For immediate release: September 30, 2003
For more information, contact Susan Griffith at 216-368-1004 or susan.griffith@case.edu

CLEVELAND—Lawrence Krauss, the chair and Ambrose Swasey Professor of Physics at Case Western Reserve University, has just become the first physicist in history to have been honored with the highest awards from all three major physics organizations in the United States: the American Physical Society, the American Institute of Physics and the American Association of Physics Teachers.

Lawrence Krauss

The American Association of Physics Teachers has named Krauss as its 2004 Oersted Medal winner for his contributions to the teaching of physics. The AAPT established the Oersted Medal award, its most prestigious honor, in 1936. He will join the ranks of past recipients such as Nobel Laureates Edward Purcell (1967) Richard Feynman (1972), I.I. Rabi (1982), Norman Ramsey (1988), and Hans Bethe (1993), as well as such prominent scientists as Carl Sagan (1990) and Freeman Dyson (1991).

"I am still reeling from the news", said a surprised Krauss upon learning about the award through an e-mail message from the AAPT. "This is very special."

Krauss will receive an inscribed medal, a $5,000 award, a certificate of honor, and travel expenses to the AAPT winter meeting in Miami Florida, where he will present a ceremonial lecture.

The Oersted Medal follows the 2000 Julius Edgar Lilienfeld Prize from the American Physical Society, given for "a most outstanding contribution to physics" and the the 2001 Andrew W. Gemant Award from the American Institute of Physics for connecting science and culture. While Physicists such as Dyson, Steven Weinberg and Stephen Hawking have been awarded one or two of these awards, Krauss is the first to have been awarded all of them.

Since 2000 Krauss has also won two other major science awards. He received the American Association for the Advancement of Science 1999-2000 Award for the Public Understanding of Science and Technology for his book, "The Physics of Star Trek," and the American Institute of Physics 2002 Award for Science Writing, for his most recent book, "Atom: An Odyssey from the Big Bang to Life on Earth and Beyond."

Krauss, a distinguished cosmologist and author of over 200 scientific publications, is also a well-known author. His six books not only include the international bestseller, "The Physics of Star Trek," and "Atom" but "Beyond Star Trek," "Fear of Physics" and "Quintessence: The Mystery of Missing Mass in the Universe," a revision of his earlier book, "The Fifth Essence."

He is currently working on a new book, entitled "Hiding in the Mirror," which will be published next year.

–Case–

 

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