Smithtown High School teacher, Gillian Winters has been chosen to receive the Paul W. Zitzewitz Award for Excellence in K-12 Physics Teaching by the American Association of Physics Teachers. Winters was chosen to receive this prestigious award, standing out above all other educators of physics, throughout the entire Country. Her extraordinary contributions, teachings and inspiring her students interests in pre-college physics, stood out above all others and with good cause.
As a master of incorporating practical applications to physics content instruction, Winters goes the extra mile in the name of physics. Winters volunteered to teach televised lessons so she could teach at Smithtown East and West, when dwindling student population threatened the District’s ability to offer AP Physics with Calculus. In addition to her work at Smithtown School District, Gillian Winters conducts a Particle Physics MasterClass as an outreach program of CERN, where students learn how to analyze data, prior to conferencing with students across the world to participate in discussions moderated by a physicist from CERN. Winters is an active member in the Women in Science and Engineering workshops at Stony Brook University, the Teslamania, a physics Demonstration competition, and the CERN Physics MasterClass. The elite elected New York State Master Teacher also mentors her younger peers in the art of Physics teaching.
“I am delighted and honored to be considered for the prestigious Paul W. Zitzewitz award from the AAPT and to be considered among a select group of outstanding educators. I am fortunate to work with students who I believe are the best in the school, and I love opening their eyes and minds to new challenges and ideas.” – Gillian Winters
The St. James resident will head to College Park, Maryland this July, during the AAPT Summer Meeting, where she will be presented with her award. Winters will also be giving a lecture at the Meet.
About Gillian Winters
Winters earned her BS and MS in Physics at the McGill University in Montreal. Her Ph.D. in Physics is from the University of Delaware. Following coursework for certification for Secondary Education, Physics and General Science she began her career as a physics teacher at Sachem Central School District in Holbrook, NY where she taught Regents Physics and AP-B Physics, and led the Science Research Program. In 2005 she moved to the Smithtown Central School District in Smithtown, NY where she teaches Regents, AP-B or AP-1 Physics, and AP-C Physics with Calculus.
About the Paul W. Zitzewitz Award
Established as the Excellence in Pre-College Teaching Award in 1993 then renamed and endowed in 2010 by Paul W. and Barbara S. Zitzewitz, the Paul W. Zitzewitz Award for Excellence in K-12 Physics Teaching recognizes outstanding achievement in teaching pre-college physics.
About AAPT
AAPT is an international organization for physics educators, physicists, and industrial scientists—with members worldwide. Dedicated to enhancing the understanding and appreciation of physics through teaching, AAPT provides awards, publications, and programs that encourage practical application of physics principles, support continuing professional development, and reward excellence in physics education. AAPT was founded in 1930 and is headquartered in the American Center for Physics in College Park, Maryland.
For more information: Contact Marilyn Gardner, Director of Communications, mgardner@aapt.org, (301)209-3306 www.aapt.org.