh on a common platform. Assoc. Professor Marián Kireš University of Pavol Jozef Šafárik, Košice Slovakia Marián Kireš is an Associate Professor in Physics Education at Pavol Jozef Šafárik University (UPJŠ) in Košice, Slovakia. He cosupervises the doctoral program in the Theory of Physics Education and the master’s program in Physics Teacher Education. His research interests include active learning environments, inquirybased education, skills development, lifelong learning, and professional development for 9 of 31 teachers. He is also involved in the Young Physicists’ Tournament and works extensively with gifted students. Marián is committed to science popularization and its integration into formal education. He teaches undergraduate courses such as Didactics of Physics I & II, Conceptual Physics I & II, and Physics by Experiments I & II. He has supervised six PhD students and is currently supervising one. He has also mentored 35 master’s theses and 12 rigorous theses in physics education. He serves on the Scientific Board of Charles University in Prague, representing physics education, and on the Scientific Board of the Faculty of Science at UPJŠ in Košice. With 18 years of experience as a part-time secondary school physics teacher, he has co-authored three high school physics textbooks and published over 250 works, including 38 indexed in Scopus (H-index: 6, 142 citations). He is a member of the curriculum committee of the Slovak Ministry of Education and the professional committee for physics education at the State Pedagogical Institute. He has served as an expert guarantor for two national projects and led five research initiatives focused on STEM education innovation. Currently, he leads the physics group in the national project Digital Transformation of Education. Marián Kireš co-organized the international conferences HSCI 2013, DidSci2022, and GIREP-EPEC 2023. He represents Slovakia in Science on Stage Europe and Hands-on Science, and was the national coordinator for two FP7 projects—ESTABLISH and SAILS—focused on STEM education research and development. Marián brings extensive experience in coordinating educational and research activities, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, and leading academic teams. He is deeply passionate about physics education and brings both a teacher’s and a strategist’s perspective to his work. Known for his communicative and supportive nature, he is a team player who often takes on leadership or specialist roles but is equally comfortable supporting others. His optimistic and creative spirit makes him a valued contributor to conceptual and strategic initiatives. 16 of 31 Dr Nicolas Labrosse received his PhD from the Université Paris-Sud (France) with a thesis on the modelling of the helium spectrum in solar prominences. He then moved to Aberystwyth University (Wales) to continue as a postdoctoral researcher in the Solar System Physics group. In 2007, he joined the University of Glasgow (Scotland) as a Lecturer in the Astronomy & Astrophysics group. Dr Labrosse is passionate about learning and teaching in higher education, supporting students, and working with them to build an environment enabling all to flourish as individuals. His current educational research focuses on assessment and inclusivity. He has led staff-student partnership projects to explore various methods of assessment in physics and astronomy. He is also interested in student transitions and student engagement. Currently, Dr Labrosse is a Senior Fellow of the University of Glasgow’s Recognising Excellence in Teaching scheme, and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. He is also a Fellow of the Institute of Physics (IOP), and a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. He is a past chair of the IOP’s Higher Education Group. He joined the IOP Degree Accreditation Committee (as well as its team of assessors), and he engages in various other activities with the IOP to promote Physics and Higher Education in general. He co-founded and co-chairs his department’s Astronomy & Physics Education Group. His desire is to help the physics education community worldwide to foster strong links which may lead to collaborations. Another goal is to help demonstrate the impact of physics education research, for example, on student outcomes. His work focuses on higher education but he is interested 17 of 31 in links with other sectors. Towards this goal, he has led the creation of the per-he website (https://perhe.org/), and he curates content on a regular basis. This website enables the UK and Ireland PER community to share information more visibly and effectively. He is grateful to be on this committee and will aim to promote IUPAP and C14 activities to his networks. Professor Cecilia Star Universidad de la República Uruguay Cecilia Stari is a professor of physics at the Faculty of Engineering at the Universidad de la República in Uruguay. She completed her PhD at the Federal University of São Carlos in Brazil in 2009. Her research interests focus on physics teaching in primary schools and physics labs, including the use of technologies such as Arduinos and smartphones. She also conducts research in assessment in university courses. Professor Elizabeth Angstmann University of New South Wales Australia Associate Member, %Newsletter Editor Professor Elizabeth Angstmann is an education-focused academic in the School of Physics at UNSW, where she currently serves as the 18 of 31 Higher Year Director. In this role, she oversees the teaching and learning experience for secondand third-year physics students, ensuring that course content, delivery, and assessment are aligned with best practices in science education. From 2011 to 2023, Liz was First Year Physics Director, leading a major transformation in first-year teaching. She introduced interactive online lectures, active learning strategies, and a competency-based assessment framework. Now being adopted more widely at UNSW, this approach shifts focus from traditional grading to demonstrating key skills and knowledge. In 2025, she received an ACDS Teaching Fellowship to explore the future of assessment in higher education. Her project, Beyond Grades, promotes best practice in STEM assessment. She also co-chairs UNSW’s Competency Assessment and Grading Working Party. Liz’s passion for education began during her PhD in theoretical atomic physics, leading her to earn a Master’s in teaching and work as a high school physics teacher. She is especially interested in using technology to enhance learning and in creating inclusive, engaging classrooms. In 2018, she launched an online Graduate Certificate in Physics for Science Teachers to support and upskill high school teachers across Australia—reflecting her belief in empowering teachers to inspire future scientists. Liz has held leadership roles in the physics education community, including as Chair of the AIP Physics Education Group. Her work has earned national recognition, including a 2018 Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student 19 of 31 Learning and the 2020 AIP Education Medal. Liz serves as the editor of the ICPE newsletter. She is keen to highlight innovative teaching practices, sharing global perspectives on physics education, and fostering a sense of community among educators and researchers around the world. So please send her any recommendations or articles for inclusion in the newsletter! Professor Farida Fassi Mohammed V University in Rabat Morocco % Associate Member, Working Group 5 Representative Dr. Farida Fassi is a Full Professor of Physics at Mohammed V University in Rabat and leads the ATLAS Rabat Group. She is a Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences, an ICTP-Arab Fund Associate Fellow, and a Visiting Professor at the University of Warwick. She has co-authored over 1,460 scientific publications, with more than 90,000 citations and an h-index of 134 (Web of Science), including her contribution to the discovery of the Higgs boson. In 2021, she was named among the world’s top 50 scientists by the AD Scientific Index. Dr. Fassi holds a BSc in Physics and a Certificate in Data Management from the University of Abdelmalek Essaâdi. She earned her Master’s in Nuclear and Particle Physics and her Ph.D. from the University of Valencia, conducting doctoral research at CERN’s ATLAS experiment. After a postdoctoral fellowship at CSIC and a research position at CNRS, she joined Mohammed V University in 2013. 20 of 31 Her research spans experimental particle physics, distributed computing, and data analysis, with leadership roles in both the ATLAS and CMS experiments at CERN. She coordinated the ATLAS Distributed Analysis Support Team and has contributed extensively to the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid. Her current work includes Higgs portal models, top quark physics, and quantum technologies through CERN’s Quantum Technology Initiative. Dr. Fassi is also a jury member for the UNESCO-Russia Mendeleev Prize and a co-founder of initiatives such as the African Strategy for Fundamental and Applied Physics, the Arab Physical Society, and the Moroccan Society for High Energy Physics Professor César Mora Instituto Politécnico Nacional Mexico Associate Member César Mora graduated from the University of Guadalajara with degrees in both Physics and Mathematics. He holds a Master of Science in Physics from CINVESTAV-IPN and a Master of Applied Philosophy from Vasco de Quiroga University. He also earned a PhD in Physics from the Autonomous Metropolitan University of Mexico City and a PhD in Education from the University of Burgos, Spain. He is a full professor and the founder of the Postgraduate Program in Physics Education at the Research Center in Applied Science and Advanced Technology of the National Polytechnic Institute in Mexico City. Additionally, he is a Level I member of Mexico’s National System of Researchers. His main areas of research are physics teaching and theoretical physics. He was the founder and inaugural president of the Teaching Division of the 21 of 31 Mexican Physical Society (2020–2023). He also founded the Mexican Section of the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT-MX) in 2009 and served as its president from 2010 to 2012. His recent research projects in physics education include the design of remote STEM laboratories. He also serves as editor-in-chief for several physics education journals. Currently, he is the president-elect of the International Council of Associations for Science Education (ICASE) and the Latin America representative for the 2023–2029 term. Commissioner Activities and Achievements: Chair, Professor Majula Sharma, Made an AAPT Fellow Image: Prof Sharma with her research group (SUPER) at the 2016 AAPT meeting where her then student, Dr Derek Muller was awarded the Richtmyer Memorial Lecture Award. Derek is known for creating the YouTube channel Veritasium and as a profilic science communicator. The Chair of ICPE, Professor Manjula Sharma from the University of Sydney, Australia, has been announced as the Summer 2025 AAPT Fellow. AAPT Fellows are distinguished physicists, educators, administrators, and communicators recognized for their contributions to the physics education community. Professor Sharma’s work has enriched the AAPT community through her (and her students') many invited and contributed presentations at AAPT meetings over the past two and a half decades. She has authored more than 150 publications on improving the teaching and learning of physics and has served 22 of 31 as an excellent role model and mentor for students, including women of color. Professor Sharma is recognized as an AAPT Fellow for her seminal contributions to the teaching and learning of physics across various strands. You can read more about this fellowship here.:%https://www.aapt.org/Programs/awards/AAPT-Fellows-Information.cfm Articles: Empowering Africa Through Physics: Highlights from ASP2024 Professor Farida Fassi Scientific and technological capabilities are essential drivers of social and economic progress. Yet, Africa’s long-standing underinvestment in science, innovation, and education has limited the continent’s ability to fully realize its potential. Addressing this gap requires urgent and sustained efforts in knowledge transfer, research capacity building, and skills development through education and training. Physics lies at the heart of this mission. As a discipline, it not only advances our understanding of the universe but also ignites curiosity and inspires the next generation of scientists. Making fundamental knowledge—particularly in emerging technologies—accessible across the continent is therefore crucial to nurturing a skilled and innovative African scientific community. 23 of 31 Photograph highlighting the active participation of women in ASP2024 In line with this vision, the 8th African School on Fundamental Physics and Applications (ASP2024) was held from 7 to 21 July 2024 at Cadi Ayyad University in Marrakesh, Morocco. This biennial event reflects a firm belief in the power of fundamental physics to motivate young scientists and serve as a springboard for applied technological development. ASP2024 was organized through a strong partnership between Cadi Ayyad University and Mohammed V University in Rabat, and supported by a distinguished Local Organizing Committee (LOC) comprising leading Moroccan research and academic institutions. Under the leadership of Prof. M. Chabab and Prof. F. Fassi, the LOC played a central role in coordinating the national dimension of the event. At the international level, Dr. Kétévi A. Assamagan chaired the International Organizing Committee (IOC), working closely with the LOC to ensure the School’s success. For detailed information, please visit the official ASP2024 website: https://www.africanschoolofphysics.org/asp2024/ Designed to empower students with the tools to interpret, analyze, and apply the results of cutting-edge physics experiments, ASP2024 adopted an integrated curriculum that combines theoretical, experimental, and applied physics. Participants were competitively selected from across the African continent, ensuring both excellence and diversity. This year, 97 students attended in person and 102 joined remotely, selected from a pool of 534 applicants. The two-week program fostered deep learning, collaborative exchange, and the creation of enduring professional networks. 24 of 31 At the heart of this transformation lies a rich scientific program, tailored to meet the continent’s most pressing scientific needs and ambitions. The curriculum spans key areas of physics with particular relevance to Africa, including nuclear physics, particle physics, medical physics, astrophysics, and cosmology. Cross-cutting fields such as accelerator physics, computing, instrumentation, and detector technology also feature prominently. In keeping with global trends, the program integrates emerging disciplines such as quantum computing, quantum information science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. University students selected for ASP2024 benefit from an immersive experience filled with intensive lectures, hands-on tutorials, and experimental sessions across these diverse topics throughout the period from July 7 to July 21, 2024. Beyond student training, the School has evolved into a comprehensive platform for scientific capacity building. ASP2024 featured a professional development workshop for 80 high school teachers, nominated by Morocco’s Ministry of Education. In addition, an outreach campaign reached over 1,000 high school students in the Marrakesh region from 15 to 19 April 2024, strategically scheduled during the academic year to maximize impact. In a testament to its growing influence, ASP2024 also included a dedicated forum for African policymakers, highlighting the School’s commitment to shaping national and regional strategies in physics education and research. The School on Fundamental Physics plays a pivotal role in advancing scientific transformation across the African continent. Far beyond a training program, it has emerged as a dynamic catalyst—uniting aspiring scientists, dedicated educators, and forward-thinking policymakers in a shared mission to shape Africa’s scientific future. Through cutting-edge instruction, far-reaching outreach, and meaningful policy engagement, the School is not only building capacity—it is igniting a continent-wide movement toward a more innovative, inclusive, and knowledge-driven Africa. To maximize this impact, similar initiatives must be actively fostered across the continent, creating a broad ecosystem of scientific excellence and collaboration. 25 of 31 ASP2024 poster and Prof. Farida Fassi demonstrating to students how to construct the structure of the Standard Model of elementary particles—the fundamental building blocks of matter. Celebrating a Century: The Enduring Legacy of Prof. P.W. Anderson in Physics Prof. P K Ahluwalia The Indian Association of Physics Teachers (IAPT) hosted a three-day webinar from December 13 to 15, 2024, titled "More is Different: Legacy of a Nobel Laureate," to celebrate the birth centenary of Prof. Philip W. Anderson. This event, organized by IAPT's Regional Council-23 in Himachal Pradesh, honored Anderson's pioneering contributions to condensed matter physics, particularly in disordered systems and high-temperature superconductivity.