CAP Medal Press Release - 2024 Carswell

The Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP) is pleased to announce that the 2024 Allan Carswell Physics Educator Scholarship is awarded to Dennis Thai, University of Alberta, in recognition of his excellent academic record as well as his work in undergraduate physics research. Additionally, he has demonstrated exceptional communication skills, being recognised as a passionate and engaging speaker when discussing and explaining physics within his research group. Dennis’ dedication to building his knowledge of physics and research on his way to becoming an educator will allow him to “foster the curiosity of [his] future students by discussing or providing guidance towards more advanced and current topics in physics”. announcement

It was around grade eleven that Dennis knew he wanted to be a math and physics high school teacher. The reason he is pursuing this career path is because of the impact his teachers and professors, as well as the field of physics, have had on him. As a first-generation Vietnamese Canadian and soon to be the first in his family to receive a university degree, Dennis was initially unaware of what physics was until taking it in high school. He remembers being awestruck learning about Newtonian mechanics and falling in love with physics. This intrinsic love for exploring physics was one of the reasons he transferred from a BEd to a BSc after his first year at university. Another reason is his belief that a stronger background in various aspects of physics will enable him to truly educate and inspire the next generation of physicists. Dennis found that the traditional BEd did not provide the time to adequately study physics to a level he feels competent to teach correctly. For some, like Dennis, high school will be their first exposure to the field of physics, and he believes as an educator, he has the responsibility to introduce it correctly so that even more people love physics as much as he does. As he continues his education, Dennis plans to take more physics courses to further round out his knowledge in the subject. nominator citation

ABOUT the Scholarship

The Allan Carswell Physics Educator Scholarships, valued at up to $5000 each, are awarded annually to one or two physics students with a strong academic record and a demonstrated passion for physics and physics pedagogy. With the help of the Allan Carswell Physics Educator Scholarship, the winners will pursue a career in physics education at the secondary school level.

The Allan Carswell Physics Educator Scholarships were set up by the CAP and the CAP Foundation with a generous endowment from the Carswell Family Foundation to raise awareness at all levels of society that physics education is a vital, highly valued and rewarding career path while reinforcing the fact that a major in physics is valuable for many careers, not just research. Educators at all levels are crucial in that they must provide students of all genders and backgrounds with the passion, confidence and science literacy that will inspire them to seek out and succeed in gaining a physics education at the university level. These scholarships were first awarded in 2020. medal description

ABOUT the Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP)

The Canadian Association of Physicists, founded in 1945, is a professional association representing over 1600 individual physicists and physics students in Canada, the U.S. and overseas, as well as a number of Corporate, Institutional, and Departmental Members. In addition to its learned activities, the CAP, through its charitable arm - the CAP Foundation, also undertakes a number of activities intended to encourage students to pursue a career in physics. cap description

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For more information, please contact:

Mrs. Francine Ford, Executive Director
Canadian Association of Physicists
Tel: 343-361-3326
E-mail: execdir@cap.ca
www.cap.cacap contact and joint contact

The 2024 Allan Carswell Physics Educator Scholarship

Dennis Thai