Jonathan F. Reichert and Barbara Wolff-Reichert Award for Excellence in Advanced Laboratory Instruction

This award is to recognize and honor outstanding achievement in teaching, sustaining (for at least four years), and enhancing an advanced undergraduate laboratory course or courses at U.S. institutions. The course(s) should provide a selection of experiments in a range of the various interest areas of physics, for example atomic physics, electronics and optics.

The award consists of $5,000 plus travel expenses (up to $2,000) to attend an APS meeting at which the award is presented, and a certificate citing the achievement of the honoree. The honoree will be invited to present a lecture at that meeting. The award will be offered annually.

Establishment & Support

This award was established in 2012 and endowed with support from Jonathan F. Reichert and Barbara Wolff-Reichert.

Rules & Eligibility

The award will be given to an individual or a team of individuals who have taught, developed, and sustained an excellent advanced undergraduate physics laboratory course or courses for at least four years at an institution in the US. Some or all of this activity should have occurred within the five years prior to the nomination. The course(s) will lead upper-division students to experience a broad selection of experiments in the various interest areas of physics. This may include the development of experiment(s) reflecting current research.Nominations will be considered for three review cycles provided the nominator re-certifies the nomination before the next deadline.

Nominations are sought that confirm the fundamental role of the advanced laboratory course(s) in a physics department's curriculum, and which clearly show its impact on students and their subsequent careers in physics or applied physics. A successful nomination may also present evidence of the dissemination of the laboratory work to the broader physics community. Evidence of broad scope, excellence, and dissemination may include faculty/staff publications and workshops, student awards and publications, and other demonstrated student outcomes (as in preparation for undergraduate research, future employment, and acceptance and performance in graduate programs).

Nomination & Selection Process

Deadline: Monday, June 3, 2024

The nomination must include:

  • A letter of not more than 5,000 characters evaluating the qualifications of the nominee(s)
  • Evidence for the excellence and broad scope of the advanced laboratory course(s). For example: course syllabi, course materials, scanned photographs of the experimental set-ups, student reports or presentations, student/alumni evaluations
  • A biographical sketch or curriculum vitae
  • A list of the most important publications
  • At least two, but not more than four, seconding letters not more than 2 pages each
  • Up to five reprints or preprints

To start a new or update a continuing nomination, please see the Prize & Award Nomination Guidelines.

2024 Selection Committee Members: Eric Brewe (Chair), Carlton Pennypacker, Danielle Maldonado, Melissa Eblen-Zayas, Amber Stuver, and Carmen Pantoja

The membership of APS is diverse and global, and the nominees and recipients of APS Honors should reflect that diversity so that all are recognized for their impact on our community. Nominations of members belonging to groups traditionally underrepresented in physics, such as women, LGBT+ scientists, scientists who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), disabled scientists, scientists from institutions with limited resources, and scientists from outside the United States, are especially encouraged.

Nominees for and holders of APS Honors (prizes, awards, and fellowship) and official leadership positions are expected to meet standards of professional conduct and integrity as described in the APS Ethics Guidelines. Violations of these standards may disqualify people from consideration or lead to revocation of honors or removal from office.

2024 Recipient

R. Seth Smith
Francis Marion University



Past Recipients

2023: Laura Clarke
2022: Sean P. Robinson
2021: Linda S. Barton
2020: Enrique Galvez
2019: Heather J. Lewandowski
2018: Kurt Wick
2017: Richard Peterson
2016: Van D. Bistrow
2015: Carl Akerlof
          Ramon Torres-Isea
2014: Gabriel C. Spalding