Awards And Certifications From December 14-16

Kettering University earns elite Award for Improving Undergraduate Physics Education: Kettering University is on the short list for improving undergraduate physics education in the country and will receive a national award in the spring. The Committee on Education of the American Physical Society announced the four institutions that will receive the 2013 Award for Improving Undergraduate Physics Education. The award, which will be presented during the APS national meeting in Denver, Colo., in April, recognizes physics departments and/or undergraduate-serving programs in physics that support best practices in education at the undergraduate level. Bahram Roughani, head of the Physics Department at Kettering University and a professor of physics, said the university's unique style of preparing undergraduates is key to receiving this national award. Kettering University's Physics Department is a distinctive program, with co-op experiences integrated into the academic curriculum to promote graduates being placed in industry. Kettering has demonstrated excellence by tripling the number of majors over the last ten years as well as by focusing on the assessment of particular elements of the program including course outcomes and evaluation of co-op experiences. The other winners were the Colorado School of Mines, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Wisconsin - LaCrosse. More at www.kettering.edu.