Thirty-nine Nobel Laureates and Leaders of Corporate America Celebrate Success of Initiative to Reform Science Education

$5 Million Campaign of The American Physical Society and the
American Association of Physics Teachers Exceeds Goal

Thirty-nine Nobel laureates and leaders of corporate America share in the success of The Campaign for Physics, a joint effort of The American Physical Society and the American Association of Physics Teachers, which raised over $5 million toward reforming science education. Honorary Chair William Hewlett, Co-founder of Hewlett-Packard Company led the Campaign's Executive Committee which also included as vice chairs: Robert Allen, AT&T; Paul Allaire, Xerox Corporation; Norman Augustine, Lockheed Martin Corporation; Livio DeSimone, 3M; Robert Galvin, Motorola, Inc.; Gordon Moore, Intel Corporation; Lewis Platt, Hewlett-Packard Company; George Soros, Soros Fund Management & Soros Foundation Network; and Alex Trotman, Ford Motor Company.

William Hewlett, who considered the Campaign an imperative, remarks "Through the Campaign, we have helped school districts implement systemic science education reform which will provide students with a science curriculum and learning environment that will nurture their interest in and appreciation for science. We have created support structures for science teachers, particularly in urban settings, who are seeking ways in which to improve their teaching skills and techniques and developed a resource center for their use in obtaining information on the best in science teaching curricula and materials. We have provided mentor and financial support to bright undergraduate minority students interested in pursuing careers in science and put in place mechanisms for the exchange of information among academia, industry and government on issues of science education and industrial needs."

In celebrating the success of the effort, Nicolaas Bloembergen, Chair of the 39 member Campaign Council of Nobel Laureates and Campaign Administrative Group, states "The carefully developed science education programs of The Campaign for Physics will make a dramatic difference in elementary through graduate level science teaching, benefitting students, teachers, industry and our nation. I am proud to have played a leadership role in support of such excellent initiatives". The Campaign's programs are designed to take maximum advantage of the expertise of the 50,000 members of The American Physical Society and the American Association of Physics Teachers, two of the nation's leading scientific societies.

The Campaign for Physics supports five initiatives:

• The Teacher-Scientist Alliance Institute supports systemic science education reform at the school district level and trains research scientists from universities, laboratories and industry to partner with local elementary and middle school teachers.
• The Physics Teacher Resource Agent Program selects, trains and supports experienced physics teachers who serve as mentors to less experienced physics teachers from their communities.
• The Physical Science Resource Center provides on-line access as well as hard copies of exemplary teaching and learning materials in physics at the high school and undergraduate levels.
• The Minority Scholarship Program for Undergraduate Physics Majors supports and encourages talented minority students interested in majoring in physics.
• The Academic-Industrial-Government Roundtables promotes a shared perspective among academia, industry and government on the nation's research and education needs.