Ohio State Marion Professor Re-Named to Multi-National Physics Council

American Association of Physics Teachers members Gordon Aubrecht, Teddy Halpern, and César Mora stand with conference organizer Eduardo Montero at the conference reception area.

Ohio State Marion Professor of Physics, Gordon Aubrecht was reelected to serve as Executive Secretary of the InterAmerican Council on Physics Education, during the 11th annual InterAmerican Conference on Physics Education, June 30 through July 5, 2013, in Guayaquil, Ecuador.

The InterAmerican Council on Physics Education is the guiding body that organizes conferences of physics educators to discuss techniques and ideas to improve physics teaching in the western hemisphere. These include dissemination of results and developments to lead to improvement of physics teaching at different levels of education in the countries of the region, and better preparation of physics’ teachers in the region.

2013 presentation conference topic categories included:  IT and Multi-Media Use in Physics Education; Teaching Physics Concepts; Learning Physics Concepts;  Laboratory Activities in Physics Education; Primary School Physics; Secondary School Physics; University Physics; Initial Physics Teacher Education; Physics Teacher Professional Development; the Physics Curriculum;  Motivational Strategies and Metacognition;  History of Physics; and  Physics Teaching and Learning in Informal Settings.

The convening of these conferences was originally an initiative of and under the auspices of Centro Latino-Americano de Física (CLAF) and the Organization of American States (OAS). The first conference was held in Brazil in 1963.  2013 marks the 50th anniversary of the InterAmerican Counil on Physics Education Conference.

Photo: back row, César Mora (Mexico), Marco Antonio Moreira (Brazil), Eduardo Molto (Cuba), Teddy Halpern (US), Gordon Aubrecht (US, Council executive secretary), Celso Luis Ladera (Venezuela), and Hector Morenos (Mexico); front row, Andrea Cabot (Uruguay), Ricardo Buzzo (Chile), Michael Ponnambalam (Jamaica), Julia Salinas (Argentina, Council president), Victoria Moreno (Panama), Eduardo Montero (Ecuador), Graciela Utges (Argentina), Marta Massa (Argentina), Maite Andrés (Venezuela), and Leda Maria Roldan (Costa Rica).