16 March 2004
16 March 2004
(To download a print-quality file of the photo of Dr. Post-Zwicker, go to the end of this article.)
Plainsboro, New Jersey -- Kingston resident Andrew Post-Zwicker has been appointed Head of the Science Education Program at the U.S. Department of Energy's Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL).
As Head, Post-Zwicker is responsible for overseeing educational programs for teachers and kindergarten through college undergraduate students, as well as for implementing new educational initiatives at the Laboratory. Present programs range from comprehensive workshops for students and teachers, to the National Undergraduate Fellowship Research Program and the Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships, to the New Jersey regional competition of the National Science Bowl® and the Science-on-Saturday lecture series.
Post-Zwicker joined PPPL's Science Education Program in 1997 as a Senior Program Leader and became Lead Scientist for the program in 2000. Since coming on board, he has created the Plasma Science Education Laboratory at PPPL, as well as the Plasma Camp and Plasma Academy programs, which are intensive summer programs for high school teachers and students, respectively.
Post-Zwicker's first goal as Head is to expand the Plasma Science Education Laboratory and to increase internal and external collaborations in the science education arena. "We began the Plasma Science Education Laboratory at PPPL two years ago as a unique resource for students and educators -- a place where they can conduct experiments and learn firsthand about the beauty of plasmas (hot, ionized gases used as the fuel for the production of fusion energy). I'm looking forward to expanding the center by better tapping into PPPL's resources -- which are made up of an amazing blend of people, equipment, and expertise -- and by increasing the number of partnerships we have with outside entities," said Post-Zwicker.
After receiving a bachelor's degree in physics from Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, in 1986, Post-Zwicker went on to receive a master's and a Ph.D. in physics from Johns Hopkins University in 1988 and 1992, respectively. He conducted post-doctoral research for Oak Ridge National Laboratory at PPPL and at a fusion science laboratory in Jülich, Germany. He is the Secretary-Treasurer of the American Physical Society's Forum on Physics and Society, a member of the DOE Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory Committee's Workforce Development Panel and of the American Physical Society-Division of Plasma Physics Science Education Committee, and an author on more than 30 articles in a variety of plasma physics and education journals. He also teaches a freshman writing seminar at Princeton University, "The Ethics of Human Experimentation."
PPPL, funded by the DOE and managed by Princeton University, is a collaborative national center for science and innovation leading to an attractive fusion energy source. The Laboratory is on Princeton's James Forrestal Campus, off U.S. Route 1 in Plainsboro, New Jersey.
For further information, please contact:
Anthony R. DeMeo
Head, Information Services
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
(609) 243-2755
ademeo@pppl.gov
Patricia Wieser
Information Services
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
(609) 243-2757
pwieser@pppl.gov
Downloadable print-quality photo of Dr. Andrew Post-Zwicker. Resolution is 300 dpi, print size is approximately 3.6 inches wide by 4.4 inches high, file type is jpeg, and file size is 1.4 MB. Photo by Elle Starkman, PPPL.
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