The Education Medal, an initiative of the Physics Education Group at the 2000 AIP Congress in Adelaide, is awarded to recognise an outstanding contribution to physics education in Australia.

The Award consists of a medal and a certificate, and is awarded biennially. 

The winner(s) will be invited to present an invited talk related to the nominated research at the next AIP Congress and write an article for publication in Australian Physics.

Eligibility Requirements

• Nominee has not previously been the recipient of the Education Medal.
• Nominee must be nominated by a Proposer who is an AIP member and can testify to the nominee’s contributions

Nomination Material and Process

The online Education Medal nomination form requires the proposer to provide:

• a one sentence citation capturing the nature of the work, as well as a longer citation (no more than 300 words) that briefly summarises the nominee’s contribution in relation to the award application. This is to be written for a scientifically literate lay person; this will be used for promotion/certificates if the nominee is successful;
• names and contact details of three (3) referees who have the appropriate expertise to offer a critical appraisal of the nominee’s achievements;
• a brief curriculum vitae covering personal details, academic and professional qualifications, outline of career history, honours and distinguished awards (a full CV is not necessary);
• a list of publications relevant to the achievements on which the application is based. Where heavy reliance is placed upon material not reasonably available, a copy of this material may also be submitted.

Only one medal will be awarded in each round.

Nominations close: 1 April of the nomination year

Nominations, including all supporting documentation, should be submitted via the online Education Medal nomination form, by the advertised closing date. Referees should submit their letters of reference using this submission form, independently of any correspondence from the nominee, also by the advertised closing date.

Assessment Criteria

The nominee must have made a significant contribution to physics education.  This will be assessed by one or more the following:

• Research into the theory and practice of learning physics and the development of means of presenting concepts to students to improve their learning outcomes.
• Development of practices to enhance the quality of physics teaching and the implementation of these practices.
• Development of apparatus for teaching laboratories and lecture demonstrations to teach important principles of physics and stimulate interest in physics.
• The significance of contributions to physics programs in schools, universities or national education systems.
• The level of creativity and innovation exhibited in the contributions.

Previous Winners

• 2024 No Medal Awarded
• 2022 Dr John E Debs, Australian National University
• 2020 Associate Professor Elizabeth Angstmann, University of New South Wales
• 2018 Dr Maria B Parappilly, Flinders University
• 2016 Dr Margaret J Wegener, University of Queensland
• 2014 Professor Les Kirkup, University of Technology, Sydney
• 2012 Associate Professor Manjula Sharma, University of Sydney
• 2010 Professor Joe Wolfe, UNSW
• 2008 Dr Judith M Pollard, University of Adelaide
• 2006 No Medal Awarded
• 2004 Professor Marjan G Zadnik, Curtin University